National Commercial Bank and Banque Misr emerged as the strongest bank by balance sheet in the Middle East and Africa respectively in 2020. Banks in Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the strongest in the Middle East, while Egyptian and South African banks are the strongest in Africa

Agustín Carstens, general manager of Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in a speech to Hoover Institution affiliates, Stanford University faculty and students on 27 January 2021, addressed the digitisation of money and the implications of central bank digital currencies for the monetary system.

Chinese and Japanese banks again dominate the list of The Asian Banker 500 largest banks. Balance sheet growth accelerated in the first half of 2020 and some players are reinforcing their scale and competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions

Bank of China (Hong Kong) emerges as strongest bank by balance sheet in Asia Pacific in 2020. While the majority of banks in the region maintained adequate capital and liquidity buffers, profitability has weakened amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Saudi Arabian Islamic banks continue to display strong financial performance. The growth of Islamic bank assets accelerated despite slowdown in profits

Numerous governments and central banks have launched series of fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate the economy while launching various health and security measures to contain COVID-19 and prevent potential casualties and deaths. But financial markets do not seem to have taken notice, powering to yet more new historical highs on the waves of generous state-funded liquidity.

Deutsche Bank posted its highest profits since 2007 following a strategic overhaul in 2019—strong transaction banking performance in Asia Pacific and data-driven technology investments have increased profitability

Amid the challenging pandemic environment that has dampened business volumes, depressed margins and elevated credit costs, corporate and transaction bankers are focused on rolling out a range of digitisation and sustainability-related initiatives to sustain business in 2021.

Significant risks to asset quality and profitability persist for banks in the region as start of COVID-19 vaccination may not ensure sustained and even economic recovery

The chief executives of DBS Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Microsoft discuss the impact of technological transformation and COVID-19 on the future of the financial services industry

The World Bank expects growth in emerging markets and developing economies in East Asia and Pacific to rebound to 7.4% in 2021 as the pandemic subsides with more widespread COVID-19 vaccination. However, should there be a protraction of the health crisis, it may heighten financial stress, and precipitate a sharper- and longer-than-expected contraction in global trade compounded by re-escalating trade tensions.

Lisa O’Connor, Head of Capital Markets Strategy at SWIFT discusses how the global provider of secure financial messaging services is delivering infrastructure that will help the world of payments and securities adapt, thrive and grow in a competitive landscape

The bank created a strong digital active client base from its acquisition of Diamond Bank which had a large retail portfolio and strong digital platform.

Despite fierce competition from its local South African peers and some Nigerian banks, Absa emerged as the Best Retail Bank in Africa

Standard Chartered Ghana outperformed major local rivals such as Stanbic Bank and Fidelity Bank in areas such as digital, customer experience, and risk management to win best retail bank in Ghana in 2020. While lacking market competitiveness in its product stack in Ghana, it was voted among the best retail banks in digital channels in Africa and among the most helpful retail banks in its COVID-19 response in the BankQuality Africa Customer Survey