Taiwan’s Mega International Commercial Bank and CTBC Bank entered the Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan) country listings in 23rd and 24th place, respectively, after their Tier 1 capital grew from $6.57bn to $7.44bn in 2016 and from $6.61bn to $7.38bn. They rose by 18 and 14 spots, respectively, in 2016’s global ranking to reach 162nd and 164th positions. The highest climber in Asia-Pacific is also from Taiwan: KGI Bank’s Tier 1 capital swelled by 213.32% to $1.62bn.
Meanwhile, although one Indian bank (Bank of Baroda) fell out of the Asia-Pacific Top 25, all Indian banks in the 2016 Asia-Pacific ranking – some of the strongest in the country – improved their positions. This is despite growing concerns over asset quality and capitalisation in India’s banking sector after the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, forced institutions to disclose the full extent of their non-performing loans (NPL) in financial year 2015-16.
The largest lender in India, State Bank of India, moved into the regional top five, snatching fifth place from Singapore's DBS Bank, now in sixth place. The largest private sector lender in the country, ICICI Bank, rose from 16th to 14th. Axis Bank also moved up by two spaces, to 22nd.
Asia-Pacific's new entrant in the global ranking with the highest Tier 1 capital is also from India. Newly launched IDFC Bank has entered the ranking in 427th with $2bn in Tier 1 capital.
At the top end of the regional listing, Australian banks still hold the top four positions. However, Commonwealth Bank Group dropped from first to third place after its Tier 1 capital fell by $3.58bn to $31.65bn, leaving National Australia Bank in first place and ANZ Banking Group in second.
Banks from Vietnam and Pakistan also shone in the 2016 regional rankings. Four Vietnam banks appear among the highest climbers and the same number of Pakistani lenders are among the top five Asia-Pacific banks by return on capital.
