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Rankings & dataApril 1 2015

Top 100 Asean banks ranking, 2015: Indonesia and Philippines make headway

There might not be much movement among the top positions in this year’s Top 100 Association of South-East Asian Nations Banks ranking, but Filipino lenders are on the rise, while Indonesia’s banks boast the highest returns. 
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Top 100 Asean banks ranking, 2015: Indonesia and Philippines make headway

The most impressive growth story in this year’s Top 100 Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Banks ranking comes from the Philippines. From a small base, Filipino banks have increased their capital by 11.33% and their assets by 21.26%, compared with The Banker's 2014 ranking. The Philippine National Bank, which grew its Tier 1 capital by an impressive 130.12%, has climbed 27 positions to the 36th spot in the overall ranking.

This growth was not enough to challenge larger institutions at the top of the ranking, but it illustrates the big opportunities for growth in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Indonesian banks continued to excel in terms of returns on capital and assets.

Small but successful

At 7.78%, the Philippines account for a small proportion of total Tier 1 capital in the ranking. However, the country’s banks have grown their capital base significantly, with Philippine National Bank spearheading this capital expansion. Asia United Bank, which ranked 81st in the region by Tier 1 capital, likewise performed very well, increasing its capital by 76.99% and propelling itself into the Top 100. 

Filipino lenders showed the largest aggregate increase in assets in the ranking, with assets growing by 21.26%. Philippine National Bank, which grew its balance sheet by 73.18%, leads by this measure. Asia United Bank also performed well by this metric, increasing its assets by 50.01%, which placed it third in the ranking by assets growth. 

Vietnam’s banks continued their strong performance in our 2014 ranking, achieving the highest Tier 1 capital growth in the region, at 15.15%, and the third largest assets growth, at 8.25%, behind the Philippines and Singapore. 

Despite their strong aggregate performance, just two Vietnamese banks feature in the individual banks ranking by Tier 1 growth. The highest of these is Vietinbank, which is ranked 23rd in the overall ranking and third by Tier 1 capital growth thanks to its 73.02% increase in core capital. It is followed in fourth position by Vietnam's HD Bank – ranked 89th overall – which, in addition to expanding its capital base by 61.57%, also grew its balance sheet by 59.56%, making it the second highest ranking bank by asset growth.

Little change at the top

There was little movement among the top Asean banks in the Tier 1 capital ranking, as the top four positions remain unchanged from last year.

Singapore’s big three lenders – DBS Bank, Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank – prevail in the top three positions, towering in the region both in terms of Tier 1 capital and profits, although their aggregate profits took a 13% dive after they rallied 45% in last year’s ranking.

The Singaporeans are followed by Malaysia's Maybank, which retains last year's fourth place both in terms of Tier 1 capital and profitability. Although at $12.28bn, it holds almost $5bn less Tier 1 capital than the next largest bank, United Overseas Bank, it is nearly as profitable as its Singaporean counterparts – it earned only $117.5m less in profits than OCBC, the third most profitable bank in the region.  

In the upper half of the top 10, Thai banks are creeping ahead at the expense of Malaysians – Bangkok Bank moved one spot ahead of Malaysia's Public Bank to fifth position and Kasikornbank made it into the ninth spot thanks to a 18.81% capital uplift. Together with Siam Commercial Bank and Krung Thai Bank, they make Thailand the most represented country in the top 10.

This year, Indonesia continued to outperform other countries in the ranking in terms of returns on capital (ROC) and returns on assets (ROA), despite aggregate declines in total assets, capital and profitability, when compared with our 2014 ranking. The country accounts for eight of the 10 lenders in the top 10 ranking by ROA, up from its seven-strong presence last year. Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which ranked second by ROA in 2014, now leads the region both in terms of ROC and ROA – it earned returns of 49.46% and 4.46%, respectively, along with the fifth highest pre-tax profit of $2.29bn.

The top 10 ROC ranking is likewise dominated by Indonesian banks, with Bank Rakyat followed by Bank BTPN in third position, thanks to a 38.08% ROC.

The Banker's Top 100 Association of South-East Asian Nations Banks ranking, 2015 originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of the magazine. The full results of the ranking are available on The Banker DatabaseFind out more about the database, register for a free trial or subscribe today.

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