Australia’s banks recorded a good year of Tier 1 capital growth, helping them to retain their positions at the top of the Asia-Pacific, excluding China and Japan, regional table. Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) held firm in first place, where it has been since 2018, chalking up a 9.8% increase in Tier 1 capital.
The top four Australian banks have also kept almost the exact same places in the Top 1000 as last year, with CommBank in 49th position, while Westpac, ANZ Banking Group and National Bank of Australia hold the consecutive 53rd, 54th and 55th spots, respectively. The only change this year is that ANZ dropped two places.
The regional table sees more significant changes moving out of the top four. State Bank of India (SBI), for example, enters the top five club in Asia-Pcific, pushing Singapore’s DBS down to sixth place. SBI also moves one place up the Top 1000 table, to 56th position, with a 14.8% increase in Tier 1 capital. This is impressive, considering the stress that Indian banks have been under during the past few years. The bank has reported seeing some improvement in asset quality, which may have contributed to the strong growth.
DBS, meanwhile, saw an expansion in its Tier 1 capital — though increasing by 8.4% was not enough to stop it from slipping one place in the Top 1000 ranking, to 57th.
DBS can pride itself on being the only Singaporean bank still in the Asia-Pacific top 10 club. Its compatriot, United Overseas Bank, lost that claim after falling two places to 12th in the table. The bank now rests just one place above its Singaporean peer, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, which fell two places compared to the 2020 results.
The mid-section of the table is dominated by South Korean banks, with all seven in the regional ranking found between seventh and 17th position. Digital challenger, KakaoBank, entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2021 and is also was one of the highest movers, with an 81.4% rise in Tier 1 capital.
Hong Kong’s The Bank of East Asia just makes the cut-off point in 25th place, seeing its Tier 1 capital increase by 7.8%. However, this was not enough to save it from dropping four places in the Top 1000 ranking, to 143rd.
Vietnam’s banks are performing well. Three made it into the top five for return on capital (ROC) in Asia-Pacific, with Vietnam International Bank in the top spot with a 34.8% ROC. Three Vietnamese banks also feature in the highest movers ranking, with Orient Bank, another new entrant, coming in fifth with a 55.9% increase in Tier 1 capital.
Another success story is that of Bank of South Pacific — the only lender from Papua New Guinea to be listed in the Top 1000. The bank saw a 6.9% increase in Tier 1 capital, and took second place in the ROC ranking.
