Top 1000 World Banks - Australian quartet keep top Asia-Pacific positions

Australian banks have kept a tight grip on the top of the Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan) rankings, with Commonwealth Bank holding onto its number one position. The bank has also retained its 45th position in the global rankings, as its Tier 1 capital increased by 3.15% to $42bn in 2018. 

Westpac Banking Corporation is still in second place, although its Tier 1 capital slipped by 1.43% in the review period. ANZ Banking Group remains in third with $38bn of Tier 1 capital, a fall of 1.8% on last year. National Australia Bank rounds out an all-Australian top four with $35bn in Tier 1 capital – a decline of 5.61%. No other Australian lender appears in the Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan) top 25 table.

The only change in the top 10 comes courtesy of two South Korean banks, with Shinhan Financial Group pushing Korea Development Bank down one spot to claim eighth place.

Singapore, India and South Korea make up the bulk of the rest of the top 25, and Malaysia’s Maybank takes 18th place, a fall of one place from the 2018 ranking after a Tier 1 capital decrease of 4.89%.

In the highest movers table, Vietnam’s Techcombank saw a remarkable 107.71% rise in Tier 1 capital, taking it to a total of $1.9bn and 495th position overall, a dramatic rise on its 765th place in the 2018 ranking.

There was also a big leap in capital for three Philippines banks, as Land Bank Philippines saw a 33.59% increase, Bank of the Philippine Islands enjoyed an increase of 32.75%, and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co increased by 30.14%.

It is all change at the top of the return on capital (ROC) table, with Vietnam’s Asia Commercial Bank seeing a 40.23% ROC. Vietnam’s banks exhibited strong ROCs in 2018, and Vietnam Prosperity Bank and Vietcombank take third and fourth places in the ROC table with 26.85% and 25.43%, respectively.  

Papua New Guinea’s Bank of South Pacific has managed to improve on its result from the previous ranking, recording 36.09% ROC. Although its overall growth percentage slipped, it was enough to push Bank of South Pacific into second place for ROC growth.

There are no new entrants from the region this year.

Top 25: Asia Pacific (excluding China-Japan) ($M)

Top Five ROC: Asia Pacific (excluding China-Japan)