SINGAPORE — Customers in Asia-Pacific have picked their favorite banks as lenders scramble to meet consumer expectations in a fast-changing environment.
After a prolonged period of high inflation — and interest rates — banks in the region are starting to navigate the global trend of lower rates. They’re also facing technological innovation that has the potential to transform the sector, as generative AI gains traction around the world.
Against this backdrop, CNBC and market research firm Statista surveyed 22,000 individuals with a checking or savings account in 14 major economies. The report below — the first of its kind — is designed to highlight the banks that best meet consumer needs in their respective markets.
For the survey, participants evaluated their overall satisfaction with a bank, and whether they would recommend it to others. They also rated each based on five criteria: trust, terms and conditions (such as fees and rates), customer service, digital services and quality of financial advice. Read the full methodology here. The ranking only included banks that qualified according to the criteria described in the report.
See below to see which banks made the list in your location.
Australia1ING Group2Bank Australia3Westpac4Ubank5NAB6Alex Bank7Newcastle Permanent Building Society8People’s Choice Credit Union9Beyond Bank10ME11Suncorp12MyState Bank13Australian Military Bank14Community First bank15Heritage Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Dutch bank ING came out top in Australia, against a sea of local competition. Like most economies, Australians valued trust the most and were less concerned on the financial advice they were given.
China1China Merchants Bank2Bank of China3ICBC4HSBC5China Construction Bank6Postal Savings Bank of China7China Minsheng Bank8Standard Chartered9SPD Bank10Bank of Communications11Agricultural Bank of China12UBS (China) Limited13JPMorgan Chase Bank (China)14China Everbright Bank15Ping An Bank16DBS Bank (China)17Bank of Suzhou18Bank of Jiangsu19Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank20Hang Seng Bank21Hubei Rural Credit Union Association22Huishang Bank23East West Bank24WeBank25Hankou Bank (HKB)
Source: CNBC & Statista
China Merchants Bank, listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, earned the top spot in mainland China beating both domestic and foreign players.
Hong Kong1China Construction Bank2China Minsheng Bank3ICBC4SPD Bank5China Everbright Bank6Bank of Communication7HSBC8CGB9Livi Bank10China Merchants Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
China Construction Bank, one of China’s four major state-owned banking institutions, was ranked the top lender over foreign players like HSBC.
India1ICICI Bank2HDFC Bank3Axis Bank4Kotak Mahindra Bank5State Bank of India6HSBC7Paytm Payments Bank8Standard Chartered9Federal Bank10IndusInd Bank11Union Bank of India12Karnataka Bank13Punjab National Bank14Bank of Baroda15Bandhan Bank16Fincare17DSCB18Kerala Gramin Bank19Fino Payments Bank 20APCOB21Punjab Gramin Bank22IDFC First Bank23UCO Bank24RBLBank25New India Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
ICICI bank, a leading private sector bank in India, was the top pick in the country despite strong competition from mostly local lenders.
Indonesia 1Bank Central Asia2Bank Mandiri3Sea Bank4Jago5Raya Bank6Bank Negara Indonesia7United Overseas Bank8PermataBank9Cimb Niaga10DBS11Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI)12BNC13Bank Muamalat14Jenius15BCA Syariah16HSBC17BDP DIY18Bank Aceh19Standard Chartered20Bank Sumsel Babel
Source: CNBC & Statista
Bank Central Asia, Indonesia’s largest private commercial bank, beat the competition to clinch the top spot. Customers valued both trust as well as digital services in their ranking.
Japan1SBI Sumishin Net Bank2Rakuten Bank3Sony Bank4Aeon Bank5au Jibun Bank6PayPay Bank7Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation8Senshu Ikeda Bank9The Juhachi-Shinwa Bank10Iyo Bank11Ehime Bank12Japan Post Bank13Ja Bank14Kyushu Labor Bank15Hamamatsu Iwata Shinkin Bank16Keiyo Bank17Bank of Fukuoka18Shinsei Bank19The Nishi-Nippon City Bank20Aozora Bank21Saitama Resona Bank22MUFG Bank23Lawson Bank24Gunma Bank25Hachijuni Bank26Rokin Bank27Kiyo Bank 28Tokyo Star Bank29The Bank of Okinawa30Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank31Abukuma Shinkin Bank32North Pacific Bank33Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank34Tottori Bank35Bank of Kyoto
Source: CNBC & Statista
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, a Japan-based company, managed to beat other domestic lenders to come out top. Japanese citizens valued trust as their most important criteria.
Malaysia1Maybank2Standard Chartered3Maybank Islamic4HSBC5RHB Islamic Bank6Bank Islam7AmBank Group Islamic8OCBC Bank9United Overseas Bank10Hong Leong Islamic Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Maybank, which is the largest bank by market value in Malaysia, was the customers top pick against competition from domestic and foreign lenders.
New Zealand1Bank of New Zealand2ASB Bank3The Co-operative Bank4SBS Bank5Kiwibank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Bank of New Zealand, one of New Zealand’s big four banks, earned the top spot among consumers who also valued trust as the most important criteria. In some economies, like New Zealand, there are fewer competitors in the market and the size of the banking market differs, thus only five banks made the list.
Philippines1Philippine National Bank2Union Bank (Philippines)3Maya Bank4OFBank5UnionDigital Bank6UNO Digital Bank7GoTyme Bank8LANDBANK9Metrobank10BPI
Source: CNBC & Statista
Philippine National Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, earned the top rank against competition from largely local lenders.
Singapore1DBS2HSBC3Citibank4Bank of Singapore5United Overseas Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Singapore’s biggest bank DBS beat its domestic peers to clinch the top spot in the city-state. Given the small market size, there are fewer banking competitors as a result only five made the list.
South Korea1TossBank2KakaoBank3Kwangju Bank4K bank5Jeonbuk Bank6KB Kookmin Bank7Industrial Bank of Korea8DGB Daegu Bank9BNK Busan Bank10KEB Hana Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Toss Bank, an internet-only bank based in South Korea, managed to fend off domestic competition to emerge as top lender in the country.
Taiwan1E.Sun Financial2Bank SinoPac3Standard Chartered4CTBC Bank5Taipei Fubon Bank6Taishin International Bank7HSBC8Rakuten International Commercial Bank9Cathay Financial10Mega International Commercial Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Taiwan’s E.Sun Financial, headquartered in Taipei, earned the top ranking with customers focused on trust and less concerned about financial advice.
Thailand1Kasikornbank2Siam Commercial Bank3Bank of Ayudhya4United Overseas Bank5Krung Thai Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Kasikornbank bank, Thailand’s second-largest lender, came out top in the country. Only five banks made the list as there are fewer competitors and the size of banking market varies.
Vietnam1Techcombank2Vietcombank3BIDV4Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank5ACB6Vietinbank7VIB8TPBank9Sacombank10VP Bank11BVBank12Shinhan Bank13SeA Bank14HDBank15Ocean Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Vietnamese private lender Techcombank is the customers’ top pick in the country, where trust again was the key factor for survey respondents.