Asiamoney Best Bank Awards

Arif Habib’s hopes for the stock market in Pakistan were dashed this year. Granted, its analysts were not alone in predicting that after a bruising 2021, the KSE-100 Index would bounce back in 2022. But AHL’s prediction that the market would make history, topping 55,000 points, grabbed headlines.

Standard Chartered is determined to be at the forefront of environmental, social and governance. Where better to do that than in Hong Kong, which is well-positioned to shape the future of green finance in the region and has long led the development of innovative ESG-linked products?

In its 15 years of existence, JS Bank has come to be known for many things. It is one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing financial institutions, a leader in the digital banking space and a generator of insurance products. But the bank’s most important influence may be how its strong commitment to diversity and financial inclusion is prodding peers to follow its lead.

Mark Surgenor started work as chief executive of HSBC’s Sri Lankan business in December 2021. Within just a couple of months, his bank found itself operating in a country in chaos. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis quickly turned into a political one, leading to a change in prime minister and cabinet and the sovereign’s landmark default on its international debt.

Asakabank is Asiamoney’s choice for best corporate bank in Uzbekistan’s financial scene because of its senior management’s ability to steer the bank in the right direction in the roughest of global environments.

When a bank has been operating in a market for more than a century, it is bound to have established deep ties with a host of businesses, from the small and medium-sized companies to the largest, privately owned blue-chip conglomerates.

It is easy to be cynical about environmental, social and governance, but Green Delta Capital is all the proof sceptics need that environmentally friendly finance is a sound business proposition. Founded in 2010, the investment bank has quickly become one of the fastest growing in Bangladesh.

Eastern Bank, run by chief executive Ali Reza Iftekhar, has been a consistent presence in Asiamoney’s annual best bank awards. Over the last year, the firm went the extra mile to remind the market why.