Features

The country is now in the grip of another bailout programme and Reza Baqir, the new central bank governor, sees parallels for the nation from his last job at the fund.

Korn Chatikavanij, JPMorgan’s former Thailand boss, has been a finance minister, a fintech pioneer and a philanthropist; he is now trying to disrupt politics with a new party.

For too long, Mongolia has depended heavily on the resources sector, but banks such as TransBank are making an important push to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Even on a busy day, you can hear a pin drop at the Cambodia Securities Exchange, but with a handful of new share listings and more bond issues expected in 2020, investors can hope for a slightly livelier scene.

Central Asian expertise and North American money made for a powerful mix: together they have turned ABA Bank into a digital entrepreneur and propelled it to the top tier of Cambodia’s banking industry.

New banking rules have blown the competition wide open in South Korea, allowing banks to piggy-back off each other’s client relationships by offering a better mobile app.

South Korea’s banks are looking overseas for opportunities and faster profit growth now that their domestic market no longer offers the revenues and excitement it once did.

This year’s winners of the Asiamoney Brokers Poll had to navigate myriad challenges, from trade tensions between the US and China to uncertainty around global growth. They managed to find exciting investment opportunities by quickly adapting to the changing market conditions – something they will need to do in 2020 as well.

When a bank performs well during a strong year for equity markets, it’s easy to say it is just going with the flow, but when a firm gives clients the best advice during turbulent times, it proves its worth.