Features

For decades, transaction banking was a profitable but largely ignored corner of the banking industry. Then Covid happened. Today, bank chiefs see it as critical to everything they do. Given the challenges ahead – collaborating with fintechs and embedding ESG principles in global supply chains – the revolution under way in this business is unstoppable.

The abrupt departure of the US NGO fund from military-run Myanmar leaves a vacuum for microfinanciers.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s latest policy splash is the $8.8 billion Maharlika Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth vehicle that aims to boost growth and inward investment. But it has drawn criticism, even within Marcos’s family. Many highlight the cautionary tale of Malaysia’s 1MDB, and fret about the capacity for corruption and poor governance.

Outbound Chinese M&A deal-flow has slowed to a crawl even as inbound activity remains steady. So focus in the region is moving elsewhere: to rising India, steady-and-lucrative Australia and even Japan, where once-bloated conglomerates are streamlining portfolios under intense pressure from activist shareholders.

Singapore’s new digital bank Trust has put rivals on notice and pushed some to focus more intensely on innovation. But its long-term success will depend on many things – not least CEO Dwaipayan Sadhu’s ability to retain clients.

The Japanese bank is now well placed to take advantage of growing confidence in the country.

As relative newcomers to India’s financial markets, small finance banks have made considerable progress in attracting customers with little or no credit history. Ittira Davis, managing director and chief executive of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, tells Asiamoney about initiatives to reach the country’s vast underbanked population.

The government’s ambitious plan for full digitalization could reduce crime and increase tax revenue. It could also lead to greater innovation in the banking sector.

Greg Krasnov, a banker from war-torn Ukraine, is shaking up finance in the Philippines with the assistance of his digital neobank.