BNP Paribas’ Asia wealth management division was once a digital laggard, but thanks to its ‘design factory’ in Singapore, led by Vivien Jong, it is now a global leader, inventing ways to make the bank work better and more profitably.

Its exchange was once buzzing with new listings – these days, the only IPOs that keep equity capital market bankers busy come from Reits. What can the city-state do to convince its best young firms to choose home over Hong Kong or New York?

Malaysia’s sixth-biggest bank was once eager to serve the country’s now disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak and his fugitive associate Jho Low. And then it all went wrong, as court cases in Kuala Lumpur reveal.

Plans to merge TMB Bank with Thanachart Bank have raised hopes of further consolidation, but it will take a lot more than that to shake up the sector and create champion banks to compete with regional leaders.

Pakorn Peetathawatchai, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, is determined to harness digital platforms and launch new products to create a model exchange for the region.

Bank of the Philippine Islands is already one of the top corporate and investment banks in the archipelago; now CEO Cezar Consing wants the bank to focus on financial inclusion by expanding its microfinance, SME and consumer lending businesses.

In its 20-year history, Bank Mandiri has transformed itself into Indonesia's best government-owned lender ‒ the domestic trailblazer is one to watch in the region.

Slow and steady is winning the race for Malaysia's Maybank ‒ one to watch in regional banking.

Founded before the state of Singapore itself, UOB is looking to the future and enthusiastically embracing technology ‒ all eyes are on its shift to digital and how this will shape the financial system in the region.