The best banks in the Asia-Pacific region, according to customers

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.

Australia

1 ING Group
2 Bank Australia
3 Westpac
4 Ubank
5 NAB
6 Alex Bank
7 Newcastle Permanent Building Society
8 People’s Choice Credit Union
9 Beyond Bank
10 ME
11 Suncorp
12 MyState Bank
13 Australian Military Bank
14 Community First bank
15 Heritage 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.

China

1 China Merchants Bank
2 Bank of China
3 ICBC
4 HSBC
5 China Construction Bank
6 Postal Savings Bank of China
7 China Minsheng Bank
8 Standard Chartered
9 SPD Bank
10 Bank of Communications
11 Agricultural Bank of China
12 UBS (China) Limited
13 JPMorgan Chase Bank (China)
14 China Everbright Bank
15 Ping An Bank
16 DBS Bank (China)
17 Bank of Suzhou
18 Bank of Jiangsu
19 Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank
20 Hang Seng Bank
21 Hubei Rural Credit Union Association
22 Huishang Bank
23 East West Bank
24 WeBank
25 Hankou 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 Kong

1 China Construction Bank
2 China Minsheng Bank
3 ICBC
4 SPD Bank
5 China Everbright Bank
6 Bank of Communication
7 HSBC
8 CGB
9 Livi Bank
10 China 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.

India

1 ICICI Bank
2 HDFC Bank
3 Axis Bank
4 Kotak Mahindra Bank
5 State Bank of India
6 HSBC
7 Paytm Payments Bank
8 Standard Chartered
9 Federal Bank
10 IndusInd Bank
11 Union Bank of India
12 Karnataka Bank
13 Punjab National Bank
14 Bank of Baroda
15 Bandhan Bank
16 Fincare
17 DSCB
18 Kerala Gramin Bank
19 Fino Payments Bank
20 APCOB
21 Punjab Gramin Bank
22 IDFC First Bank
23 UCO Bank
24 RBLBank
25 New 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

1 Bank Central Asia
2 Bank Mandiri
3 Sea Bank
4 Jago
5 Raya Bank
6 Bank Negara Indonesia
7 United Overseas Bank
8 PermataBank
9 Cimb Niaga
10 DBS
11 Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI)
12 BNC
13 Bank Muamalat
14 Jenius
15 BCA Syariah
16 HSBC
17 BDP DIY
18 Bank Aceh
19 Standard Chartered
20 Bank 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.  

Japan

1 SBI Sumishin Net Bank
2 Rakuten Bank
3 Sony Bank
4 Aeon Bank
5 au Jibun Bank
6 PayPay Bank
7 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
8 Senshu Ikeda Bank
9 The Juhachi-Shinwa Bank
10 Iyo Bank
11 Ehime Bank
12 Japan Post Bank
13 Ja Bank
14 Kyushu Labor Bank
15 Hamamatsu Iwata Shinkin Bank
16 Keiyo Bank
17 Bank of Fukuoka
18 Shinsei Bank
19 The Nishi-Nippon City Bank
20 Aozora Bank
21 Saitama Resona Bank
22 MUFG Bank
23 Lawson Bank
24 Gunma Bank
25 Hachijuni Bank
26 Rokin Bank
27 Kiyo Bank
28 Tokyo Star Bank
29 The Bank of Okinawa
30 Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank
31 Abukuma Shinkin Bank
32 North Pacific Bank
33 Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank
34 Tottori Bank
35 Bank 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.

Malaysia

1 Maybank
2 Standard Chartered
3 Maybank Islamic
4 HSBC
5 RHB Islamic Bank
6 Bank Islam
7 AmBank Group Islamic
8 OCBC Bank
9 United Overseas Bank
10 Hong 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 Zealand

1 Bank of New Zealand
2 ASB Bank
3 The Co-operative Bank
4 SBS Bank
5 Kiwibank

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.

Philippines

1 Philippine National Bank
2 Union Bank (Philippines)
3 Maya Bank
4 OFBank
5 UnionDigital Bank
6 UNO Digital Bank
7 GoTyme Bank
8 LANDBANK
9 Metrobank
10 BPI

Source: CNBC & Statista

Philippine National Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, earned the top rank against competition from largely local lenders.

Singapore

1 DBS
2 HSBC
3 Citibank
4 Bank of Singapore
5 United 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 Korea

1 TossBank
2 KakaoBank
3 Kwangju Bank
4 K bank
5 Jeonbuk Bank
6 KB Kookmin Bank
7 Industrial Bank of Korea
8 DGB Daegu Bank
9 BNK Busan Bank
10 KEB 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.

Taiwan

1 E.Sun Financial
2 Bank SinoPac
3 Standard Chartered
4 CTBC Bank
5 Taipei Fubon Bank
6 Taishin International Bank
7 HSBC
8 Rakuten International Commercial Bank
9 Cathay Financial
10 Mega 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.

Thailand

1 Kasikornbank
2 Siam Commercial Bank
3 Bank of Ayudhya
4 United Overseas Bank
5 Krung 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.

Vietnam

1 Techcombank
2 Vietcombank
3 BIDV
4 Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank
5 ACB
6 Vietinbank
7 VIB
8 TPBank
9 Sacombank
10 VP Bank
11 BVBank
12 Shinhan Bank
13 SeA Bank
14 HDBank
15 Ocean 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.

Read the full article here