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Best Bank: BPI |
Analysts covering the Philippines were almost unanimous this year in praising BPI for the way in which it has maintained a strong and liquid balance sheet throughout the crisis: at the end of March 2009 the firm claimed the highest capital adequacy ratio among its peers at 14.9% and had grown deposits by 8.8%. BPI claims the award for best bank in the Philippines from rival BDO, now the larger firm thanks to its merger with Equitable PCI bank in 2007. While BDO retained a strong capital position throughout 2008 as integration of the two units developed, its return on assets, return on equity and capital adequacy ratio were all below those of BPI.