Country Awards for Excellence 2015: Asia

Regional awards Press release View full 2015 results

Australia Bangladesh Cambodia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia Mongolia myanmar-flag-NEW Myanmar Nepal-new-flag Nepal New Zealand pakistan.gif Pakistan Philippines Philippines singapore.gif Singapore sri-lanka.gif Sri Lanka taiwan.gif Taiwan thailand.gif Thailand vietnam.gif Vietnam

Australia Best bank: Suncorp Best investment bank: Goldman Sachs Best equity house: Goldman Sachs Best M&A house: Goldman Sachs Best debt house: National Australia House

Patrick Snowball, group chief executive, has led an excellent turnaround of Suncorp

Suncorp? The best bank in Australia? The dissenting voices can be heard from here, but once in a while it is necessary to look outside the big four and to remind the heavyweights just how smoothly a business can be run. Three of the big four – particularly the standout performer financially, Commonwealth Bank – are facing conduct issues in Australia, while the fourth, Westpac, underwhelmed with its most recent result.

So it is worth taking a trip to the second tier, and to Brisbane, to recognise an excellent turnaround story that is delivering results. Suncorp is an allfinanz model, combining banking and insurance, and marshalled by British former tank commander Patrick Snowball, with John Nesbitt as CEO of the banking part and Steve Johnston as its capable CFO. Together they have set out with a simple promise to shareholders: a low-risk financial services group that delivers both high yield and above system growth.

That may sound a boring model but it’s the right one for this environment, and it has taken some doing. In recent years the group has streamlined, centralised and decommissioned, running off non-core banking assets and resetting its life insurance balance sheet. It now has one of the strongest balance sheets in Australia and has returned A$1.3 billion ($1 billion) to shareholders in capital management initiatives, over and above the much-loved divided payout ratio target of 60% to 80%.

Goldman Sachs outgunned rivals UBS and everyone else in Australian investment banking this year, winning the overall prize for its excellence in equity capital markets and M&A.

It was a big year for mergers, acquisitions, and defences against them in Australia, and Goldman was busy in every permutation. On the buy side, it represented Transurban on its $6.2 billion acquisition of Queensland Motorways; on the sell side, BG Group on a $5 billion pipeline sale to OCLNG, as well as other landmark mandates for Wesfarmers, Macquarie Generation, UGL, Orica and QBE. As a defence adviser, it represented Envestra through competitive bidding that culminated with a $4.2 billion takeover by Hong Kong’s CKI. As our review period came to a close it was advising on Australia’s largest-ever demerger, of BHP into South 32.

Goldman Sachs was on the country’s landmark equity deals: IPOs like Medibank – at A$5.7 billion, the largest in Australia in our review period – Healthscope and Genworth; block trades such as Caltex’s A$4.725 billion, the largest sole bookrunner deal in Australia to date; rights issues including the A$2.3 billion offer from Transurban; and other key deals for QBE, Woodside, Bank of Queensland, Veda and more.

While not the debt leader, it still handled a range of important transactions, particularly the A$3 billion tier-1 issue for CBA, the largest-ever hybrid capital notes issue from Australia.

When the league tables for Australian debt capital market issuance are run and one of the big four domestic names comes top, it is natural to think that they must all be self-led deals.

But for National Australia Bank, the bank in question, there are two ripostes. One, it barely drops down the ranking when self-led deals are excluded – NAB still did more deals than anyone else; and two, some of those self-led deals took some doing, notably the €750 million inaugural Basel III-compliant tier-2 issue into Europe.

NAB’s debt capital markets team, marshalled for more than a decade now by Steve Lambert, excels across the board. It is impressive whether you care about league tables or innovation. It is top in all internationally marketed deals from Australia; among the leaders in domestic issuance; in the top five in non-Australian dollar deals; and present if not dominant in kangaroo bonds. But, far from the league tables, it’s just as important to see it on NextDC, a high-yield bond giving a glimmer of hope for this long-demanded but rarely seen sector.

Bangladesh Best bank: City Bank

City Bank wins the award for best lender in Bangladesh for a second straight year. Again, it is the standout performer in its field. Profit after tax jumped 143% in 2014, with return on assets up 110%, and return on equity rising 45%. The Dhaka-based bank’s market capitalization jumped 30% in the 12 months to December 2014, thanks in large part to its healthy mix of clients and services.

As of the end of last year, City Bank was generating 27% of its revenues from corporate banking, 30% from treasury-related services, and 17% from retail lending. A smaller slice of its income was sourced from Islamic banking and wealth management services, while its cards business is also growing apace. In 2014, City Bank issued its 200,000th American Express card, making it the largest card issuer in the country, with a 27% market share.

Its capital adequacy ratio rose to 15.42%, from 11.65% the previous year, bolstered by a successful subordinated debt issuance worth Tk3 billion ($38.6 million), further strengthening the lender’s capital base, in line with Basel II guidelines. Total deposits grew by more than 10%, to Tk119 billion, with revenues rising 18.5%, boosted by rising income from letters of credit, service charges and foreign remittances.

City Bank also expanded its innovative internet-based Citytouch platform last year, adding an interbank credit card bill payment feature. It also participated in one of the biggest project financing deals of the year, arranging a syndicated term loan of $50.2 million to Regent Energy and Power to help finance the construction of a new gas-fired power plant in central Bangladesh.

These should be good times to be banking the south Asian state. Bangladesh’s economy is tipped by the World Bank to expand by 5.6% in the fiscal year to end-June 2015, and by 6.3% in the following 12 months. Yet not everyone is profiting. At one of City Bank’s closest rivals, Eastern Bank net interest fell 18% in 2014 with its return on assets down 24%.

Cambodia Best bank: ABA Bank

Cambodia is a hard place to do business. An economy torn apart in the 1970s has yet to fully reform. Yet one of the fastest-growing sectors is financial services. More than three dozen banks have sprung up in the last few decades, mostly servicing a small army of small and micro-sized businesses.

Yet again, the clear winner in this field is ABA Bank. In July 2014, National Bank of Canada underlined the country’s – and the lender’s – potential, buying 30% of ABA Bank, before increasing its stake in January 2015 to 42%. At the end of last year, the Phnom Penh-based lender boasted assets of around $500 million. It posted earnings of $7.5 million in 2014, a figure it’s on track to beat this year; it also plans to increase its roster of domestic branches to 35 in 2015, up from 27 last year.

It will roll out an integrated multi-channel banking system in 2015, allowing customers to bank via the internet or their cellphone, while also offering a free and around-the-clock webchat service. Last year, it signed a partnership to issue co-branded China UnionPay cards, rapidly becoming the leader in the field.

China Best bank: ICBC Best investment bank: Citic Securities Best debt house: Citic Securities Best equity house: Morgan Stanley Best M&A house: UBS

The best bank in China award this year goes to ICBC, which continues to go from strength to strength both at home and abroad under chairman Jiang Jianqing. Net profit at the bank jumped 5.1% in 2014 to Rmb276 billion ($44.5 billion), highlighting a robust business across a number of areas, including investment banking. Highlights for ICBC included a push in credit card issuance and establishing itself as a stronger player in private banking.

The internationalization of the renminbi is proving to be a big opportunity for many banks in Asia Pacific, but ICBC has pushed hard to position itself as a key player in the business during the awards period, raising cross-border volumes last year and strengthening its renminbi clearing network.

Citic Securities continues to build itself a big reputation in the Asia-Pacific region and this year secures the best investment bank in China award following a good year on several fronts. A particularly strong showing in Chinese M&A contributed to the decision, but finishing top of the China DCM bookrunner table during the awards period with around $57 billion of deal value was particularly impressive, and it lands Citic Securities with the best debt house in China title.

Morgan Stanley wins the best equity house in China award to add to its best investment bank in Asia award. Big deals such as the Alibaba IPO and the Ping An follow-on helped swing the decision.

UBS receives best M&A house in China after advising on a number of key transactions, but a particularly strong showing on Chinese inbound deals help the Swiss bank stand out.

Hong Kong Best bank: HSBC Best investment bank: HSBC Best debt house: Standard Chartered

HSBC once again scoops the awards for best bank and best investment bank in Hong Kong. The bank boosted net income in Hong Kong by 6.9% to HK$104 billion ($13.4 billion) in 2014. The bank performed strongly across key business areas such as retail banking and wealth management, global asset management and private banking.  The cooperation in Apac between commercial banking, under Noel Quinn, and the global banking and markets business, under Gordon French, continues to go from strength to strength.

HSBC’s Hong Kong investment banking business also had a big year. The bank’s involvement with the landmark $41 billion Cheung Kong/Hutchison Whampoa reorganization drew admiration in the market and showcased HSBC’s capabilities in handling such a large and complicated deal. HSBC had close to $59 billion of M&A in Hong Kong during the awards period. The bank did well in the Hong Kong DCM scene once again and put in a strong showing in the ECM tables, particularly with rights issues.

A strong performance from Standard Chartered in DCM meanwhile made the firm deserving of the best debt house in Hong Kong award. Participation in a high volume of deals across the awards period, and specifically involvement in the inaugural landmark sukuk transaction for the Hong Kong regional government, showed StanChart can give HSBC a run for its money on the latter’s home turf.

India Best bank: Kotak Mahindra Bank Best investment bank: Citi Best M&A house: Citi Best equity house: Deutsche Bank Best debt house: Axis Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank has long been respected for the breadth of its financial services. Since being founded in 1985, it has built steadily but strategically, adding asset and wealth management services, investment banking and life insurance. In 2003, it secured a full banking license and began to compete with larger private-sector rivals such as HDFC and ICICI.

Yet over the last year, it has gone from rising star to power player. While progress at its chief rivals slowed (ICICI, a leading corporate lender, has been notably hampered by rising debts at Indian firms), Kotak Mahindra Bank surged ahead. Net profit jumped 25% in the full year to end-March 2015, to Rs18.66 billion ($290 million), with total income up more than 15%, to Rs117.5 billion.

Yet the real step change occurred in November 2014, when Kotak Mahindra bought Bengaluru-based ING Vysya Bank, the only foreign-controlled private lender in the country, for $2.4 billion in an all-stock deal. The deal transformed a lender with 641 branches in the west and north into a true national champion by adding ING Vysya’s 573 branches, mostly scattered across the south of the country, into its fold.

“Kotak Mahindra is a great bank,” says the head of Indian investment banking at a leading European lender. “They are doing a great all-round job and, with the addition of ING Vysya, it takes them to the next level. They are now credibly India’s best overall bank.”

Citi often garners awards for best investment bank in India, and this year is no exception. The US institution has an excellent record here: strong management, a deep bench of talent and a client list to envy. Dealogic figures show Citi pushing hard in both the equity and debt capital markets league tables, while topping the M&A rankings – ensuring that it also garners best mergers and acquisitions house in India this year. The US lender was involved in most of last year’s big takeover deals, advising Sun Pharmaceuticals on its $6.6 billion takeover of Ranbaxy, as well as Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits during its £1.8 billion ($2.8 billion) takeover by Diageo.

Deutsche Bank was far and away the leading equity house in India, leaving Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch trailing in its wake. It wasn’t a landmark year for domestic ECM, but the big deals usually involved the German lender, including the $3.7 billion January 2015 follow-on by Coal India, and a $500 million June 2014 qualified institutional placement by Yes Bank.

Axis Bank again wins the best debt house award, having underwritten more corporate debt issuance in India each of the last seven years. It also remains probably the country’s most innovative debt house, say bankers interviewed for these awards, though it was run closer than usual this year by the likes of ICICI and Standard Chartered. Come next year, Axis could have a real fight on its hands.

Indonesia Best bank: Bank Central Asia Best investment bank: Credit Suisse Best debt house: HSBC

Bank Central Asia retains the best bank in Indonesia award amid a generally challenging economic environment and a political transition that saw new president Joko Widodo ascend to power in the country on the back of promises of reform.

The difficulties and uncertainties facing banks in the country made a jump in net profit at BCA of 15.7% in 2014 to Rp16.5 trillion ($1.24 billion) all the more impressive. The bank posted a return on equity of 25.5%. In 2014, corporate lending was a main driver of growth in the loan portfolio of BCA, with the bank providing working-capital loans and financing to many medium-sized enterprises.

Credit Suisse keeps the best investment bank in Indonesia award after a good year across a number of business areas in a market that it is traditionally strong. It worked on 21 deals, with a total apportioned deal value of $4.2 billion during the awards period. The bank was perhaps strongest in ECM, where it acted as bookrunner on five deals.

Best debt house in Indonesia goes to HSBC, which put in a particularly good performance in international G3 bond deals and worked with clients such as the Republic of Indonesia and energy company Pertamina.

Japan Best bank: Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (MUFG) Best investment bank: Nomura Best M&A house: Morgan Stanley

Noboyuki Hirano

Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (MUFG), under president and CEO, Nobuyuki Hirano, scoops the best bank in Japan award this year. Parent company MUFG made ¥1.03 trillion ($833 million) in net income for the full year of 2014, up from ¥984 billion in the previous year, and achieved a return on equity of 8.74%.

Nomura takes the best investment bank in Japan award after finishing top of the rankings for Japan M&A during the awards period with 109 deals worth close to $40 billion and top of the Japan ECM bookrunner rankings with 95 deals worth close to $13 billion.

The best M&A house in Japan award goes to Morgan Stanley, whose joint venture with MUFG is bearing fruit for the US investment bank. A total of 47 completed Japanese deals during the award period make a strong case for Morgan Stanley to scoop the award. The bank was an important player, with big deals like Asahi Kasei/Polypore, in the boom in Japanese outbound M&A that is making the headlines.

Korea Best bank: Hana Bank Best investment bank: Korea Investment and Securities (KIS) Best M&A house: Credit Suisse

A good awards period for several Korean banks made it a strong field for the best bank in Korea award, but last year’s winner Hana Bank takes the award again in 2015. Net income jumped over 28% in 2014 to around W842 billion ($762 million). This was partly down to an increase in interest income, commission income and gains on disposition and valuation. Last year saw continued strong growth for Hana Bank in Indonesia, as well the launch of a new business entity in China.

The best investment bank in Korea award goes to Korea Investment and Securities (KIS), which was impressive in the Korea DCM bookrunner rankings across the awards period with 176 deals worth around $11 billion. It also did well in the ECM bookrunner rankings, working on 20 deals, including the $1.1 billion IPO of Samsung SDS.

Credit Suisse picks up the best M&A house in Korea award, following the successful completion of eight M&A transactions, two of them cross-border.

Malaysia Best bank: Public Bank Best investment bank: Maybank

Malaysian banking during the awards period was largely defined by the failed three-way mega merger that collapsed at the start of this year after months of wrangling over terms and conditions. CIMB Group, RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society (MBSB) dominated the headlines until the deal eventually came to nothing. Meanwhile, those banks not involved were watching with interest, and quietly forging forward with their own less troublesome strategies.

Best bank in Malaysia this year goes to Public Bank, where profits before tax rose 9.5% from RM5.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to RM5.8 billion between 2013 and 2014 under managing director and CEO Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek. Solid market share in financing for residential mortgages, commercial properties and passenger vehicles helped Public Bank’s business during the awards period. And Public Bank’s gross loans expanded by 10.8% to RM245.04 billion as at the end of 2014.

The best investment bank award in Malaysia this year goes to Maybank, which boosted its revenues in a period when others fell back. Particularly strong showings in ECM and DCM were backed up by a decent performance in M&A. Some standout deals for Maybank were the IPO of 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings, the third-largest IPO in Malaysia in 2014, as well as the largest retail sector IPO in Malaysia to date – and the world’s first rated perpetual sukuk for Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

Mongolia Best bank: Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia

Mongolia’s oldest bank is also its best. Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia (TDBM) showed its class last year: issuing US dollar-denominated debt, pushing aggressively into new services and producing record profits. The lender posted earnings of Tug94 billion ($50.5 million) in 2014, making up 29% of the entire banking sector’s profitability. Its market capitalization jumped to Tug1.34 trillion at the end of 2014, from Tug935 billion nine months previously, with total assets and tier-1 capital up 11% and 21% respectively over the same period.

TDBM is also a broad church, lending to foreign corporates and local micro firms, wealthy individuals and low-income retail customers. It handled more than 55% of all domestic trade finance-related transactions in 2014, is building a smart new headquarters in the capital, Ulaan Baatar, and plans to unveil bancassurance services in 2015. It is also a regular (by local standards) issuer of debt securities. Last year, it printed an Rmb700 million ($113 million) senior unsecured note, its first issuance in China’s currency. In May 2015, it sold a $500 million five-year note, the country’s first dollar offering in three years, securing orders of $2.3 billion, half of which sourced from US investors.

TDBM – described as “by far the country’s best commercial and corporate bank” by a veteran foreign banker based in the country – also had a helping hand. It is up against rival lenders either pushing for greater relevance, or struggling with their footing. Golomt Bank is still regaining its strength after a series of scandals. Growth in earnings, assets and total deposits at Khan Bank slowed sharply in 2014, while XacBank, despite boasting a good leasing division, still lacks national scale. TDBM offers both scale and heft, as well as a more ambitious and aggressive approach to project finance. “They are aggressive and bold, happy to finance early-stage projects and corporates,” says one local banker. 

Myanmar Best bank: Kanbawza Bank

Kanbawza Bank (KBZ) is the largest and most powerful lender in Myanmar, the “best of a clutch of banks trying to head the pack in the long term”, in the words of a foreign expert based in the capital, Yangon. With nine foreign banks (all Asian or Australasian) awarded local operating licences last year, KBZ has its work cut out. For now, it remains the leader of the pack, boasting scale – nearly 13,000 employees and 318 branches – and a solid corporate banking and cash management package.

Total assets rose 43% to K6 trillion ($5.4 billion) in the year to the end of March 2015, with net profit up 13% to K70 billion, and net interest income jumping 47% to K165 billion.

Of its rivals, surely Yoma Bank is the one to watch. While Cooperative Bank had a relatively poor year, with growth in profits and net income down by around half, Yoma marched on, securing a $5 million convertible loan from the International Finance Corporation and, in the year to March 2015, doubling revenues and boosting return on assets by 150%. Yoma remains small compared to KBZ – it has just 55 branches and 2,000 staff – but experts see it as a worthy long-term rival: one that is, says the foreign expert, regarded as a “clean institution, with strong management and the wherewithal to become a real business bank.”

Nepal Best bank: Standard Chartered Nepal

Nepal’s economy is tiny and fragile, shattered easily by natural disasters and dominated by inward remittances, soft commodity exports and tourism. Its banking sector remains equally brittle and pocket-sized, yet one name in financial services stands out. Standard Chartered Nepal has made a name for itself in a country where others dare not – or deign not – tread.

It is the largest foreign exchange bank in the country, with a 13.3% market share, and more than a 60% share of the multilateral and NGO lending business. It was an early pioneer in credit cards – more than one in five Nepalese cards are StanChart-branded – and is a big player in the thriving SME sector. It is also the country’s leading retail lender, serving 100,000 customers at 15 branches scattered across 10 often tiny towns and cities.

Standard Chartered is also investing for the long term. Last year it opened a new banking centre catering to high net-worth customers that features its own art gallery. It also launched an award-winning internet banking service and a dedicated Facebook page that, as of mid June, boasted nearly 5,300 ‘likes’. The bank pledges to be ready for customers ‘anytime, anywhere’.

New Zealand Best bank: ANZ Best investment bank: Deutsche Craigs

It’s a sign of ANZ’s growing strength in New Zealand that the comparatively small country’s contribution to the bank’s overall bottom line is increasing, despite the fact that ANZ has pushed into high-growth Asian emerging markets. New Zealand accounted for 15% of group net profit in the first half of 2015, compared with 11% three years earlier.

ANZ’s New Zealand numbers are all going in the right direction: net interest margin, commercial and retail loan books, productivity and efficiency. Market share is growing in home loans and credit cards, while revenue per branch is up. If you compare this year’s first half with the same period of 2013, earnings are up a compound annual 4.4% while expenses are down by 1.7%. That’s a business in fine shape, with more to come.

While Deutsche Craigs/Deutsche Bank is not the outright leader in any individual area of investment banking, it is a top-five house in each and demonstrates a strength and depth that is not matched elsewhere.

It was a joint lead manager for three IPOs in 2014, including the ground-breaking Orion Health listing; led eight corporate bond and two government bond issues in our review period, among them Kiwibank’s innovative tier 2 deal; and was sole financial adviser to Transpacific Industries on the divestment of its New Zealand business to Beijing Capital Group, one of New Zealand’s biggest deals for five years.

Pakistan Best bank: HBL Pakistan Best investment bank: Allied Bank

HBL Pakistan, formerly known as Habib Bank, has long been a leading player on the domestic banking scene, and this is the second year in a row that it picks up the award for best bank in Pakistan. Profits at the Karachi-based lender rose 38% in 2014, to PRs31.8 billion ($312 million), with earnings per share up 39% and net interest income rising 25%, to PRs69.1 billion.

HBL boasts both the largest domestic branch network of any lender (with 1,600 branches and 1,700 ATMs) and a notable international presence, with offices in 29 countries, from China to Iran, and the United States to the Kyrgyz Republic.

“HBL is the best bank in Pakistan hands down,” says a Karachi-based investment banker. “They have outperformed peer banks in quantitative growth, profitability, IT spend, and growth in its deposits business.” It is also the only domestic lender involved in financing the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that stretches north from the Indian Ocean to the Chinese mainland.

HBL Pakistan also boasts a handy broking franchise, but the award of best investment bank in Pakistan this year goes to Allied Bank. The Lahore-based investment house topped the M&A league tables, while performing credibly in both ECM and DCM. A potential long-term rival also emerged: Elixir Securities, the country’s strongest equity capital markets house over the past 12 months, is described by one local investment banker as “a solid, top-tier brokerage house with grand ambitions”.

Philippines Best bank: BDO Unibank Best investment bank: First Metro (Metrobank)

Banking in the Philippines was on a conservative setting during the awards period, with many players looking to shore up their balance sheets for the future instead of making bold strategic moves. BDO Unibank once again takes the best bank in the Philippines award after a good year of growth and development.

While net income was only up 1% year-on-year in 2014, it jumped an impressive 12% year on year in the first quarter of 2015. Growth was encapsulated by the opening of 61 new branches in 2014. BDO completed several recent acquisitions, including in December 2014, announcing the acquisition of One Network Bank Inc. (ONBI), one of the country’s largest rural banks with 105 branches and micro-banking offices located mainly in Mindanao and Panay Island.

Best investment bank in the Philippines goes to First Metro, the investment-banking arm of Metrobank. Despite there being a number of strong international contenders for the awards, First Metro demonstrated plenty of ambition to capture business with a good showing in ECM and DCM. The bank finished second in the ECM bookrunner rankings for the awards period with $593 million of deal value. In 2014, it posted net income of P2.34 billion ($51.9 million).

Singapore Best bank: OCBC Best investment bank: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Best debt house: DBS

Impressive figures at OCBC, led by CEO Samuel Tsien

The rise of Singapore’s banks is one of the stories of the region these days. It is home to several firms that are pushing outwards into Asia Pacific as many of the larger international banks pull back and restructure. OCBC receives this year’s best bank in Singapore award due to its combination of impressive figures and bold strategic moves.

Under the stewardship of CEO, Samuel Tsien, and chairman, Ooi Sang Kuang, OCBC boosted profit before tax up to $4.7 billion in 2014, from $3.5 billion the year before. Return on ordinary shareholders’ equity jumped from 11.6% to 14.8% in the same period.

OCBC’s purchase of Hong Kong’s Wing Hang bank for close to $5 billion was a huge statement of intent from the Singaporean bank and one that confirmed its ambitions in the eyes the market. The acquisition widened the bank’s footprint in Greater China and better positions it to capture the opportunities flowing between north and southeast Asia.

The best investment bank in Singapore award goes to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which had a strong year across M&A, ECM and DCM. One of BAML’s standout deals was as an adviser to OCBC on its purchase of Wing Hang, which was the largest Singaporean cross-border banking M&A transaction since 2001.

Despite missing out on the best bank award, DBS still had an admirable year and picks up the best debt house in Singapore award. The bank finished top of the DCM bookrunner rankings by some way with 65 deals during the awards period, according to Dealogic.

Sri Lanka Best bank: Commercial Bank of Ceylon Best investment bank: NDB

Sri Lanka’s best bank has changed much over the past five years. Commercial Bank of Ceylon was once recognised for primarily being a commercial bank, lending to large corporates and SMEs. And so it still is. But a strategic shift in thinking led to a greater focus on retail lending, with CBC investing heavily in internet banking, customer services and information technology.

Of its leading rivals, it’s hard to see far beyond HNB and Sampath Bank, both credible peers. But both have struggled to grow at the same pace in recent years, and remain smaller in scale. At the end of 2014, CBC had 239 branches around the island and a market capitalization (at SLR138.6 billion, or $1.03 billion) double that of HNB, and more than triple that of Sampath. It also boasted total assets of SLR796 billion, up 31% year on year, with tier-one capital rising 14%, and net operating income up 10%, to SLR34.1 billion.

NDB is the best investment bank, securing bragging rights for the fourth year in a row. It is the country’s largest full-service investment bank, though it is being pushed hard by a rising brokerage star, in the shape of Colombo-based Capital Alliance. Over the past year, it has raised $140 million for clients through equity sales and debt prints, $42.6 million from the sale of commercial paper and securitizations, and $56.98 million via debentures, despite challenging capital market conditions.

Taiwan Best bank: CTBC Bank Best investment bank: KGI Securities

It has been quite a ride for CTBC Bank. The Taipei-based institution is in a hurry. Having gobbled up Japanese lender Tokyo Star Bank for $520 million, its parent and the country’s leading credit card issuer, CTBC Financial Holding, announced in May 2015 that it would buy 100% of Hong Kong-based China Citic Bank International for NT$11.67 billion ($377 million). One Taiwanese financial expert hailed the twin deals, pointing to CTBC Bank’s “undisputed position as a leader in leverage finance, and its preeminent position in services ranging from consumer to corporate banking. The landmark acquisition of Tokyo Star Bank indicates that the next frontier will be the wider Asian market.”

CTBC Bank has the financial chops to back up its newly aggressive stance. With 100 overseas offices even before its Japanese and Hong Kong forays, it boasts one of the country’s largest international banking networks. It also has heft. Total revenues jumped 44% in 2014, to NT$87.7 billion, with net income up 84% to NT$34.3 billion. Tier-1 capital rose by more than 50%, to NT$209 billion, with earnings per share increasing 73% last year.

KGI Securities, a division of China Development Financial, bestrides the investment-banking scene. Last year, it topped both the equity and debt capital markets league tables, according to Dealogic. That helped it pull off a rare double-double, having topped both tables the previous year. It was sole books on both the $328 million follow-on equity sale by Eva Airways in December 2014, and LCD panel maker Innolux’s $355 million follow-on offering in July 2014, as well as busying itself on a host of mid-sized M&A deals.

Thailand Best bank: Bangkok Bank Best equity house: Bualuang Securities PCL Best M&A bank: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Best debt house: HSBC

Bangkok Bank has had yet another stellar year. Despite a wilting economy, the Thai lender posted a fifth consecutive year of record earnings, recording pre-tax profits of Bt45.1 billion ($1.34 billion) in 2014. Net interest income rose 5.6% year-on-year, with market capitalization up 9% to Bt370 billion, and total assets growing 6.3%, to Bt2.6 trillion. At the end of 2014, the lender boasted a 29% share of all business lending, and 19% of the domestic deposits business. The bank also expanded its overseas footprint in the last 12 months, opening two new branches in China, in Chongqing and Shanghai, and one in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, while becoming the only Thai bank to secure a preliminary license to roll out banking operations in Myanmar.

Bangkok Bank, through subsidiary Bualuang Securities PCL, secured the title of best equity house in Thailand. It topped the equity capital markets league tables, having placed second the previous year. It was one of two lead bookrunners on the $1.7 billion February 2015 initial public offering of Jasmine Broadband Internet Growth Infrastructure Fund, and underwrite the $447 million October 2014 IPO of Bangkok Airways.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch secures the title of best M&A house in Thailand, ranking number one in completed deals. Over the past year, the US institution was a lead adviser on most of the big acquisition deals to pepper the market, notably the $615 million March 2015 acquisition of 25% of Siam City Cement by Singapore-based Jardine Cycle & Carriage, the largest cross-border M&A deal into the country since June 2014; and the $1 billion purchase of US-based Hess Corporation’s local operations by national oil and gas exploration firm PTTEP.

HSBC wins the title of best debt house. It raised more foreign-currency debt for Thai issuers than any other bank and helped Krung Thai Bank to issue the country’s first ever dollar-denominated, Basel III-compliant tier-2 subordinated notes.

Vietnam Best bank: Vietcombank Best investment bank: Viet Capital Securities

Vietcombank had quite a year, usurping PetroVietNam Gas as the country’s largest listed firm by market capitalization, and seeing pre-tax profits rise to a record D5.9 trillion ($271 million). The lender, 15% owned by Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank, also saw total assets jump 23% in 2014 to D577 trillion and total deposits rise 27% to D422 trillion, with the bank’s share of the total lending market above 8% for the first time.

Viet Capital Securities wins the title of best investment bank in a country with a small but vibrant capital markets base. The brokerage was a lead bookrunner on last year’s initial public offering by Mobile World, and secured a prized mandate to underwrite the $300 million initial stock sale of VietJet Air, alongside BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.