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

SINGAPORE – Customers in Asia Pacific have chosen their favorite banks as lenders scramble to meet consumer expectations in a rapidly changing environment.

After a prolonged period of high inflation – and interest rates – the region’s banks are starting to follow the global trend of lower interest rates. They are also facing technological innovation that has the potential to transform the industry, as generative AI gains popularity around the world.

Against this background, market research agency Statistical surveyed 22,000 people with a checking or savings account in 14 major economies. The report below – the first of its kind – aims 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 them all based on five criteria: trust, terms and conditions (such as fees and rates), customer service, digital services and quality of financial advice.

Look below to see which banks are listed in your location.

Dutch bank ING came out on top in Australia, against a sea of ​​local competition. Like most economies, Australians valued trust most and were less concerned about the financial advice they received.

China Merchants Banklisted in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, it took first place in mainland China, beating both domestic and foreign players.

Chinese Construction Bankone of China’s four major state-owned banking institutions, was ranked as the largest lender above foreign players such as HSBC.

ICICI bank, a leading private sector bank in India, was the top choice in the country despite strong competition from mainly local lenders.

Bank Central Asia, Indonesia’s largest private commercial bank, beat the competition to take the top spot. Customers valued both trust and digital services in their rankings. a

SBI Sumishin Net Bank, a Japan-based company managed to beat other domestic lenders and come out on top. Japanese citizens valued trust as their most important criterion.

Maybank, Malaysia’s largest bank by market value was the best choice for customers despite competition from domestic and foreign lenders.

Bank of New Zealand, one of the big four banks in New Zealand, took first place among consumers who also valued trust as the most important criterion. In some economies, such as New Zealand, there are fewer competitors in the market and the size of the banking market varies, resulting in only five banks on the list.

Philippine National Bank, one of the country’s largest banks, achieved the top rank despite competition from largely local lenders.

Singapore’s largest bank DBS defeated its domestic colleagues to take first place in the city-state. Given the small market size, there are fewer banking competitors, resulting in only five on the list.

Tossbank, an internet-only bank based in South Korea managed to fend off domestic competition and become the country’s largest lender.

That of Taiwan E.Sun Financial, headquartered in Taipei, achieved the highest ranking among clients who focus on trust and worry less about financial advice.

Kasikornbank, one of Thailand’s largest lenders, came out on top in the country.

Vietnamese private lender Techcombank is the top choice of customers in the country, where trust was again the most important factor for survey respondents.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect how the survey was conducted.