- The Asian Banking & Finance Awards 2025 in Singapore (3 July) recognized leading banks across Asia in retail, wholesale, and corporate & investment banking for innovations with measurable impact.
- Corporate & investment honors highlighted Bank Muscat, CTBC Bank, Habib Bank, Jefferies, and others for standout deals and growing strength in green and ESG-linked finance.
- Retail and wholesale winners underscored accelerating digital transformation, stronger SME and inclusion initiatives, and rapid expansion of sustainability, social, and blue-bond products.
- The results signal intensifying regional competition where technology, risk/compliance capabilities, and credible ESG execution are becoming baseline differentiators.
Read More
The Asian Banking & Finance Awards 2025 (Singapore, 3 July) spotlighted financial institutions across Asia that delivered meaningful innovation, strong execution, and strategic resilience in retail, wholesale, corporate and investment banking. Judges underscored that winners pushed beyond surface innovation to solutions indicating how services will be delivered in the future, not just one-off marketing or branch redesigns.
Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) insights: Bank Muscat in Oman emerged as a standout, being named Corporate & Investment Bank of the Year and securing landmark deals such as Oman IPO Deal of the Year and Project Infrastructure Finance Deal. CTBC Bank in Taiwan claimed top CIB bank status and was also recognized for green deals. Pakistan’s Habib Bank achieved strong performance, signaling institutional maturation. In India, Jefferies won the CIB Bank of Year, marking the competitive pressure on local and global banks alike.
Retail and Wholesale Banking themes: Digital transformation is prominent: UOB led in numerous Singapore categories (Retail Bank, Innovation, Branch Innovation, etc.), signaling the bar is increasingly set by digital-first capability. SME financing and inclusion appeared frequently—SME programs won by banks in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, etc. Green, sustainability-linked, blue and social bond issuances—by BPI Capital, Fiera Capital, etc.—are now front-and-center in product offerings.
Strategic implications:
– ESG-linked finance is now a baseline expectation, not a boutique offering. Banks that can deliver green, blue, sustainability and social bonds will likely improve funding access and reputation.
– The competition is regional: institutions from Oman, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines are all rising, challenging traditional powerhouses.
– Tech, operations, risk, and compliance capabilities are increasingly differentiators: winners recognized for analytic initiatives, internal risk and compliance innovation.
– Investor and regulatory pressure for transparency, ESG compliance, inclusion and measurable impact will amplify, especially in emerging and frontier markets.
Open questions:
– To what degree win recognition translates into market share or financial return: are awardees capturing client flows or investments following awards?
– How will regulatory regimes, especially around ESG and climate risk, keep pace to enforce standards vs. greenwashing
– Can banks in less mature markets scale operations and talent to match the winners whilst maintaining risk discipline?
– What will be the impact of macroeconomic headwinds—interest rates, inflation, supply chain disruptions—on sustaining these innovations long-term?
Supporting Notes
- Awards ceremony held 3 July 2025 in Singapore, covering Retail Banking Awards, Wholesale Banking Awards, and Corporate & Investment Banking Awards.
- Judging panel included Sumit Narayanan (EY), Antony Ruddenklau (KPMG), Mansi Singh (PwC), Alessandro Magarini Montenero (Bain), Tushar Agarwal (BCG), Silvio Struebi (Simon-Kucher).
- Bank Muscat SAOG: won Corporate & Investment Bank of the Year (Oman), IPO Deal of the Year, Project Infrastructure Finance Deal.
- CTBC Bank (Taiwan): Corporate & Investment Bank of the Year, Corporate Client Initiative of the Year, Green Deal of the Year.
- Jefferies: Corporate & Investment Bank of the Year – India.
- Maybank Investment Bank (Malaysia): multiple deal recognition including Equity Deal, Sustainability Bond, Sustainability-linked Bond.
- UOB: Branch Innovation, Digital Transformation, multiple category wins in Singapore retail banking.
- EastWest (Philippines): Mid-Sized Retail Bank of the Year; Analytics Initiative; blue bond deal; cash-management platform for SMEs named Wholesale winner.
- The primary judge’s quote: “I prioritised forward-looking innovations that signal a shift in how financial services will be delivered in the future, and not just short-term campaigns or new branch models.”