Asian Banker honors best retail banks of 2002

“Chinatrust Commercial Bank emerged as the best retail bank in Taiwan, with the bank maintaining profitability amidst a tough economic environment, characterized by price wars and falling margins,” The Asian Banker said in a press release.

According to Daniel Emmanuel, managing director of The Asian Banker, “Chinatrust Commercial Bank stands out in terms of its track record, particularly in the consumer and credit card arena.”

In Taiwan, Chinatrust Commercial Bank has issued over 4 million credit cards, about 17 percent of the market share. This indicates heavy usage, which is critical to profitability.

“Its NPL (nonperforming loan) ratio is significantly below the average at around 3 percent and it has reduced its cost-to-income ratio by 5 percent to 45 percent since 2000, despite the difficult economic conditions,” said The Asian Banker.

A recent survey identified Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore as the best retail bank in Asia. The survey was based on criteria including sales capability, good business processes, profitability and long term sustainability.

Supported by Asian Banker Research, a survey of 112 senior practitioners in the retail financial services industry listed the short-term challenges that retail banks in the region face.

“Across the region the most important short-term issue faced by retail banks today is managing investment in technology,” according to the survey.

“In a challenging economic environment that saw reduced profit margins and consolidation in the domestic banking industry, Standard Chartered grew its customer base by 9.5 percent and claimed it achieved double digit growth in revenue,” according to The Asian Banker.

Emmanuel also mentioned, “We estimate that less than 10 percent of the approximately 300 banks with a retail focus in Asia demonstrates the processes that would make them attractive long-term franchises that investors would be interested in.”

Other best retail bank winners included ICBC in mainland China; HSBC in Hong Kong and ICICI Bank in India. The winners of The Asian Banker retail product excellence awards were Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong, Citibank in India and DBS Bank in Singapore. The Asian Banker retail service excellence award went to RHB Bank in Malaysia, while Standard Chartered in Indonesia took home the retail process excellence honor.

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