In Focus
Malaysia credit to private non-financial firms rises 5.5% in January
Malaysia credit to private non-financial firms rises 5.5% in January
The digital lending solutions market to reach a value of $4.2b by the end of 2025.
Australia's Big Four banks face stage 3 loan risks as rates rise
Intense competition and rising costs are expected to reduce margins.
Vietnam fintech posts 17.8% CAGR through 2034
Internet access reached 79% of the population in 2023, boosting digital payment demand.
ZA Bank’s Sidney Siu champions compliance by design
Governance isn’t a blocker, it’s a leadership tool.
APAC banks face 'tail risk' as climate data gaps undermine risk modeling
Banks must adopt simulation-based modeling to quantify the full spectrum of potential losses.
APAC dominates financial centre list but growth slows
Eight of 15 centres tipped to rise are based in the region.
Islamic lenders hit digital wall on slow rollout
Products don’t evolve quickly due to extra layers of review.
APAC banks to absorb $500b new losses from Middle East & China risks
Slower growth in China and worsening property risks is amongst factors that can affect banks.
Japan corporate banking hits $34b by 2032 amidst strain
The market climbed to $8.9b in 2024 whilst legacy tech remains a hurdle.
How can China balance bank pricing power with financial stability?
Lenders gain when prices rise but bear losses when loans sour.
Banks hit AI plateau as 80% see no bottom-line impact
Many lenders plateau after deploying isolated tools instead of full transformation, said McKinsey.
Banks face budget squeeze from AI and legacy systems
Corporate IT allocations are projected to keep climbing through 2027.
Japanese banks avoid $550b US investment hook for now
The JBIC would likely do the initial heavy lifting.
Singapore on-time loan repayments in 2025 hit post-COVID record high
It has jumped to 86%, when it hovered around 36% to 65% in 2020-2024.
Singapore banking sentiment slips in Q4 2025
Banking and insurance posted 55.7 whilst the wider business reading climbed to 53.4.
Malaysian banks face 1.6% net profit decline per 25bp OPR cut: report
OPR cuts could mean a profitability decline of -1.2% for Maybank and -5.3% for Bank Islam.
China holds 40% share as fintech competition intensifies
India posts 27% annual growth backed by over 100 billion UPI transactions.
Commentary
Asia is leading payments modernisation and banks can't afford to fall behind
Investing in an inefficient market
Platinum cards, paper-thin compliance?
Energy price volatility highlights structural gaps for managing FX risk in APAC
Asia’s electronic markets reach an inflection point of transformation
Tokenisation in the Philippines: The consumer is ready, but is the infrastructure?