In Focus

Three's a crowd: Shinhan and fintech unicorn Viva Republica leap into Korea's internet-only banking race

Three's a crowd: Shinhan and fintech unicorn Viva Republica leap into Korea's internet-only banking race

The partnership will have immediate access to 11 million users of e-payment app Toss.

In Focus

Bad loans haunt Singapore banks as asset quality risks mount

The NPL formation of OCBC and UOB rose by 137bp and 94bp respectively in Q4.

In Focus

Singapore bank ROEs to hit over 11% in 2020

Thanks to the shift towards fees and commission in the non-interest income mix.

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Thailand braces for fresh wave of bad loans as property market cools

Retail mortgage NPLs account for 16.6% of systemic bad loans and 25.9% of total loans.

In Focus

Taiwanese banks clamp down on Chinese exposure in hunt for fatter margins

Mainland credit exposure has dropped since Q3 2018 and is likely to remain flat in 2019.

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Singapore banks grapple with tepid margins in 2019

Net interest margins are set to rise by 3-5bp.

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Japanese banks heighten riskier lending to offset profit crunch

Lending to small enterprises is on a steady rise since 2013.

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Philippine banks can weather their largest corporate default

The combined loan exposure of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin to its five creditors is at $412m.

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Looming loan slowdown threatens Malaysian banks' 2019 earnings

Lending is tipped to moderate to 5.1% in 2019 from 5.6% in 2018.

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China's fintech ecosystem is scaling faster than the US and Europe

Outside of China, fintechs are only able to disrupt one vertical unlike Alipay or WeChat Pay.

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India's weakened banking sector awaits stronger credit growth as it tucks bad loans away

From 4.7% in end-2016, loans booked double-digit growth of 14.9% in November.

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Global wealth managers double down to capture Asia's tech-savvy crazy rich millennials

Innovative fintechs are filling in gaps in order to meet the complex digital demands of this booming client base.

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Asian banks rev up fintech partnerships to keep China's tech titans at bay

Incumbents are launching VC arms and innovation labs to avoid being outpaced.

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Vietnamese banks cash in on $44b consumer finance market

The pivot to retail has boosted NIMs, loan growth and operational efficiency.

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Small Chinese banks struggle to strike balance between curbing risk and lending

Megabanks have easier access to funding and have more stable asset quality.

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Banks are putting up a fight against China's tech titans

Although the amount of nonbank third-party payment skyrocketed 480% from 2014-2017, mobile payments by banks rose by 798% over the same period.

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Singapore still beats Hong Kong over Asia's open banking readiness crown

DBS and OCBC are regional leaders in fintech and innovation.

In Focus