While India led in fintech funding between 2020 and 2022, Singapore outpaced India in the first half of 2023, driven by the digital lending and insurtech segments

The current disintermediation in payments and MSME lending marks the tip of the iceberg, and retail deposits may be the next battleground

The combined revenue of the top 100 global digital-only banks increased by 16% to reach some $66 billion, with China’s WeBank, Ally Bank from the US, and the retail arm of ING Group in the lead in 2023

China's wealth management market has the potential to surpass $100 trillion by 2025, but it needs to overcome challenges like low asset allocation, regulatory changes, and pressure on wealth managers

Consumers in Thailand voted Kasikornbank as the Most Recommended and Most Selected Main Retail Bank in the 2023 BankQuality Survey; Siam Commercial Bank placed second while Line BK emerged as highly-rated digital-only bank

Consumers in India rated ICICI as the Most Recommended Retail Bank in the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey with a score of 69%, while Paytm scored 64% and rated as the Most Recommended Digital-Only Bank

UnionBank topped the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey in the Philippines as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, achieving a score of 67%, tying with Metrobank but with varying margins across key categories

Despite efforts to cap financial sector pay, 17 out of the 25 largest commercial banks in China saw a rise in average remuneration for their directors, supervisors and other senior executives in 2022

Softening bank loan growth in some markets but Asia Pacific expected to sustain momentum in 2023 with post-COVID-19 recovery in China boosting lending demand

Financial institutions are accelerating the use of artificial intelligence, but they need to address key data challenges in scaling capabilities to develop the right technology framework, while also adhering to compliance requirements

Banks have implemented chatbots for operational efficiency and improved customer access, but new AI capabilities expose key gaps in contextual and cognitive capabilities of current bots

While some banks have increased the use of AI in personalising services, marketing and risk management, legacy systems struggle to leverage and scale it effectively, and financial institutions must rethink technology frameworks to move towards AI-driven organisations