Our annual look at the best financial services firms in each country around the region has produced the following list of top domestic and foreign houses across Asia. The winners will be celebrated at an awards dinner at the Four Seasons in Macau on Friday, September 9.
CHINA
BEST BANK China Construction Bank
CCB continued to build on its momentum from last year and wins this award for the second year running. Analysts from foreign firms say it has an impressive market share in mainland deposits, which grew by more than 13% to around Rmb9 trillion ($1.4 trillion) last year, and ranks highly in almost all product lines. The bank recorded similarly remarkable figures elsewhere. Highlights include more than 26% growth in profits before tax and a non-performing loan ratio of just over 1.1% from more than $875 billion in gross customer loans and advances.
Financials aside, CCB grew its branch and sub-branch network to 13,425, ATMs to 39,874 and self-service banks to 9,677. It also boasts a portfolio of more than 57 million personal online banking accounts and more than 8 million new mobile phone banking accounts.
The bank also expanded overseas during the period under review, setting up a new branch in Sydney and opening a representative office in Moscow, and has further plans to cross the Pacific to meet the demands of increasing numbers of its corporate clients expanding cross-border. BEST INVESTMENT BANK, BEST BOND HOUSE China International Capital Corporation
Another year and one more time CICC proves to be China’s best all-round investment bank, but only just. It recorded a strong performance across its core business lines but its home competitors are breathing down its neck. Its foreign peers were impressed with its expanding overseas presence and ability to provide sophisticated solutions across many business sectors.
CICC was particularly dominant in M&A, completing 35 transactions, commanding a leading market share of 7.8% in the review period, which was more than the total number of transactions its next three competitors were involved in combined. The firm is also staffed with both highly-experienced domestic and international talent.
CICC’s fixed income business was on impressive form. Reinforcing the firm’s tradition to execute big deals, it was involved in four of the top 10 fixed income deals in terms of transaction value. It really has established itself as one of the top bond underwriters in the country. Landmark deals include Central Huijin Investment’s $7.9 billion bond issue in which CICC was the joint lead underwriter. The transaction created a new innovative government-supported bond product in the interbank bond market and was the biggest non-government and non-policy financial bond issuance in China. BEST EQUITY HOUSE, BEST BROKER Citic Securities
Citic Securities had a strong year in its equities business, ahead of both the domestic and foreign competition, with its comprehensive equity financing services. The firm has well established connections with the investor community on the mainland and an increasingly solid client base. Citic Securities not only continued to enhance its ability to bring counterparties together to complete deals but also cemented itself as an innovator in the equity capital markets business. Significant deals of course include Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion IPO and Dalian Port’s $856 million Shanghai listing amid a weak market and worries about China’s monetary policy tightening.
With a strong investment banking business, the firm also comes out top among the vast number of brokerages in China. During the review period, Citic Securities had more than 7.3% market share, on average, in China’s stock trading volume. It also has a highly rated research team that has received praise from institutional investors for releasing a series of research notes, just two days after the Tohoku Pacific earthquake hit Japan in March this year, which offered analyses of short- and long-term effects on China’s economy, capital markets and industries. BEST CASH MANAGEMENT BANK Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
ICBC is still the bank to beat for cash management services in China. During the past 12 months, its already massive customer base now numbers more than 500,000 after growth rates of more than 50% during the past year, driving cash management profits up by more than 30%. Despite China’s rapidly improving rival cash management providers, ICBC’s nationwide branch network of more than 16,000 has helped preserve its lead. Its cash management clients include all Chinese non-banking firms in the Fortune 500, but the bank also boasts strong showings in the SME and middle-market sectors. Additionally, many multinational corporations have selected ICBC to handle their renminbi transactions. Of growing importance as its Chinese clients expand overseas is the bank’s growing offshore branch network, which encompasses more than 200 subsidiaries in 28 countries and with 1,500 correspondent banks worldwide, connecting domestic clients with their overseas markets.
Married with its domestic and international geographical footprint is ICBC’s commitment to product innovation, including domestic and foreign currency cash pooling, consolidated account reporting and global cash management capabilities. Leveraging off its domestic branch network, ICBC has also aggressively developed its links with rural financial institutions, providing corporate clients with a variety of cash management, payment and receivables services. BEST TRADE FINANCE BANK Bank of China
Another strong year for Bank of China, marked by a series of new products and strengthened market shares in a number of important segments. China’s leading trade finance bank maintained pole position in international trade settlement, recording volumes of almost $2 trillion, and its foreign currency trade finance operations accounted for the lion’s share of total financial institution trade flows. Meanwhile, its financing and non-financing letter-of-guarantee product portfolio is the most comprehensive of any domestic commercial bank, and accounted for more than 50% of Chinese banks’ market share.
BoC successfully launched a series of new trade finance products this year within its Huilida product series, including interest-rate swaps, cross-border renminbi settlement, as well as foreign exchange interest-rate swaps and import bill advance products. The bank also introduced overseas renminbi financing for both importers and exporters. In addition, BoC now offers factory and forfaiting services to its supply chain finance customers, and also introduced a broad range of renminbi products, including documentary letters of credit, documentary collection, remittances, pre-receipts and pre-payments. BEST FOREIGN COMMERCIAL BANK HSBC
With already the largest footprint of any foreign bank in China last year, HSBC increased its reach further to 28 cities and opened an additional seven outlets, including three cross-city sub branches. Particularly impressive is the bank’s offering of renminbi cross-border trade settlement services, which have the widest geographic reach among all foreign banks by serving 20 provinces and municipalities throughout the country. HSBC has unprecedented success in building out its retail business, namely the Premier franchise, which saw a record high customer base growth of nearly 60% in 2010. The Premier network reaches out to about 70% of the bank’s total network in China, serving the country’s rapidly growing affluent population.
While the bank offers services to small and medium-sized enterprises at all branches, it has also expanded support to its Chinese clients that have business overseas with dedicated China desks throughout Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. In addition, the bank relocates Chinese speaking staff with past experience at HSBC in China to serve its outbound China corporate client base in multiple markets globally. Although HSBC proved to be the strongest foreign commercial bank in China again this year, Citi and Standard Chartered are just round the corner. BEST FOREIGN INVESTMENT BANK Goldman Sachs
It was a tight race this year and Goldman Sachs just edged a chin out over the finishing line ahead of Morgan Stanley to take first place for the second year running. Although the latter led in equity transaction volume, it was really the pivotal role that Goldman Sachs played in the deals it was involved in that gave it the edge. Most notable of these was the Agricultural Bank of China IPO, with which Goldman Sachs not only played a lead role as joint global coordinator but was also responsible for bringing in cornerstone investors. Xueda Education Group’s $147 million IPO also showed that Goldman Sachs does not like to just participate in the largest deals. The firm was also ahead of foreign competition in M&A. Not all of its 15 completed deals were complicated, but it did command 6.8% of total market share. Goldman Sachs might not be sitting at the top in terms of transaction volumes, but this business is about value — and it has proven to its clients again that it is a highly trusted and long-term service provider.
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