Congratulations once again to the all the winners and highly commendeds of this year’s FinanceAsia Awards; you can find the full list for South Asia here.
In another 12 months of persistent geopolitical tensions, evolving trade dynamics and continued macroeconomic uncertainty, Asia Pacific (Apac)’s capital markets have demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability since the second half of 2025, driving a healthy pipeline of transactions and renewed activity across asset classes.
Market participants throughout the region continued to innovate and deliver outstanding outcomes for clients, earning recognition across a diverse range of disciplines, including ECM, DCM, digitalisation, legal services, ratings, sustainability, technology, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Their ability to navigate changing market conditions while maintaining high standards of execution set them apart from their peers.
As markets become more interconnected, collaboration has never been more important. Many of the firms recognised in this year’s awards demonstrated exceptional teamwork, both internally and across the broader financial ecosystem, to deliver creative solutions and support clients through challenging circumstances. Looking ahead, the long-term outlook for Apac remains compelling, supported by economic growth, expanding capital pools, ongoing infrastructure investment and the region’s growing influence in global financial markets.
Please see below the rationale behind this year’s South Asia winners:
BANGLADESH
DOMESTIC
BEST BANK
City Bank
Stand-out financial performance, market-leading innovation and a commitment to financial inclusion and sustainability saw City Bank deliver 21% growth in assets, 23% in deposits, 23%, and 63% in profit after tax in 2025 – while maintaining strong asset quality and operational efficiency.
It also spearheaded rapid digital transformation, with 80% of customer interactions conducted digitally and Citytouch emerging as a growth engine. Further, the bank introduced several market firsts, including Bangladesh’s first Google Pay integration, the country’s first metal invite-only American Express Platinum Reserve card, and the first Islamic Digital DPS in partnership with bKash.
Landmark transactions included Bangladesh’s first non-sovereign $75 million financing, the bank’s largest-ever syndicated financing, and support for the country’s largest commercial wind power project.
BEST DCM HOUSE | BEST ECM HOUSE | BEST INVESTMENT BANK
IDLC Investments
IDLC Investments (IDLC) had an impressive year in investment banking in 2025, demonstrating resilience, innovation and market leadership during one of the most challenging periods for Bangladesh’s capital markets.
Despite political transition, liquidity tightening and a near standstill in IPO activity, the firm delivered 33% growth in operating income and 36% growth in net profit, while maintaining a market-leading cost-to-income ratio of just 19%, reflecting strong operating discipline and a diversified, advisory-led business model.
What distinguished IDLC was its ability to sustain capital formation when traditional financing channels were constrained.
In equity capital markets, it executed the only regulator-approved public equity issuance in Bangladesh during 2025, effectively accounting for 100% of public equity capital raising during the awards period. Its rights issue for Berger Paints Bangladesh was a landmark transaction that solved a complex regulatory free-float challenge through an innovative structure involving sponsor renunciation in favour of public shareholders, enhancing market liquidity while preserving shareholder value and control. The transaction showcased sophisticated structuring, underwriting conviction and regulatory navigation under difficult market conditions.
In debt capital markets, IDLC expanded access to alternative funding solutions, arranging and executing more than BDT18 billion ($147 million) of structured and syndicated transactions across subordinated bonds, preference shares, zero-coupon instruments and sustainability-linked financings.
Stand-out deals included NCC Bank’s BDT5 billion Basel III-compliant Tier II subordinated bond, which strengthened regulatory capital and banking sector resilience, and Akij Bakers’ BDT1.88 billion Shariah-compliant green syndicated financing, which reduced funding costs by 64% while aligning with national sustainability objectives. The firm also demonstrated product innovation through a bespoke BDT3.5 billion zero-coupon bond for City Auto Rice & Dal Mills, tailored to seasonal cash flows and investor tax efficiency.
Beyond execution, IDLC strengthened Bangladesh’s capital markets ecosystem through IPO-readiness mandates, institutional custody services, ESG and Islamic financing expertise, and thought leadership promoting a shift towards capital-market-led growth.
BEST M&A HOUSE
LankaBangla Investments
LankaBangla Investments was notable in 2025 as Bangladesh’s leading M&A adviser, in particular through the successful execution of two landmark, court-sanctioned mergers involving listed companies – both completed amid a challenging post-disruption market environment.
The firm advised on the amalgamations of Intraco Refueling Station and Premier Cement Mills, transactions that required complex valuation defence, judicial scrutiny, extensive stakeholder coordination and regulatory approval. LankaBangla’s differentiated approach combined rigorous valuation methodologies, strong minority shareholder protections and seamless regulatory engagement.
Supported by an integrated investment banking platform, the firm reinforced its position as a trusted advisor for high-complexity, governance-sensitive mergers in Bangladesh.
BEST SUSTAINABLE BANK
Infrastructure Development Company
Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL) was a leading sustainable finance player in Bangladesh in 2025, combining strong financial performance with measurable climate impact.
Despite a challenging operating environment, the firm expanded its loan portfolio while scaling investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate-smart infrastructure. For example, IDCOL pioneered innovative blended-finance and risk-sharing structures, fully utilising the World Bank’s SREP facility and partnering with IFC to accelerate rooftop solar adoption. Landmark transactions included financing for a 64.55MW utility-scale solar project, an energy-efficiency facility for Bangladesh’s textile sector, and GCF-backed decarbonisation programme.
With over 167MW of industrial rooftop solar financed, market-shaping initiatives and multiple international accolades, IDCOL demonstrated exceptional leadership in sustainable banking and climate transition finance.
INDIA
DOMESTIC
BEST BANK FOR SMEs | BEST BANK FOR USE OF TECHNOLOGY | BEST DCM HOUSE | BEST PRIVATE BANK | MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY – BANKS
Axis Bank
Axis Bank outshone peers in 2025 across several areas, based on market leadership, technology-driven innovation and deep customer engagement across its banking franchise.
In SME banking, the Commercial Banking Group strengthened its position as one of India’s leading MSME lenders. Its differentiated strategy centred on sector-specific and cluster-led banking, cashflow-based underwriting, Merchant Cash Advance solutions for thin-file borrowers, and an integrated “One Axis” proposition spanning lending, payments, trade finance, treasury, insurance and capital markets.
This holistic approach enabled Axis Bank to build long-term ecosystem partnerships rather than traditional lending relationships, supporting businesses across every stage of growth while helping address India’s significant MSME credit gap.
The bank further strengthened the sector through initiatives such as Evolve, which has engaged more than 10,000 MSMEs across 50 locations through knowledge-sharing and capability-building programmes.
Technology remained a defining differentiator. Through Kaleidoscope, Axis Bank’s enterprise-wide customer intelligence platform, the bankcreated a real-time, 360-degree view of customers by integrating more than 50 source systems and 40 customer journeys into a single operating layer. The platform transformed customer servicing through journey-led diagnostics, AI-ready analytics, and embedded frontline intelligence, driving a threefold increase in users, 24-fold growth in usage and improved turnaround times.
Simultaneously, the bank reimagined debt management through predictive analytics and hyper-personalised WhatsApp-based engagement. By identifying high-risk customers before payment due dates and combining interactive videos, embedded payment functionality and automated outreach, the initiative reduced loan bounce rates by 10%, improved card resolution rates by 12%, and significantly enhanced customer engagement and financial literacy.
In debt capital markets, meanwhile, Axis Bank also maintained a leadership position, ranking top in the Bloomberg league table with a 17% market share and arranging 193 bond issuances during 2025.
The bank demonstrated strength across corporates, financial institutions and public-sector issuers, while pioneering innovative structures and bringing maiden issuers to the bond market. Landmark transactions included: the inaugural bond issuance for Keystone Realtors; India’s first GuarantCo-backed capital markets transaction for Vivriti Capital; and funding for Aditya Birla Digital Fashion Ventures.
At the same time, through Burgundy Private, Axis Bank established itself as one of India’s most dynamic private banking franchises. Assets under management grew 24% YoY to $27.4 billion, while client relationships expanded beyond 15,000 and coverage extended to 52 cities.
The business capitalised on the “One Axis” model, seamlessly integrating private banking, investment banking, treasury, lending and estate planning capabilities. High-profile transactions demonstrated the franchise’s ability to deliver sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional solutions for India’s wealth creators.
Technology-led initiatives such as the Siddhi relationship management platform and advanced portfolio analytics further enhanced advisory quality, client engagement and operational efficiency.
Collectively, these achievements reflect an institution that successfully combines innovation, scale and customer-centric execution, setting new benchmarks across SME banking, technology adoption, debt capital markets and private banking.
BEST ECM HOUSE | BEST INVESTMENT BANK
Axis Capital
Based on its dominant equity capital markets (ECM) franchise, landmark transaction execution and broad advisory capabilities, Axis Capital deserved its recognition in India in 2025.
The firm ranked first across ECM transactions, capturing a 37% market share by value despite participating in only 16% of overall deal volume. Axis Capital led 21 of India’s 103 mainboard IPOs, accounting for 53% of IPO value, including eight of the nine new-age technology listings – representing 94% market share by value in that segment.
In total, Axis Capital executed 36 ECM transactions worth approximately $13 billion during the year, spanning IPOs, REITs, InvITs, QIPs, block trades and private placements. Signature mandates included landmark offerings for Tata Capital, LG Electronics India, National Securities Depository, JSW Cement, Meesho, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs, and ICICI Prudential Asset Management.
Axis Capital also showcased a diversified investment banking platform through 14 marquee advisory assignments – including Siemens India’s energy business demerger, Piramal Group’s reorganisation, Raymond Realty’s demerger, Apraava Energy’s thermal power plant sale, and multiple fairness opinions for blue-chip corporates.
Combining deep regulatory expertise, market-leading research, consistent execution and long-standing client relationships, Axis Capital delivered outstanding results across both capital markets and strategic advisory.
BEST LENDER | BEST STRATEGIC INITIATIVE - NONBANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS |
MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY - NONBANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Godrej Capital
Godrej Capital’s achievements during the award period were anchored in rapid, disciplined lending growth combined with market-leading innovation and a deeply differentiated inclusion strategy.
Across its lending businesses, the group scaled to approximately INR25,000 crore ($2.62 billion) in assets under management (AUM) within five years while maintaining among the lowest risk costs in its peer group – demonstrating a rare ability to balance aggressive expansion with strong asset quality and underwriting discipline.
A key differentiator was its strategic focus on technology-led lending transformation. Through its partnership with Salesforce and Deloitte, Godrej Capital deployed an AI-powered lending ecosystem integrating its GenAI platform SAKSHAM, creating a unified, end-to-end digital lending journey spanning onboarding, underwriting, disbursement and cross-selling. This reinforced its position as a technology-first non-bank financial institution (NBFC) while accelerating credit decision-making, automation and scalability.
Its innovation credentials were further strengthened by two pioneering initiatives. Firstly, Tranche One View transformed a previously manual home-loan disbursement process by consolidating more than 10 systems into a single Salesforce-powered interface, reducing tranche disbursement turnaround times from over an hour to just 15 minutes. The platform has processed more than 28,000 tranche requests, supported over INR2,300 crore of AUM since inception and generated more than 21,000 man-hours of savings.
Secondly, Design Your EMI (DEMI) redefined borrower flexibility through customised repayment structures, dynamic EMI scheduling and interest-only repayment options during construction periods. The solution accounted for more than two-thirds of home-loan cases and disbursals during 2025.
Equally impressive was Aarohi, Godrej Capital’s flagship gender-intentional inclusion strategy. Aarohi created a holistic ecosystem spanning women borrowers, channel partners, employees and entrepreneurs. The initiative generated more than INR1,500 crore in loan bookings, onboarded over 2,000 women borrowers, supported 600-plus women channel partners, achieved approximately 25% female workforce representation and helped create 242 jobs through its women entrepreneur programme.
BEST M&A HOUSE
JM Financial
JM Financial reinforced its position as one of India’s leading domestic M&A advisers in 2025, with transactions across the financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrials and technology sectors.
In combining deep sector knowledge, extensive corporate relationships and fully integrated advisory capabilities, its stand-out deals included advising Coromandel International on the acquisition of NACL Industries, one of India’s largest agri-input control transactions of the year. JM Financial also acted on the sale of Home Credit India to TVS Holdings and Premji Invest, a transformative consumer lending deal.
Ranked number two for domestic M&A, JM Financial was impressive through strategic origination, transaction execution excellence and an ability to deliver landmark transactions under demanding market conditions.
MOST DEI PROGRESSIVE BANK
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank was recognised in 2025 for embedding diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of its culture, making it a strategic business priority rather than a standalone HR initiative.
Backed by strong leadership and a robust governance framework, the bank surpassed its gender diversity target ahead of schedule, increasing women’s representation from 19.1% in 2022 to 26.42% in 2025, while tripling women leaders.
The bank also demonstrated industry-leading commitment to disability inclusion through accessibility initiatives, sign language training and role mapping for persons with disabilities.
With 97.28% maternity return rates, improving engagement scores and award-winning DE&I outcomes, HDFC Bank has set a benchmark for inclusive banking in India.
INTERNATIONAL
BEST ECM HOUSE |BEST INVESTMENT BANK | BEST M&A HOUSE
Jefferies
Jefferies delivered one of the strongest years by any foreign investment bank in India in recent memory.
Across equity capital markets (ECM) and M&A, the franchise executed 32 transactions with an aggregate deal value of approximately $16 billion, while ranking as the number one ECM foreign bookrunner for 2025. The firm also emerged as the leading sell-side M&A adviser among foreign banks by deal count, demonstrating exceptional execution across both strategic advisory and capital markets.
The firm’s credentials were strengthened by its ability to deliver premium valuations and highly differentiated strategic outcomes across healthcare, infrastructure, financial institutions, technology and consumer sectors. Transactions such as Sahyadri Hospitals, Tessolve and Schott Poonawalla achieved industry-leading valuation multiples, while the sale of Aavas Financiers generated an impressive six-times return for existing sponsors.
Landmark mandates included: the first full cash exit by private equity promoters from a listed affordable housing finance company; the largest fundraise for a semiconductor engineering company in India; the second-largest primary capital infusion into an Indian non-bank finance company; and the second-largest cross-border investment into a listed Indian private-sector bank.
Jefferies’ ECM franchise was equally dominant, advising on some of India’s most prominent capital raisings, including the $1.46 billion HDB Financial IPO, the $411 million JSW Cement IPO, and Dr. Agarwal’s Healthcare, Belrise Industries, WeWork India and Brookfield India REIT transactions. The firm consistently outperformed on investor demand generation and anchor allocations, reinforcing its reputation as a trusted execution partner for issuers.
Beyond headline volumes, Jefferies delivered innovative structuring, highly competitive sale processes and deep sector expertise. It also ranked as the top global bank bookrunner for InvIT and REIT QIPs by issue size, underscoring leadership in India’s rapidly evolving alternatives and infrastructure capital markets ecosystem.
BEST INTERNATIONAL RATINGS AGENCY
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings stood out as India’s leading international ratings agency in 2025 through unrivalled market coverage, deep local expertise and global analytical reach.
With its on-the-ground analytical presence, Fitch combined local insights with global standards to support issuers, investors and bankers across the credit spectrum. This helped it lead the market in infrastructure, project finance, public finance and structured finance coverage, while rating landmark transactions, including Mumbai International Airport’s $750 million notes, Greenko’s $1 billion bond issuance, and India’s first cross-border offshore ABS social bond. Fitch was also the preferred agency for first-time ratings of major institutions such as NaBFID and IIFCL.
Its ESG leadership, innovative investor engagement, banker-focused tools and extensive market research further reinforced Fitch’s position in India.
BEST LENDER
HSBC
HSBC’s market leadership, landmark transactions and consistent execution excellence in lending in 2025 were convincing in earning the bank this award.
It ranked top in India’s offshore loan bookrunner league tables for both 2024 and 2025, while also securing the top position for net revenue generation. To achieve this, HSBC demonstrated unmatched breadth across corporate, financial institution and sponsor-backed financings, and also increased its non-bank financial institution (NBFC) market share to over 34%, leading six sponsor financings during the year.
Notable among HSBC’s innovative, large-scale and highly oversubscribed transactions were the jumbo $1.255 billion Hexaware refinancing, the $3.075 billion Reliance Industries syndicated loan, and Sudarshan Chemicals’ award-winning acquisition financing for Heubach.
BEST PRIVATE BANK
HSBC Private Bank
Based on its strong growth, differentiated client proposition and innovative cross-border wealth platform, HSBC Private Bank remained at the forefront of wealth management in India.
Following its relaunch, the business delivered strong growth in 2025 while strengthening its position as a trusted adviser to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices. For example, HSBC’s “One Bank” model combined private banking, commercial banking and institutional expertise to deliver seamless, borderless wealth solutions.
The bank expanded its GIFT City franchise, becoming one of the top three banks by asset size, securing key licences and broadening access to global investment opportunities.
Its open-architecture platform, succession planning capabilities and bespoke lending solutions further enhanced client outcomes – combined with exclusive thought leadership, lifestyle and cultural experiences.
BEST STRATEGIC INITIATIVE - BANKS
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank’s SC Invest platform represented a transformative strategic initiative that redefined digital wealth management in India.
By becoming the first international bank in the country to combine mutual fund aggregation with advanced portfolio analytics in a single ecosystem, SC Invest delivered a holistic, real-time view of client investments across more than 40 asset management companies. Leveraging secure integration with MFCentral, the platform empowered relationship managers with actionable insights, predictive analytics and enhanced advisory capabilities.
The launch of its innovative Portfolio Report transformed traditional reporting into a dynamic decision-support tool, improving transparency, diversification analysis and portfolio optimisation.
The initiative delivered a 38% reduction in portfolio review preparation time, a 17% increase in rebalancing actions and a 36% rise in client engagement.
BEST SUSTAINABLE BANK
MUFG Bank
Given its scale, market leadership and commitment to driving India’s transition economy, MUFG proved why it merits recognition for its sustainability efforts.
A pioneer in transition finance, the bank has supported clients across sectors including power, energy, shipping and industrials – while combining financing with extensive thought leadership, research and client education initiatives.
Stand-out transactions included Greenko Wind’s landmark $1 billion green bond, JSW Neo Energy’s US$675 million green loan, and HDFC Credila’s $650 million social loan.
Ranked third in APAC sustainable loans overall, MUFG continues to shape market development and accelerate sustainable growth across the region.
BIGGEST SUSTAINABLE IMPACT - NONBANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Private Infrastructure Development Group
Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) delivered stand-out sustainable impact in India during the award period. It combined financial innovation, market development, and measurable environmental and social outcomes to deliver scalable credit-enhancement structures and market-building initiatives.
In 2025, PIDG committed $138.2 million, mobilising nearly $400 million of private capital across transformative infrastructure projects. Its landmark support for KPI Green Energy enabled India’s first externally credit-enhanced, externally verified domestic green bond by a mid-sized renewable energy company.
PIDG also pioneered India’s first partially guaranteed loan under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, accelerating electric public transport deployment, and backed Muthoot Capital’s green bond, expected to support 57,000 EV buyers, including 23,000 women.
PAKISTAN
DOMESTIC
BEST BANK | MOST DEI PROGRESSIVE BANK | MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY - BANKS
Allied Bank
Allied Bank’s success across multiple award categories reflects a transformation strategy built around digital innovation, financial inclusion and organisational modernisation. At a time when Pakistan’s banking sector was undergoing rapid change, Allied Bank stood out through technology-led customer engagement, operational scale and a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The bank delivered robust financial performance, with total assets growing 20% YoY and deposits increasing 16%. Allied Bank also maintained one of the strongest capital positions in the market, reporting a capital adequacy ratio of 27.7% alongside one of the sector’s lowest infection ratios.
Technology has been a defining differentiator. Allied Bank introduced “Pepper”, Pakistan’s first social humanoid banking robot, integrated with large language model capabilities to recognise faces, interpret emotions and deliver personalised customer interactions. The initiative highlights the bank’s commitment to combining artificial intelligence with customer-centric banking experiences.
Allied Bank was also the first bank in South Asia to launch advanced self-service banking kiosks featuring biometric authentication, automated onboarding and intelligent imaging technology. Customers could independently open accounts, complete KYC verification and access a broad range of banking services without manual intervention. These innovations were complemented by metaverse-enabled banking experiences, virtual reality product demonstrations and AI-powered customer engagement tools.
The scale of digital adoption has been equally impressive. The bank surpassed 2.6 million users on its myABL digital platform and processed approximately 122 million financial transactions during 2025.
WhatsApp banking users increased 29% to two million customers, while more than 90% of transactions were conducted through digital channels. Allied Bank also expanded Pakistan’s digital payments ecosystem through nearly 10,000 point-of-sale terminals and more than 20,000 QR merchants nationwide.
Beyond technology, Allied Bank prioritised inclusion and talent development. Women now account for more than 25% of its workforce, supported by female-only branches, gender mainstreaming initiatives and targeted programmes for women entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the bank achieved 95% training coverage across more than 12,300 employees, reinforcing its commitment to building a future-ready workforce.
BEST BANK FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION | BEST BANK FOR USE OF TECHNOLOGY | BEST DIGITAL BANK
Mobilink Microfinance Bank
Based on its 2025 performance, Mobilink Microfinance Bank (Mobilink) delivered a compelling combination of financial inclusion, digital innovation and technology-led transformation, positioning it as a stand-out winner across these categories.
Financial inclusion remained at the heart of the bank’s strategy. The institution now serves more than 58 million account holders, including 19.6 million women, and onboarded nearly one million small businesses. Through its women-focused Bint-e-Hawwa product suite, dedicated financial literacy programmes, and Pakistan’s first women-focused WIN Incubator, Mobilink embedded gender inclusion into product design, governance and growth strategy.
It also trained more than 31,000 women in financial literacy, and signed the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, reinforcing its commitment to measurable inclusion outcomes.
Technology was a key differentiator for Mobilink. Notably, it became the first and only bank in Pakistan to upgrade to the latest Temenos R23 cloud-native core banking platform, future-proofing its infrastructure and enabling faster product development, enhanced security and greater scalability. Additional innovations included a centralised Data Lake House, in-app biometric verification, banking services for customers without internet access, and real-time digital account opening, which onboarded more than 40,000 customers – nearly half of them women.
Mobilink’s digital banking ecosystem continued to scale rapidly. The revamped Dost App delivered 20% growth in monthly active users, a 36% increase in transacting customers and a 168% surge in transaction volumes. The introduction of FPIN strengthened security and drove a 35% increase in digital revenue.
Meanwhile, JazzCash’s branchless banking network reached almost 57 million customers, processed 3.89 billion transactions, and expanded its merchant network by 86%, including a 131% increase in female merchants.
Beyond commercial success, Mobilink demonstrated national impact through its Government-to-Person payments platform, disbursing funds across social welfare, disaster relief and subsidy programmes.
BEST BANK FOR LARGE CORP & MNCs | BEST BANK FOR PUBLIC SECTOR CLIENTS | BEST DCM HOUSE | BEST ECM HOUSE | BEST M&A HOUSE | BEST SUSTAINABLE BANK
Habib Bank
Habib Bank’s performance in 2025 showcased the scale, innovation and execution excellence that continue to position it as a leading financial institution in Pakistan.
Across corporate banking, public sector banking, debt and equity capital markets, M&A advisory and sustainable finance, Habib Bank delivered landmark transactions, pioneered industry firsts and supported some of the country’s most strategically important initiatives.
For large corporates and multinationals, Habib Bank showed impressive financial performance and client penetration. Despite a challenging macro landscape, corporate banking profit before tax surged 457% YoY, while deposits increased 32%. The bank deepened relationships across trade, treasury, cash management and supply-chain finance, supported by a digital ecosystem that processed PKR23.8 trillion ($85.5 billion) of cash-management flows and achieved a market-leading 29.1% share.
In addition, Habib Bank’s international footprint enabled clients to execute cross-border growth strategies, including overseas acquisitions, greenfield investments and global retail expansion.
The bank also reinforced its position as a premier public-sector banking partner. It remained central to government financial operations, supporting revenue collection, tax digitisation, utility payments, pensions and social-benefit disbursements. It played a leading role in the PKR1.225 trillion CPPA-G circular debt restructuring, the largest financing programme in Pakistan’s history, acting as agent bank for an 18-bank consortium and helping design a sustainable repayment framework. Habib Bank also supported major infrastructure and national development projects, including PNSC fleet expansion, K-Electric grid investments and key public-private partnership initiatives.
Within investment banking, Habib Bank continued to dominate locally, with the franchise completing 24 transactions worth $5.67 billion in 2025, and generating the highest investment banking fee income in Pakistan.
The bank also arranged the largest syndicated financing in Pakistan’s history for CPPA-G, advised on PTCL’s $400 million acquisition of Telenor Pakistan, and acted as exclusive buy-side adviser to Maple Leaf Cement’s $225 million acquisition of Pioneer Cement.
Habib Bank’s leadership in capital markets was equally impressive. The bank arranged 17 transactions worth PKR101.5 billion, representing approximately 40% of private sector volume.
Among these were several market firsts, including Pakistan’s first corporate debt IPO in five years, the country’s first listed unsecured sukuk IPO and the first IPO of a short-term debt instrument. The K-Electric sukuk attracted a record 660 retail investors and introduced a world-first feature allowing electricity bills to be adjusted against sukuk profit payments. Habib Bank also continues to advise the Pakistan government on the country’s inaugural Panda bond issuance in China.
Sustainability remained a core differentiator. In particular, Habib Bank financed 86 renewable-energy projects supporting 3,705MW of clean-energy capacity, maintained its no-new-coal policy, completed the phase-out of tobacco financing and expanded climate-smart agriculture initiatives.
The bank also financed the solarisation of more than 2,300 farms, supported inclusive finance through its branchless banking network and reduced operational emissions by 37% from its 2022 baseline. In addition, it partnered with IFC to develop Pakistan’s first international green bond framework and led financing for one of the country’s first electric vehicle manufacturing projects.
BEST BROKER | BEST ECM HOUSE
Arif Habib
Arif Habib reinforced its position as a leading capital markets franchise in Pakistan through market-leading brokerage, equity capital markets (ECM) execution and innovative transaction advisory.
As one of the country’s most active brokers, Arif Habib captured a 10% share of market trading activity, achieved a dominant 75% share of the IPO market and emerged as the leading executing broker for share buybacks – helping drive liquidity and investor confidence during a year when Pakistan’s equity market ranked among the world’s best performers.
Arif Habib’s differentiated platform combines brokerage, investment banking and the country’s largest research franchise, covering more than 50 companies across 14 sectors. Coupled with its digital capabilities, extensive international distribution network and deep institutional relationships, the platform enabled the successful execution of landmark transactions, including major buybacks for Pak Suzuki, Unity Foods, Shell Pakistan, and Siemens Pakistan, alongside oversubscribed IPOs such as BF Biosciences. Notably, BF Biosciences became the first Pakistani IPO to be included in the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index within four months of listing.
In ECM, Arif Habib advised on PKR23 billion ($82.7 million) of equity transactions and PKR19 billion of debt issuances, while leading transformative deals including the acquisition of Mitchell’s Fruit Farms and highly successful IPOs for Barkat Frisian Agro and Pak-Qatar Family Takaful.
BEST LENDER
United Bank
Exceptional growth, landmark financing transactions and market-leading execution were key factors behind United Bank becoming Pakistan’s premier lender in 2025.
The bank delivered a 261% increase in non-funded income, driven by strong advisory and arrangement fee generation from complex syndications, project finance and M&A-related financing mandates.
United Bank showed its ability to structure and lead transformative transactions, including Pakistan’s largest-ever private-sector syndicated Islamic financing facility, supporting the acquisition of Deodar by Engro Connect, and the country’s largest syndicated financing package for CPPA-G to address energy sector circular debt. It also showcased innovation through a cross-border acquisition financing structure spanning Pakistan, Korea and the UAE.
SRI LANKA
DOMESTIC
BEST BANK | BEST BANK FOR SMEs | BEST BANK FOR USE OF TECHNOLOGY | BEST ISLAMIC FINANCE HOUSE | BEST PRIVATE BANK | BEST RETAIL BANK | BEST SUSTAINABLE BANK
Commercial Bank of Ceylon
Across key areas of its franchise, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (Commercial Bank) demonstrated a rare combination of scale, innovation, market leadership and sustainability during the award period – reinforcing its position as a leading financial institution in Sri Lanka.
Notably, the bank delivered outstanding financial performance in 2025. It achieved record profitability with profit after tax rising 44% to Rs58.5 billion ($176.4 million), total assets exceeding Rs.3.25 trillion and gross loans surpassing Rs2 trillion, making it the first private sector bank in Sri Lanka to achieve this milestone. It also became the first Sri Lankan bank to exceed $1 billion in market capitalisation, underscoring its strength, resilience and franchise value.
A key differentiator was its ability to combine growth with prudent risk management. Commercial Bank accounted for approximately 23% of industry loan growth while improving asset quality, reducing its Stage 3 impairment ratio to 1.54% and maintaining strong liquidity and capital buffers.
Its leadership extended across corporate, retail and SME banking, supported by a strategy focused on sustainable credit expansion, digital transformation and operational excellence.
Commercial Bank’s SME franchise remained particularly strong. Ranking as Sri Lanka’s largest SME lender for the fifth consecutive year, it held a 30.4% market share with an SME portfolio of Rs335.9 billion, onboarding more than 4,000 new SME customers during the year.
The bank introduced Sri Lanka’s first AI-powered SME credit underwriting solution, using machine learning and predictive analytics to accelerate approvals, improve risk selection and deliver hyper-personalised financing. It also expanded supply-chain finance programmes, strengthened women-owned SME financing, and grew its LEAP GlobalLinker platform to more than 14,800 SMEs, helping businesses access digital commerce, international markets and advisory support.
Technology innovation was another stand-out achievement, with Commercial Bank counting more than 1.8 million registered digital users and transaction growth of 35% YoY.
Further, the bank launched Sri Lanka’s first Google Pay service and achieved 100,000 transactions within six weeks, demonstrating rapid adoption of tokenised payments. It also introduced the country’s first Dynamic Currency Conversion capability for online payments, launched the ComBank TradeLink digital trade finance ecosystem and rolled out AI-enabled credit underwriting.
These innovations transformed the customer experience while advancing the country’s digital payments infrastructure and trade finance ecosystem.
The bank also distinguished itself in private and retail banking. Through its ALTIUS “Rise Higher” transformation programme, Commercial Bankreimagined retail banking around a “One Bank, One App, One Team” model, targeting personalised, data-driven banking experiences and digitising 75% of customer journeys.
New offerings included a Visa Signature Elite Debit Card, enhanced digital services and agency banking centres under ComBank Shakthi, extending banking access to underserved communities.
Private banking clients benefited from the bank’s strong balance sheet, innovative wealth solutions, digital capabilities and market-leading service standards.
In Islamic finance, the bank continued to expand its Shariah-compliant franchise through Murabaha trade finance, Ijarah leasing, Diminishing Musharakah housing finance and Wakalah investment structures. It strengthened Islamic SME and trade finance offerings, integrated Islamic products into digital channels and maintained rigorous governance through a dedicated Shariah Supervisory Board.
This combination of product breadth, innovation and compliance reinforced its leadership within Sri Lanka’s Islamic banking sector.
Sustainability was also embedded across the organisation. The bank successfully issued a Rs15 billion Basel III Tier II Green Bond – one of the largest green capital market issuances by a private sector bank in Sri Lanka – and expanded its green finance portfolio by 85%, reaching Rs71.2 billion. In addition, it repriced its Green Development Loan programme to accelerate renewable energy adoption and climate-transition financing, particularly for SMEs.
Beyond financing, Commercial Bank convened Sri Lanka’s first national Sustainability Summit, launched the second phase of its “Trees for Tomorrow” initiative, and embedded ESG governance through dedicated sustainability committees and reporting frameworks.
BEST BROKER
Asia Securities
Asia Securities had a notable year for innovation, research excellence and institutional-grade execution in its brokerage business in Sri Lanka.
The firm maintained its position as the top broker on the Colombo Stock Exchange for the third consecutive year, increasing market share to just over 13% and benefiting from a balanced client franchise spanning institutions, as well as high-net-worth and retail investors.
Its research platform retained the CFA Society of Sri Lanka’s Gold Award for Best Stockbroking Research Team. The firm also achieved several industry firsts and differentiators, including launching Athena, Sri Lanka’s first proprietary trading platform built on TradingView.
During the award period, Asia Securities doubled client financing, expanded its facilitation capabilities and grew its trading book 5.5-fold to support liquidity and execution.
INTERNATIONAL
BEST BANK FOR LARGE CORP & MNCs
HSBC
HSBC deserved recognition in Sri Lanka through its unrivalled international connectivity, impressive corporate banking franchise, digital innovation and sustainable finance leadership.
Supporting more than 1,100 large corporates, multinationals and financial institutions in Sri Lanka, HSBC leveraged its global network to help clients expand internationally while delivering tailored solutions spanning payments, trade, lending, FX, debt capital markets and securities services.
In 2025, it managed over $550 million in assets, held deposits exceeding $850 million and generated more than $94 million in revenue. The bank also pioneered Sri Lanka’s first host-to-host ERP integration and achieved market-leading digital adoption.
HSBC further demonstrated innovation through landmark transactions, including a first-of-its-kind sustainable import facility for an importer of electric vehicles and financing for a major wind power project.
