Mergers and takeovers have changed the banking landscape in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, and the same forces are about to hit Hong Kong and Taiwan, Asiaweek says in its newly released Financial 500.
In the annual ranking of Asia's largest financial institutions, the magazine's senior editor, Bill Mellor, says that while the region's banks are consolidating, the reasons behind the deals differ.
In Singapore and Hong Kong, consolidation is market-driven, with well-managed banks being forced to merge to achieve the economies of scale needed to withstand global competition, he says.
"In Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia, the mergers are an attempt -- in some cases a pretense -- at major reform of the financial system necessary to reverse the impact of years of government-directed and incestuous intra-company lending, which not only wreaked havoc on balance sheets, but also promoted a banking culture that stunted risk-management systems and professional skills," Mellor says.
The 10 largest banks in the region in order, according to Asiaweek, are the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Bank, Fuji Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Sanwa Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Sakura Bank, the Bank of China, the Industrial Bank of Japan and the China Construction Bank.
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