Indian Banks Shine Among Top Performers in Asia-Pacific

Indian banks have demonstrated strong performance within the Asia-Pacific region, with three lenders making their mark in the top 50 banks by assets in 2023, an increase from two in the previous year. The aggregate assets of these Indian banks surged by an impressive 50.5% year-on-year, reaching $1.51 trillion by the end of 2023.

The State Bank of India secured the 20th position, followed by HDFC Bank at 33 and ICICI Bank at 48th place. Notably, HDFC Bank’s assets soared by 51.3% to $466.35 billion after merging with its parent company, Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd., in July 2022, propelling it 13 places higher in the rankings.

India’s robust credit growth, fueled by its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, stood at 15.6% as of December 29, 2023, compared to 14.9% a year earlier, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India.

Mainland China’s banks dominated the top spots on the list, with six of the top 10 positions occupied by Chinese lenders. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. maintained its position as the largest bank globally and in the Asia-Pacific region. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. surpassed China Construction Bank Corp. to claim the second spot on the regional list, with Bank of China Ltd. rounding out the top four.
Conversely, Japanese and South Korean banks experienced declines in the annual ranking, with Japanese lenders’ combined assets falling by 2.5% year-on-year to $10.53 trillion, and South Korean banks seeing a 0.9% decline to $2.66 trillion.

Meanwhile, the aggregate assets of Singaporean banks rose by 3.7% year-on-year to $1.40 trillion, with DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and United Overseas Bank Ltd. climbing up the rankings while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. slipped three places to 37th position.