The Asian Banker is the leading platform of the TAB Global stable of brands, and is leading provider of strategic intelligence and community platforms in the financial services industry.
Founded in Singapore in September 1996 by Emmanuel Daniel, The Asian Banker began as an intelligence publication before expanding to include benchmarking, research, consulting, forums, awards and executive education.
We run regular programmes around the world, with a strong presence across Asia, particularly in China, as well as in United States, Europe, Africa and other markets where transformational developments are reshaping the financial services industry. Our main offices are in Singapore, Beijing and Dubai, supported by teams in Kuala Lumpur and Manila, alongside a global network of employees and partners. As the industry continues to evolve, we have expanded our presence across markets undergoing significant advancement, enabling us to connect industry leaders, share strategic insights and foster meaningful collaboration worldwide.
The Asian Banker brings together a unique combination of researchers, analysts, journalists, programme managers and consultants to create a range of solutions that track developments in the financial services industry and facilitate intelligent discussion around them.
At The Asian Banker, our values are reflected in every aspect of our work. They shape the way we partner with clients, uphold the quality and integrity of our research and editorial, and reinforce our independence within the financial services industry.
We strive to be amongst the best in the world for what we do. The Asian Banker measures itself against global standards in financial services intelligence, research, conference production and editorial quality. Excellence is not a destination — it is a continuous standard applied to every piece of work we produce.
We are self-correcting in areas where learning is required. The financial services industry is transforming constantly. We invest in the capability of our people, regularly revise our methodologies, and integrate new knowledge into the way we conduct research, evaluate institutions and engage our community.
We work with our clients to achieve their business goals. The Asian Banker maintains an open working relationship with its clients, focusing on how we can add value to their business.
We value trust, long-term relationships and integrity in all our interactions. Our work requires access to senior decision-makers at financial institutions, regulators and technology providers across the world. That access is built over time through consistent, honest and professional engagement.
We are proud of our independence and the value it brings to the work we do. The Asian Banker is not owned by a financial institution, technology company or government body. Our editorial decisions, research outcomes and award evaluations are made without commercial interference. This independence is the foundation of our credibility.
We enjoy designing creative and forward-looking solutions together with our clients. The most interesting challenges in financial services rarely fit a standard template. We are at our best when working alongside organisations that want to think differently about how intelligence, community and learning can drive real outcomes.
The Asian Banker provides a wide range of products and services designed to package intelligence through research, consulting, forums, training, publications and creative programmes. Our programmes are delivered through video, audio, teleconference sessions, training, site visits, global awards and in-house management and board-level programmes.
The best way to develop an idea of how we can help your organisation is to speak with us — whether you are planning to expand your business in Asia, need to benchmark your competitive strengths, build a marketing campaign to the industry or run an internal programme for your employees.
Research at The Asian Banker combines desk research with direct field interviews. Analysts and researchers gather primary data through conversations with financial institution executives, regulators, and industry participants, supplemented by publicly available disclosures and submitted data from institutions themselves.
Award and benchmarking research cycles typically run four to six months from initial scoping to final results, allowing time for structured interviews with shortlisted institutions rather than relying solely on self-reported submissions.
Interviews are conducted directly by The Asian Banker's editorial and research staff with bank executives, regulators, and industry figures, both in person and remotely. Interviews inform both editorial articles and research/benchmarking programmes.
For awards and benchmarking programmes, institutions may submit data through a structured submission process, typically involving detailed questionnaires covering financial and operational performance.
Submissions are not accepted at face value. Each is assessed against a published methodology and score card specific to that programme, and evaluators conduct additional desk research and interviews with shortlisted institutions to verify submitted claims before any result is finalised.
Each ranking, rating, or awards programme is built on a programme-specific methodology and score card, which is published and shared with the industry rather than kept internal. This is intended to make the basis for any ranking outcome checkable rather than opaque.
Score cards are developed and periodically reviewed by The Asian Banker's research team, in consultation with each programme's Council of Advisors, to ensure criteria remain relevant to how the industry is actually evolving.
Validation happens at two levels. First, research and editorial teams cross-check submitted data and interview claims against other available sources — public disclosures, prior coverage, and other participants' data — before publication. Second, for awards and benchmarking programmes specifically, an independent Council of Advisors reviews research findings and proposed results before any list is finalised.
No award or ranking result is published without this independent review step.
The Asian Banker maintains a structural separation between its commercial functions (sales and sponsorship) and its research and editorial functions. This separation — referred to internally as a "Chinese wall" — means:
Independence is maintained through the structural separation described above, combined with independent third-party validation via each programme's Council of Advisors. The Asian Banker states that its awards cannot be purchased, and that its evaluation processes are designed to assess all eligible institutions in a category on the same neutral basis, regardless of whether they hold a commercial relationship with TAB Global.
Winning institutions may be encouraged to invest in post-event marketing collateral, and this commercial activity helps fund the research process — but this occurs only after results are finalised and does not affect the results themselves.
Emmanuel Daniel is an entrepreneur, writer and strategic thinker. He founded The Asian Banker in September 1996, initially as an intelligence publication, which later expanded to include benchmarking and consulting services. He also founded BankQuality in 2014 to promote customer-driven transformation in financial services, and Wealth and Society in 2018, a London-based program focused on impact investment, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and environmental and social initiatives. He continues to set the strategic direction of his companies.
He won the Citibank Excellence in Business Journalism for Asia in 1999 for his reporting on internet banking, and The Asian Banker Summit was named Best Finance Conference at the Asian Conference and Summit Awards in 2012. He is frequently interviewed by BBC, Bloomberg and CNBC, and is recognised as a global speaker on financial services, the future of Asia, and banking transformation.
He was trained as a lawyer and holds degrees from the National University of Singapore and the University of London, and attended economics studies at Columbia University in New York.
Foo Boon Ping is the President and Managing Editor of The Asian Banker, where he manages its publishing and research business across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. He regularly engages the financial services community on transformational issues shaping the industry, speaking at and chairing The Asian Banker's as well as partners' events.
He has more than 25 years of experience in strategic brand management, corporate and marketing communication, and research and consulting, covering retail, corporate and transaction banking, financial markets, risk management, compliance and financial technology.
He previously served in senior management positions at UOB and DBS Bank. He was also formerly a senior consulting manager at Ernst and Young, and started his career as a financial journalist.
Cindy Yu leads The Asian Banker's research and strategic consulting coverage of Greater China. She joined the organisation in 2014 to provide in-depth research and strategic consulting services covering the region, working closely with financial institutions, regulators, municipal governments, and enterprises across different industries in Greater China. Prior to joining The Asian Banker, she held senior positions in major international institutions, leading business development, marketing, and investor relations functions.
She has also represented Wealth and Society, a TAB Global brand, in a leadership capacity — she has spoken publicly at Wealth and Society's China awards events in her role there.
Christian Kapfer leads research at TAB Global, overseeing TABInsights — the research arm of The Asian Banker and TAB Global — and has been responsible for developing several of the organisation's flagship research programmes, including the Excellence in Retail Financial Services programme and the TAB Global 1000 (formerly AB 500) strongest banks ranking. He has led the Excellence in Retail Banking programme since 2008. His work covers benchmarking and consulting engagements with top-tier financial institutions across leadership, commercial, retail and transaction finance, financial markets, risk management, financial technology, and wealth management. He is a regular moderator and speaker at TAB Global's conferences and summits, and a contributor to The Asian Banker's editorial coverage.
Usama Muhammad oversees the forums business at TAB Global, including its subsidiaries The Asian Banker, Wealth & Society, RadioFinance, The Banking Academy and TheSkillStore. His team is responsible for organising, developing and executing programs for the company’s wide range of innovation tours, training programs, seminars, roundtables and conferences for financial services industry across Asia, Middle East & Africa regions. Before joining the company in 2012, Usama worked in retail banking sector for more than seven years.
The Asian Banker's strength lies in its people. Our organisation brings together a unique combination of researchers, analysts, journalists, programme managers and consultants, creating a range of creative solutions that track developments in the financial services industry and facilitate intelligent discussion around them.
Because the work we do involves collating considerable ground-level information and conducting original research, we invest substantially in young people to grow with us, developing insights and interactions on the financial services industry over many years. We have some of the most resourceful and experienced professionals in research, editorial and programme development in the industry.
We couple our ground-level capabilities by working with independent consultants, either in partnership or as contractors, to add real value in areas of research and consulting where actual industry experience and specific expertise are required.
We are proud to be one of the most diverse organisations of our kind anywhere in the world, recognising merit and the intrinsic value that people of different cultures, nationalities and professional backgrounds bring to the organisation.
The Asian Banker's team spans multiple nationalities and professional backgrounds, reflecting the global and cross-cultural nature of the industry we serve. Our people are based in Singapore, Beijing, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, London and other locations across the world.
We work hard, we play harder. We believe that a vibrant, energised team produces better work — and we invest in the culture, community and wellbeing of our people accordingly.
We serve clients across Asia, the Middle East and Africa through our teams in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Beijing and Dubai. As we expand, we aim to replicate our business model in other regions where expertise in emerging markets is highly valued. We also maintain close engagement with leading institutions in the US, Europe and other developed markets to benchmark global best practices while providing organisations in these regions with actionable intelligence on the markets we cover.
The Asian Banker maintains an open and collaborative relationship with its clients, partners, contributors and the wider financial services community. For the fastest response, please contact the relevant team below.
(Incorporated as Innotribe Solutions Sdn Bhd )
(Incorporated as TAIBO (Beijing) International Consulting Company Ltd. )
(Jenny Swift)
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