Year: 2018

World Finance Global Insurance Awards 2017

Posted on by Helen

The insurance sector has always played a crucial social and economic function in covering the risks of individuals and businesses. This familiar role dates back to the first millennium BC, when groups of merchants in Rhodes conceived a ‘general average’ that consisted of premiums to protect those whose goods didn’t make it through a voyage.

In the present setting, the role of insurers has undergone a rapid transformation over a remarkably short period of time. A key factor is a sharp change in the kinds of risks that people are facing: while cybercrime is on the up, autonomous vehicles could dramatically reduce vehicle-related risks. Meanwhile, products are becoming increasingly personalised and efficient, while simultaneously expanding to fulfil new functions. Notably, technological advancements like big data, smartphone usage and the Internet of Things are shifting the foundations of the industry, while social and economic changes are driving new opportunities for growth.

The pace of transformation was neatly summarised in Deloitte’s 2017 Insurance Outlook: “Nimble will be the new normal in 2017 as insurance companies confront a marketplace that is changing more drastically than perhaps ever before. In addition to macroeconomic, social and regulatory changes likely to impact the industry, insurers are coping with longer-term, game-changing trends.”

According to PwC, insurance is the industry that has been most severely impacted by disruptive change, based on the percentage of CEOs who are “extremely concerned about the threats to their growth prospects from the speed of technological change, changing customer behaviour, and competition from new market entrants”.

As ever, success will come to those who are readily equipped to adapt to the wider social, economic and technological trends that are driving the market. Against this backdrop, World Finance has carefully selected the most impressive companies from across the industry for the 2017 edition of the Global Insurance Awards.

The commoditisation of insurance is revving up price competition and forcing companies to drive down costs by turning to digitalisation and technology-based solutions

Macro trends
While the economic recovery in the US and EU is increasingly convincing, global growth continues to be littered with uncertainties and potential setbacks. As a result, insurers today are facing the ongoing challenge of considerable uncertainty in the global economy, coupled with the burden of various regulatory pressures. Another important issue facing insurers is the continued low-interest-rate environment, which is putting pressure on investment income.

Deloitte’s report notes that, while the industry as a whole started 2017 with a strong financial base, profitability is being undermined by excess capacity. This can be illustrated by a downward trend in net income and a lower return on average equity. Furthermore, this problem of high capacity is unlikely to shift anytime soon given stiff competition from new and existing players and a background of slow growth.

One stark change facing insurers today is that customer loyalty is an entirely different game to what it once was. Online customers now approach insurance decisions with the helping hand of an array of new aggregators and digital comparison tools, and their choices are driven more than ever by price. This was put into focus by Accenture’s 2017 global distribution and marketing consumer study, which questioned 32,715 insurance customers across 18 markets to get to the bottom of what is driving their choices. According to the study, 52 percent of vehicle insurance customers say that competitive pricing is their number one driver of loyalty, though this dipped slightly to 50 percent for home insurance customers and 38 percent for life insurance customers.

Inevitably, the commoditisation of insurance is revving up price competition and forcing companies to drive down costs by turning to digitalisation and technology-based solutions. This is leading to increases in the use of automation for applications such as data collection, analytics and online customer interactions.

Growth areas
Notably, this shift in the notion of loyalty is also creating new opportunities and growth areas. In order to woo customers, insurers are moving towards more personalised services and modern tools of big data, mobile phones and advanced analytics to tailor the customer experience. This has led to an emerging market for usage-based insurance, which has scope to expand from vehicle insurance into home and business insurance.

Illustratively, around a third of insurance customers interviewed by Accenture indicated that they were interested in receiving vehicle insurance that adjusted to individual usage. Meanwhile, 44 percent of insurance customers conveyed that it was important to them for insurers to provide personalised health advice. The logic to be derived from this survey data is that those companies offering novel ways to engage customers will be able to retain some loyalty and escape the relentless race to the bottom.

Modern menaces
Another key development in the insurance sector is the growing threat of the cyberattack, which looks set to stimulate a large quantity of new business. Over the course of last year, notorious cyber disasters like WannaCry and Petya have ensured that companies and individuals are fast waking up to the potential for loss and inconvenience. Smaller-scale cyberattacks are also becoming increasingly common. A government survey of businesses in the UK found that 66 percent of medium-sized businesses claimed they had experienced a cybersecurity breach or attack over the course of the past year.

This is relatively unknown territory, however, and the numbers that insurers are grappling with are largely unfamiliar. For instance, questions around severity, financial loss and reoccurrence risks are still difficult to quantify.

One report, which was co-written by Lloyds of London and risk modelling firm Cyence, has sought to identify just how devastating a cyberattack might be. In exploring the potential for damage, the report modelled a hypothetical hack of a cloud services provider. It ultimately found that such an attack would result in drastic economic losses ranging from $4.6bn to $53bn, while in the most extreme cases, losses could rise as high as $121bn. At the top end, these losses would be on par with those inflicted by some of the most extreme natural disasters.

Ironically, the very same trend will also be a danger to insurance companies, as they inevitably face the task of building their own defences against cyber risk, particularly if they find themselves sitting on large quantities of usage-tracking data. Meanwhile, Deloitte also warns of a creeping “existential threat” facing insurers: self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles could feasibly result in tens of millions of people eschewing the need for car insurance, which would of course be devastating for the industry.

As ever, technology is both friend and foe: it is forcing change while also simultaneously creating an arena for certain firms to stand out more than ever. The World Finance Global Insurance awards aim to celebrate those that have stood out as clear industry leaders over the course of 2017 by remaining agile even in the face of rapid change.

World Finance Global Insurance Awards 2017

Argentina
General – Caja de Seguros
Life – BNP Paribas Cardif

Australia
General – Insurance Australia Group
Life – BT Financial Group

Austria
General – UNIQA Insurance Group
Life – Sparkassen Versicherung

Bahrain
General – Gulf Union Insurance and Reinsurance
Life – Bahrain National Life Assurance Company

Bangladesh
General – Nitol Insurance
Life- Popular Life Insurance Company

Belgium
General – Ethias
Life – ING

Brazil
General – Allianz
Life – Brasilprev

Bulgaria
General – Armeec Insurance
Life – SiVZK (TUMICO)

Canada
General – Intact
Life – BMO

Caribbean
General – National Commercial Bank
Life – ScotiaLife

Chile
General – ACE Group
Life – Seguros de Vida Sura

China
General – China Pacific Insurance
Life – Ping An Life Insurance

Colombia
General – Liberty Seguros
Life – Bolivars

Costa Rica
General – ASSA Compañía de Seguros
Life – ADISA

Cyprus
General – Royal Crown Insurance
Life – CNP Cyprialife

Czech Republic
General – Komerční banka
Life – Allianz pojišt’ovna

Denmark
General – Topdanmark
Life – Danica Pension

Egypt
General – Allianz Egypt
Life – Allianz Egypt

Finland
General – OP Financial Group
Life – Nordea Life Assurance

France
General – Covéa
Life – AXA

Georgia
General – Aldagi
Life – Aldagi

Greece
General – INTERAMERICA
Life – NN Hellas

Hong Kong
General – China Taiping Insurance
Life – Habib Bank Zurich Hong Kong

Hungary
General – Allianz Hungaria
Life – Magyar Posta Életbiztosító

Jordan
General – Middle East Insurance Company
Life – Arab Orient Insurance Company

India
General – ICICI Lombard
Life – Max Life Insurance Company

Indonesia
General – PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia
Life – Jiwasraya

Israel
General – Harel Insurance
Life – Clal Life

Italy
General – UnipolSai Assicurazioni
Life – Poste Vita

Kazakhstan
General – Nomad Insurance
Life – JSC Kazkommerts Life

Kenya
General – CIC Insurance Group
Life – Britam

Kuwait
General – Kuwait Insurance Company
Life – Al Ahleia Insurance

Lebanon
General – AXA Middle East
Life – Bancassurance sal

Luxembourg
General – AXA Assurance
Life – Swiss Life

Malaysia
General – Etiqa Insurance and Takaful
Life – Hong Leong Assurance Berhad

Malta
General – GasanMamo Insurance
Life – HSBC Life Assurance Malta

Mexico
General – GNP
Life – Seguros Monterrey New York Life

Netherlands
General – Achmea
Life – ING

New Zealand
General – Tower Insurance
Life – Asteron Life

Nigeria
General – Zenith Insurance
Life – FBNInsurance

Norway
General – SpareBank 1
Life – Nordea Liv

Oman
General – Oman United Insurance
Life – Dhofar Insurance

Pakistan
General – Adamjee Insurance
Life – EFU Life

Panama
General – ASSA Compañía de Segurous
Life – Pan-American Life

Peru
General – RIMAC Seguros
Life – MAPFRE

Philippines
General – Standard Insurance
Life – BPI-Philam Life Assurance

Poland
General – UNIQA
Life – MetLife

Portugal
General – Allianz Seguros
Life – Ocidental

Qatar
General – Qatar General Insurance
Life – Q Life and Medical Insurance Company

Romania
General – ERGO Asigurari
Life – Allianz-Tiriac

Russia
General – AlfaStrakhovanie
Life – Renaissance Zhizn Insurance Company

Saudi Arabia
General – Al Rajhi Takaful
Life – Medgulf

Serbia
General – Generali Osiguranje Srbija
Life – Generali Osiguranje Srbija

Singapore
General – United Overseas Insurance
Life – Great Eastern Life Assurance

South Korea
General – Samsung Life Insurance
Life – Hanwha Life

Spain
General – Direct Seguros
Life – VidaCaixa

Sri Lanka
General – Sri Lanka Insurance
Life – Ceylinco Life Insurance

Sweden
General – Trygg-Hansa
Life – Nordea Liv

Switzerland
General – Helvetia
Life – Swiss Life Group

Taiwan
General – Cathay Century Insurance
Life – Fubon Life Insurance

Thailand
General – Viriyah Insurance
Life – Thai Life Insurance

Turkey
General – Zurich Sigorta
Life – Anadolu Hayat Emeklilik

UAE
General – ADNIC
Life – ADNIC

UK
General – AXA UK
Life – Legal & General

US
General – Progressive
Life – Lincoln Financial Group

Uzbekistan
General – Uzagrosugurta
Life – O’zbekinvest Hayot

Vietnam
General – PVI
Life – Bao Viet Life

World Finance Oil & Gas Awards 2017

Posted on by Helen

If 2016 was the year of “tough decisions”, 2017 was the year of “the slow road back”. The words in Deloitte’s outlook report for the sector, written by the company’s US Energy and Resources Leader John England, summarise the present state of the petroleum industry.

England referred to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC’s) move in November 2016, when members of the cartel reached an agreement on production cuts aimed at balancing supply and demand in the oil market. It was the first time the organisation had taken such a drastic measure since the financial crisis in 2008.

Since the deal took effect in January 2017, oil prices have recovered amid stronger global economic growth. However, high volatility and fluctuations have got in the way, and challenges have remained at a moment when new threats lie ahead, such as the transformation of fuel cars into electric models. While it works tirelessly addressing the current issues, the oil industry is also anticipating what is to come.
The World Finance Oil and Gas Awards 2017 recognise the prominent companies in the sector that have managed to succeed despite the challenges, and today continue to forge ahead.

Step by step
Oil is the world’s leading fuel. According to the latest statistical review by BP, it accounted for one third of global energy consumption in 2016, increasing its market share among other types of energy for the second year in a row.

But prices have been depressed. The move by OPEC at the end of 2016, which was subscribed by a large group of non-OPEC countries shortly after and led by Russia, was a consequence of a rapid downfall in the oil market over the past few years. Producers saw prices collapse from a peak of $115 per barrel in June 2014 to around $30 in 2016. Among other reasons, the decline was due to concerns about slowing growth in China and other emerging markets.

For the first time in a decade, economies around the world are expanding simultaneously; oil prices are part of the virtuous circle of an increasing demand

Consequently, the industry’s leaders decided to curb production to almost 1.8 million barrels a day – or around two percent of the global output – for six months. However, the measure aimed at pushing the prices up was just the beginning of a longer-lasting strategy revalidated in May 2017. In a new meeting, the oil cartel and its allies decided to extend the effort until at least the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Since the output cut began, the group of 21 nations that are part of the deal haven’t been strictly successful in achieving their cut targets. According to data analysed by Bloomberg, OPEC nations only met their cutback goals in the three months from March to May 2017, while the non-OPEC countries were only effective in August and September 2017.

Nevertheless, attempts to roll back an oversupplied market have impacted prices. From a market perspective, the effect has been positive, but not enough; prices have been volatile, failing to provide a significant and steady upward trend in the value of the commodity.

Indeed, after the first half of 2017, prices started to show stronger figures. In December 2017, oil prices reached their highest levels in more than two years, with the price of Brent Crude – the global reference price – breaking $65 a barrel.

Experts attributed the gains to current global economic growth: for the first time in a decade, economies around the world are expanding simultaneously, The Wall Street Journal reported. This comes together with stronger industrial activity demanding more diesel, an increase in international trade, and consumers being empowered by higher employment rates. As a result, oil prices are part of the virtuous circle of an increasing demand.

Time to rebalance
With its members holding more than 80 percent of the world’s proven crude oil reserves, OPEC has considerable influence on the market.

In the presentation of its latest World Oil Outlook in November 2017, OPEC’s Secretary General Mohmmad Sanusi Barkindo said: “The past year has been a historic one for OPEC and the global oil industry.” He recognised that, since November 2016, “it has been a period when the rebalancing of the global oil market has gathered vital momentum”.

Looking ahead, OPEC is cautious. According to the group, global demand for oil won’t peak in the period to 2040, but growth will soon decelerate. In line with these expectations, the largest companies in the sector predict demand will hit a peak and decline in the years ahead because of new technologies and electric vehicles. For example, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Statoil forecast the highest point of demand will be reached between 2025 and 2030.

One of the threats the industry is weighing is the car industry’s transformation, based on initiatives to tackle climate change, such as the Paris Agreement. Despite this, OPEC believes its business won’t suffer any strong impact – at least, not in the next two decades. “The car fleet is anticipated to change smoothly over the forecast period. In the passenger car segment, electric vehicles are estimated to represent 12 percent of the car fleet by 2040,” the OPEC report explained. “Oil is expected to remain the fuel with the largest share in the energy mix throughout the forecast period.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA) shared this view in its latest outlook: “While the much-discussed growth in the electric vehicles fleet is a very important longer-term issue for oil demand, by 2022 we estimate that only limited volumes of global transport fuel demand will be lost to [electric vehicles] from conventional fuels.”

In regards to where the demand will be originated, both OPEC and the IEA expect driving forces to come from emerging economies.

Among those, the IEA’s outlook named one of the world’s fastest-growing economies: “India, particularly, is gradually becoming the focus of attention as Chinese demand growth slows. Twenty years of strong demand growth in China, fuelled by rapid industrialisation and infrastructure spending, is giving way to a slower pace as the Chinese economy moves towards a services and consumer-led structure,” the report explained.

In numbers, even though Indian per capita oil consumption represents less than half that of the Chinese, at 1.2 barrels per year, the IEA focused on the potential: “There is clearly still plenty of growth to come from India.” In the next five years, the country’s per capita oil consumption is expected to reach 1.5 barrels.

Gas: a globalised market
Compared with coal and oil, natural gas is a less harmful fuel. Under the analysis of the IEA, the gas market is transforming from a regional to a globalised system, with increasingly interdependent markets. At present, the main drivers are “the availability of shale gas and the rising supplies of liquefied natural gas”, the IEA said.

But this, it warned, has brought about a risk. “The security of natural gas supplies cannot be taken for granted even with the current low-price environment and oversupplied market,” said Executive Director of the IEA Fatih Birol. “From cold spells in Southern Europe, to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, to diplomatic tensions among Gulf countries, energy security is impossible to ignore.”

The IEA’s latest forecast on natural gas predicts that global demand will grow by 1.6 percent a year for the next five years, with consumption reaching around four trillion cubic metres.

According to the predictions, China will be the main driver on the demand side, while the US will provide most of the additional supply thanks to the sharp growth in its domestic shale industry.

Despite the ongoing clean energy revolution, forecasts on fossil fuels are still upbeat about the near future for oil and gas. Now, with the tail wind of global economic growth, both seem to have an opportunity to gain further momentum, especially those at the forefront. These leading figures can be found among the winners of the World Finance Oil and Gas Awards 2017.

World Finance Oil & Gas Awards 2017

Best Fully Integrated Company
Africa: Oando
Asia: PTT
Middle East: Aramco
Eastern Europe: Gazprom
Western Europe: Repsol
Latin America: YPF
North America: ExxonMobil

Best Independent Company
Africa: Oando
Asia: Conrad Petroleum
Middle East: Genel Energy
Eastern Europe: Irkutsk Oil Company
Western Europe: Perenco
Latin America: PetroRio
North America: Diamondback Energy

Best Exploration & Production Company
Africa: Sonatrach
Asia: PTTEP
Middle East: Aramco
Eastern Europe: Rosneft
Western Europe: Independent Oil & Gas
Latin America: PetroRio
North America: OXY

Best Downstream Company
Africa: Vivo Energy
Asia: Thaioil
Middle East: KNPC
Eastern Europe: Oscar Downstream
Western Europe: Varo Energy
Latin America: Ecopetrol
North America: Andeavor

Best Upstream Service & Solutions Company
Africa: Nigerdock
Asia: Sapura Energy
Middle East: Saipem
Eastern Europe: Rusneftegaz
Western Europe: Wood Group
Latin America: Weatherford
North America: Schlumberger

Best Downstream Service & Solutions Company
Africa: Puma Energy
Asia: Petronas
Middle East: ORPIC
Eastern Europe: PKN Orlen
Western Europe: Repsol
Latin America: Enargas
North America: Kinder Morgan

Best Drilling Contractor
Africa: Pacific Drilling
Asia: PV Drilling & Well Services Corporation
Middle East: ADNOC Driling
Eastern Europe: CROSCO
Western Europe: Noble Corporation
Latin America: San Antonio Internacional
North America: Helmerich & Payne

Best Investment Company
Africa: Helios Investment Company
Asia: Kerogen Capital
Middle East: IPIC
Eastern Europe: Gazprombank
Western Europe: Blue Water Energy
Latin America: Riverstone Holdings
North America: Denham Capital

Best EPC Service & Solutions Company
Africa: Nigerdock
Asia: Chiytoda Corporation
Middle East: NPCC
Eastern Europe: ZAVKOM
Western Europe: Wood Group
Latin America: CFPS Engenharia e Projetos
North America: SNC Lavalin

Best Sustainability Company
Africa: Engen
Asia: PTT
Middle East: ENOC
Eastern Europe: Irkutsk Oil Company
Western Europe: Galp Energia
Latin America: Pemex
North America: Sunoco

Best CEO
Africa: Aidan Heavey, Tullow Oil
Asia: Tevin Vongvanich, PTT PCL
Middle East: Amin H. Nasser, Aramco
Eastern Europe: Alexey Miller, Gazprom
Western Europe: Josu Jon Imaz, Repsol
Latin America: José Antonio González Anaya, Pemex
North America: Vicki Holllub, OXY

Best Oil & Gas Law Firm
Africa: ENS Africa
Asia: Baker Botts
Middle East: Amereller
Eastern Europe: CMS Warsaw
Western Europe: Dentons
Latin America: Canales Auty
North America: Baker Botts

World Finance Digital Banking Awards 2017

Posted on by Helen

Long gone are the days when IT was confined to siloed divisions within a bank. Today, digitalisation impacts every branch, at every level and across all departments of any financial institution worth its salt. As the past year has demonstrated, banks have little choice but to embrace the digital revolution wholeheartedly. An ongoing transformation is the result, while those that continue to be slow to adapt are now suffering the consequences.

Nowadays, consumers demand the utmost in convenience. They can purchase pretty much anything online at the touch of a button, at any time – day or night – and they expect no less from their financial service provider. But with this mammoth rush in online banking comes the pressing and growing need for security. Recent years have demonstrated the danger of the cloud’s double-edged sword, and everyday consumers are all too aware of the ease with which organisations can be hacked. Consequently, in 2017, we saw major advances in banking security, with the use of biometric authentication and iris recognition providing a much-needed additional level of security for customers. That said, despite their importance in today’s digital world, such developments are not yet ubiquitous.

Over the past year, the continued march of banking’s digital transformation has forced many to rise to associated challenges and evolve with the times, while others gradually fade away, soon to be forgotten in the brick-and-mortar branches they seem so reluctant to leave behind. In this year’s World Finance Digital Banking Awards, we celebrate those that lead the way with digitalisation, while meeting consumer demands and mitigating against accompanying risks along the way.

Rise of the cryptocurrency
Fintech firms are continuously finding new and innovative ways to make managing, investing and spending money easier than ever before. In this vein, perhaps the biggest change that we have seen in the past 12 months has been the rising popularity of digital currencies. In 2017, we witnessed something that few would have predicted just a few years ago: cryptocurrencies going mainstream.

The continued march of banking’s digital transformation has forced many to rise to associated challenges and evolve with the times, while others gradually fade away

While bitcoin remains the most well-known cryptocurrency, a growing number of rivals are proliferating at an astonishing rate. The second in popularity is Ethereum, while others following closely include Litecoin, Zcash, Dash and Ripple. Aptly demonstrating the current trend is their growth in value witnessed over the past year. For instance, in the months from January to July 2017, Ethereum increased its value fiftyfold to $300 a coin. By August, Litecoin reached just above $64.20 per coin, exploding in value by almost 1,383 percent from the start of the year, when it was trading at just $4.33.

Unsurprisingly, amid such news, bitcoin had its biggest ever year in 2017, reaching over $15,000 per coin in December. Meanwhile, the volume of daily bitcoin transactions took off in May, from an average of $200m in the months prior to more than $700m being common for the rest of the year.

Against this backdrop, big banks have started to act, all too aware that they could easily miss a beat that could one day make them obsolete. By the summer, Ashok Vaswani, Chief Executive Officer for Personal and Corporate Banking at Barclays, revealed that discussions were underway with British regulators to introduce digital currencies.

“We have been talking to a couple of fintech companies and have actually gone with them to the [Financial Conduct Authority] to talk about how we could bring an equivalent cryptocurrency, not necessarily bitcoin, into play,” Vaswani told CNBC at a fintech conference in Denmark.

Barclays is not alone in this endeavour; central banks throughout Asia and Europe are also exploring digital-only currencies. Denmark’s central bank has been deliberating a digital-only e-krone for over a year now, while the People’s Bank of China has already run trials on its own currency. Meanwhile, in June, tech giant IBM announced a new deal to construct a digital trade platform with the Digital Trade Chain Consortium, a group of European banks comprising Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank, KBC, Rabobank, Natixis, Unicredit and HSBC.

As such snippets – which are by no means indicative of the whole story – show, 2017 has been a monumental year for digital currencies. And it seems this is only the start: financial institutions all over the world are now scrambling to latch onto the trend, something we can expect to see long into 2018 as well.

New players
While in 2016 we witnessed the rise of small and nimble fintech firms, along with the start of a movement that saw them team up with traditional banks, throughout 2017, we have seen a growing incidence of partnerships with big tech firms. Aside from the mammoth IBM and Digital Trade Chain Consortium alliance, there are also several others highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Beyond Fintech: A Pragmatic Assessment of Disruptive Potential in Financial Services report, which was published in August 2017 and alludes to a major disruption that could well be underway.

The report lists artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data analytics as the main three areas that have become critical to maintaining competitiveness in the financial sector. Interestingly, it is these capabilities that the giants of the tech world already have deep levels of experience and expertise in, far exceeding their financial counterparts. Embracing such solutions is proving to be difficult for the banks trying to play catch-up, with more institutions turning to the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon.

Among the most notable examples given by the WEF is Amazon Web Services’ partnership with numerous finance companies, including Nasdaq, Aon, Carlyle and Pacific Life. There is also Banco Bradesco’s partnership with Facebook, which enables customers to carry out their daily banking activities on the social media platform. This uses Facebook’s highly sophisticated data analytics to better target existing and potential customers. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Alexa solution is now provided to Capital One and Liberty Mutual, enabling customers to pay bills and track their spending through voice-activated devices.

Although such cooperation is facilitating and encouraging innovation in the sector, the report notes that it could also pose a risk in the event that big tech players decide to enter into the financial services game themselves, placing them in direct competition with banks, but with a massive technological advantage.

“Tech giants would be able to pick and choose their points of entry into financial services; maximising their strengths like rich datasets and strong brands, while taking advantage of incumbent institutions’ dependence on them,” said Jesse McWaters, lead author of the report, on the WEF’s website.

There has been a lot of change over the past year, with financial institutions proving to be more willing to adapt, implement new technology and partner up. But what 2017 has also indicated is that the game is becoming fiercely competitive, and new rivals may not just be limited to the small fintech players that banks had previously come to terms with. As such changes continue to rain down on the industry, flexibility and forward-thinking is more important than ever. Those who stand tall in the face of such challenges, while embracing the new and unknown, are commended in the latest edition of the World Finance Digital Banking Awards.

World Finance Digital Banking Awards 2017

Best Digital Banks
Andorra: MoraBanc
Brunei: Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria: UniCredit Bulbank
Canada: CIBC
Chile: Bci
Costa Rica: BAC Credomatic
Dominican Republic: Banco Popular Dominicano
El Salvador: BAC Credomatic
France: Citi
Germany: Fidor Bank
India: ICICI Bank
Jordan: InvestBank
Kuwait: Gulf Bank
Latvia: Citadele Banka
Malaysia: Maybank
Mexico: BBVA Bancomer
Mozambique: MozaBank
Myanmar: CB Bank
Nigeria: Wema Bank
Panama: BAC Credomatic
Portugal: Activo Bank
Romania: Banca Comercialaˇ Românaˇ
South Korea: Shinhan
Sri Lanka: Commercial Bank of Ceylon
Turkey: Garanti Bank
UAE: Mashreq Bank
UK: Monzo Bank
US: Citi

Best Mobile Banking Apps
Andorra: MoraBanc – MoraBanc App
Brunei: Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam – BIBD Mobile
Bulgaria: UniCredit Bulbank – Bulbank Mobile
Canada: CIBC – CIBC Mobile Banking
Chile: Bci – Bci Movil
Costa Rica: BAC Credomatic – Banca Móvil
Dominican Republic: Banco Popular Dominicano – Banco Popular Dominicano
El Salvador: BAC Credomatic – Banca Móvil
France: Citi – Citi Mobile
Germany: Fidor Bank – Fidor Bank
India: ICICI Bank – iMobile by ICICI
Jordan: InvestBank – iBank
Kuwait: Gulf Bank – Gulf Bank Mobile Banking
Latvia: Citadele Banka – Citadele
Malaysia: Maybank – Maybank
Mexico: BBVA Bancomer – Bancomer móvil
Mozambique: MozaBank – Moza Mobile
Myanmar: CB Bank – CB Bank Mobile Banking
Nigeria: Wema Bank – ALAT
Panama: BAC Credomatic – Banca Móvil
Portugal: Activo Bank – ActivoBank
Romania: Banca Comercialã Românã – Touch 24 Banking BCR
South Korea: Shinhan – Shinhan Global S Bank
Sri Lanka: Commercial Bank of Ceylon – ComBank
Turkey: Garanti Bank – Garanti Mobile Banking
UAE: Mashreq Bank – Snapp
UK: Monzo Bank – Monzo Bank
US: Citi – Citi Mobile