Maintaining economic growth in the shadow of Covid-19 has been the main challenge of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean's) banks over the past year. The region took a hard economic hit from the pandemic, as lockdowns closed borders and the tourism sector - vital for many of its countries to maintain a strong economic performance - dried up. The impact is nowhere clearer than in the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for 2020. According to the International Monetary Fund, Indonesia saw its GDP fall by 2.1%, Singapore 5.4%, and Malaysia by 5.6%. Meanwhile, Thailand's GDP fell by 6.1% and the Philippines' by 9.5%. However, Vietnam bucked the trend, as its GDP increased by 2.9%. For the region's banks, it has been a challenging time that has tested their strength, liquidity and soundness. The Banker's Top 30 Asean Banks ranking demonstrates the solid gains the region's banks made in Tier 1 capital over the past year, albeit with a sharp decline in profits. Dominating the main ranking, Singaporean financial institutions take the top three positions, maintaining the same positions as the previous year. The remaining positions are split between banks from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Almost all of the banks in the top 10 managed to increase their Tier 1 capital, with the exception of two Indonesian banks, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri. However, all 10 saw their profits decline, with fifth-place Bangkok Bank seeing the biggest drop (53.4%). Indeed, only four banks in the ranking recorded an increase in profits in 2020 - Thailand's TMB Bank being the highest placed in 16th place. It was able to hold onto the same spot as last year, in part thanks to a 40.6% jump in profits.
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