Global Finance Names the World’s Best Internet Banks in Asia 2007

NEW YORK - Global Finance has announced the First Round winners in the “World’s Best Internet Banks” competition in Asia. This is the 8th year Global Finance has named the World’s Best Internet Banks. Details on all First Round winners will be published in the September issue. First Round winners include Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks and Best Consumer Internet Banks at the country level. The Regional and Global winners for these categories will be announced at an Awards Ceremony in New York City in November and published in the December issue of Global Finance. Also announced were Regional winners in Sub-Categories. Global winners in the Sub-Categories will also be announced at the Awards Ceremony and in the December issue. The list of First Round winners follows.

Winners were chosen among entries evaluated by a world-class judging panel consisting of representatives from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Global Finance editors were responsible for the final selection of winners in the First Round.

This year, Global Finance introduced separated regional awards for banks not a part of the world’s 50 largest financial groups.

Only banks that entered the competition were considered for awards, and awards were only given in those regions, countries and categories in which there were entries.

Winning banks were selected based on the following criteria: strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of online customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from Internet initiatives, and web site design and functionality. Category winners, such as “best online cash management” were selected based on the relative strength and success of those web products and services.

“In less than a decade, the Internet has transformed the way many consumers and most businesses bank,” says Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance. “The continuing improvements in Internet offerings represented by this year’s entries show that more significant Internet banking developments are still ahead of us.”

See following for full listings of the World’s Best Internet Banks First Round winners for 2007 in Asia:

Country Winners:

Best Consumer Internet Banks:
_________________________________________
Australia: ANZ Bank
Brunei: HSBC
China: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Guam: Citigroup
Hong Kong: HSBC
India: ICICI Bank Ltd
Indonesia: Citigroup
Korea: HSBC
Kyrgyz Republic: AsiaUniversalBank (AUB)
Malaysia: Citigroup
Pakistan: Citigroup
Philippines: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
Singapore: DBS Bank
Sri Lanka: HSBC
Taiwan: Chinatrust Commercial Bank
Thailand: Citigroup

Regional Sub-Category Winners:
Best Consumer Internet Banks:
_________________________________________
Best Web Site Design: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(CBA)
Best Integrated Consumer Bank Site: HSBC
Best Investment Management Services: HSBC
Best Online Consumer Credit Site: Citigroup
Best Onlilne Deposits Acquisition:
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Best Bill Payment & Presentment: ICICI Bank Ltd
Best Information Security Initiatives: Citigroup

Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks:
_________________________________________
Australia: Citigroup
Bangladesh: Standard Chartered
China: HSBC
Hong Kong: Standard Chartered
India: ICICI Bank Ltd
Indonesia: Citigroup
Japan: Citigroup
Kazakhstan: Citigroup
Korea: Standard Chartered
Kyrgyz Republic: AsiaUniversalBank (AUB)
Malaysia: HSBC
Nepal: Standard Chartered
New Zealand: Citigroup
Pakistan: Standard Chartered
Philippines: Citigroup
Singapore: Citigroup
Sri Lanka: Citigroup
Taiwan: Chinatrust Commercial Bank
Thailand: Citigroup
Vietnam: Citigroup

Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks:
_________________________________________
Best Web Site Design: Standard Chartered
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site: HSBC
Best Investment Management Services: Citigroup
Best Online Cash Management Site: HSBC
Best Trade Finance Services: Standard Chartered
Best Information Security Initiatives: JPMorgan Chase

Regional Winners – not part of the world’s 50 largest financial institutions:
________________________________________
Consumer: ICICI Bank Ltd
Corporate: Standard Chartered