Signaling a positive roadmap for the Indian banks, S&P Global has recently said the Indian banks have been among the best-performing lenders among peers in Asia as three Indian lenders made it to the list of top 50 banks by assets in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023, up from two in 2022.

As per the data, the aggregate assets of the lenders rose sharply by 50.5% y/y to $1.51 trillion in 2023.

In the list, State Bank of India is at the 20th position, HDFC Bank at 33 and ICICI Bank at 48th spot.

A large part of the increase was due to the merger of HDFC Bank Ltd. with its parent Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. in July 2022. HDFC Bank’s assets jumped 51.3% to $466.35 billion after the merger, propelling the bank up 13 places to 33 in the top 50 ranking.

In the top four spots on the list were mainland China-headquartered lenders and total six are there in the top 10.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. remained the biggest bank in the region and in the world at the end of 2023, with Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. moving ahead of China Construction Bank Corp. into second spot on the regional list. Bank of China Ltd. rounded out the top four.

The big four Chinese banks expanded their assets 10.2% year on year (yoy) to $21.91 trillion in 2023, with Agricultural Bank showing the biggest growth at 14.3% yoy.

Further, the banks in Japan and South Korea suffered the biggest declines in the annual ranking. The combined assets of Japanese lenders fell 2.5% yoy in 2023 to $10.53 trillion, and South Korean banks had a 0.9% yoy decline to $2.66 trillion.

As per the data, the aggregate assets of three Singaporean banks rose 3.7% yoy to $1.40 trillion. In terms of ranking, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and United Overseas Bank Ltd. moved up in the list, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. fell three places to 37.

Notably, the RBI data has said the credit growth in India, currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy, stood at 15.6% as of Dec. 29, 2023, versus 14.9% a year ago.

The Indian government expected the economy to grow at 7.6% in the financial year that ended March 2024, following an 8.4% GDP growth in the October-to-December quarter.