BDO, BPI, ATRKE and Citi get SEA financial, banking awards

MANILA, Philippines - Alpha Southeast Asia, the leading finance publication in the Southeast Asian region, has named three Philippine banks and one non-bank financial institution among the region’s best.

BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), BDO Private Bank, and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. were named Best Bank, Best Private Wealth Management Bank, Best Investment Bank and Best FX Bank for corporates and financial institutions while the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) won Best SME Bank, Best Cash Management Bank and Best Trade Finance Bank.

ATR Kim Eng Securities Inc. won Best Retail Broker while Philippines Equity Partners (PEP) won the Best Institutional Broker award by being the most active on the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE).

In the case of PEP, 80 percent of its business originated from onshore investors in the Philippines, and a large proportion of its brokerage business was derived from institutional clients with 20 percent of funds sourced from foreign funds.

Meanwhile, majority of ATR Kim Eng’s retail clients are high net worth individuals and retail clients based in the Philippines. Both brokerages had also made some of the best sector-based research calls according to peers.

In addition, ATR Kim Eng Securities won Best Equity House while First Metro Investment Corp. won Best Bond House in Philippines.

The Best Foreign Bank award went to Citi, for the third consecutive year.

In the case of this award, the rationale was to look at a bank that is not only foreign domiciled. It must be an institution with the most committed footprint and on-the-ground resources, throughout the region and is not simply based on the single criteria of profits.

This is the third consecutive year that the Southeast Asian financial publication honored Philippine financial institutions and other regional players.