Olivia Barredo
April 24, 2023

Several Philippine banks have earned a spot in Forbes’ list of World’s Best Banks in 2023, serving as a helpful guide to which banks have commendable financial performance, customer satisfaction, and innovative solutions that drive the industry forward. According to Forbes, “Trust” is and continues to be one of the most important factors when it comes to banking, and considering the unavoidable onslaught of high interest rates after the pandemic, these banks have successfully been able to keep the trust of their bank holders by offering low loan and rates, digital access, high interest rates, and convenience.

Their results, however, were not made simply by assessing these banks. In partnership with the market research firm Statista, more than 48,000 people across 32 countries and in 14 languages shared their opinions on both their current and former banking relationships. The eligibility of these banks was simple: any bank offering checking or savings accounts were eligible to be surveyed. The ratings and results were based on these criteria:

• 30% came from General satisfaction,

• Another 30% came from whether they would recommend the bank;

• And the final 40% were from ratings from these key areas: trust, terms and conditions, digital services, customer services, and financial advice. 

According to Forbes, a bank had to be rated by at least 250 customers and must have had the minimum scores to be included in the list. With that being said, only 4% of banks worldwide reached the minimum scores, which may be why some of the banks listed are not necessarily the biggest or widely used in the country. Their reasoning simply comes from the fact that these banks offer “a little extra something” to their customers that have gained their loyalty despite the economic crisis. 

Additionally, Forbes also noted that the majority of the top banks in many countries consisted mostly of online banks, showing just how the pandemic had affected the banking habits of customers who have relied and continue to rely on the convenience of online banking. Parijat Banerjee–global head of business services at LatentView Analytics–has said that it was the rapid incorporation of digital technology into their banking systems that made the experiences of their customers more swift and personal to appeal to the Millennials and Gen Z bank account holders. 

Here are the Philippine banks featured in Forbes’ List of World’s Best Banks of 2023:

• CIMB Bank

• Philippine National Bank (PNB)

• Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

• Union Bank of the Philippines

• BDO Unibank

• Land Bank of the Philippines

• Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank)

• Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)

• Maya Bank

• Robinsons Bank

With that being said, it is no surprise, then, that CIMB Bank topped the rankings for Philippine banks, excelling as a purely digital bank despite its main office being located all the way in Kuala Lumpur. With its high interest rates on deposits, CIMB has rapidly become a crowd favorite amongst many Filipinos.

Second and Third place go to PNB and BPI considering that they have quite a large customer base. These banks, alongside many of the others in the list, have embraced two things that have greatly assisted in dealing with their customer base: the necessity of having physical branches to resolve problems with your account, and the ease and personal touch of digital access. 

To see the full list of Forbes' World Best Banks of 2023, feel free to check it out here, where they have rearranged all 415 banks in alphabetical order: Forbes' List of World Best Banks of 2023.

The recognition of Philippine banks in Forbes’ list is undoubtedly a significant achievement for the country’s banking industry that proves that the country’s financial institutions are making great strides in providing services to their customers that match the services provided by other banks in other countries, which ultimately boosts the economy’s growth and development. Forbes’ recognition emphasizes the importance of trust in banking and how it serves as a crucial factor in customer satisfaction, and the Philippine banking industry can continue to build on this recognition and use it as motivation to strive towards even greater achievements in the future.