Original report by GLOBAL FINANCE magazine
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31, 2009: None of Malaysian banks made it to a list of “World’s 50 Safest Banks 2009” rankings published recently by “Global Finance” while neighbouring republic Singapore could boast of three placements.
Singapore’s DBS Bank garnered spot 20, United Overseas Bank at 37 and OCBC at 38, according to the rankings — led at the top three by KfW (Germany), Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (France), and Bank Nederlands Gemeenten (BNG) (Netherlands) — released by the internationally well-regarded US magazine, in a Company statement in New York on February 25, 2009.
Another country with a slightly lower population than Malaysia’s, Australia, has three banks highly positioned — National Australia Bank at 11, Australia & New Zealand BankGroup at 15, and Westpac Banking Corporation at 16.
In its mid-year Update, the report of which will be published in full in its April issue, “Global Finance” said the listings were selected through a comparison of the long-term creit ratings and total assets of the 500 largest banks around the world. Ratings from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch were used.
