Qorus announced the Asia-Pacific (APAC) winners of its SME Awards during a live ceremony at the Reinvent Forum - Bangkok.
The winners are the top-ranked banks from the APAC region that participated in the 2024 SME Awards, as voted by financial services professionals.
The winners are:
• Gold award : CIMB Malaysia
CIMB is supporting close to 500,000 SMEs across Malaysia by providing them with innovative products and services that restructure debt, quicken the issuing of loans, reward sustainable practices and equip business owners with key skills. By working closely with clients affected by the Covid pandemic, the bank reduced the proportion of its SME customers requiring repayment assistance from 42% to 2%. During that time, CIMB improved customer acquisition by 10% and increased loans on its balance sheet by 8%.
• Silver award: Alliance Bank Malaysia
Delivering products and services that meet the needs of SMEs throughout the different stages of their lifecycle is key to Alliance Bank’s Acceler8 2027 transformation strategy. Through its Digital SME initiative, the bank provides small businesses and entrepreneurs with custom digital banking and cash management services while its relationship managers offer larger SMEs personalized value-added services. Its strong support of small businesses has enabled Alliance Bank to increase its SME customer base by 30% and grow significantly the number of loans it has granted to such firms.
• Bronze award: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) teamed up with fintech firm Waddle to develop a digital solution that helps SMEs overcome one of their biggest challenges – cash flow constraints. The Stream Working Capital solution enables SMEs to quickly secure loans to cover their cash flow needs by using their outstanding invoices as security instead of traditional assets such as residential or commercial property. Since the launch of Stream Working Capital in 2021, CBA has acquired Waddle and plans to further enhance the digital cash flow solution.
If you want to showcase your excellence in SME banking, participating is simple and free. Just complete the application forms by February 28, 2025. The winners, selected by industry voters, will be honored at a special ceremony in Vienna on May 14 during the Reinvent Forum Vienna 2025. The APAC and MEA winners will be recognized at a regional event later.
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