MANILA, Philippines – You might be on the lookout for the best banks to keep your money safe, given some high-profile bank runs earlier this year. But if you want to visit a brick-and-mortar branch, heads up: the country’s top bank is all digital.

CIMB Bank is this year’s top bank in the Philippines according to Forbes. Interestingly enough, it’s also the only bank in the top 10 that isn’t headquartered in the Philippines, with CIMB’s main office located in Kuala Lumpur. Without a physical presence in the country, the Malaysian bank has excelled as a digital bank, drawing customers in with its high interest rates on deposits.

Here is the full list of Forbes’ top banks in the Philippines.

1. CIMB Bank
2. Philippine National Bank (PNB)
3. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
4. Union Bank of the Philippines
5. BDO Unibank
6. Land Bank of the Philippines
7. Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank)
8. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)
9. Maya Bank
10. Robinsons Bank

Rounding out the top three are Tan-owned PNB and BPI.

The Ayala-led BPI is by far the largest bank among the three – large enough that it is working to merge with another bank on the list, Robinsons Bank. 

It’s also worth noting how much these top banks have embraced a “phygital” – part physical, part digital – approach to serving customers. Aboitiz-led Union Bank pioneered the country’s first fully digital bank branch as early as 2017. BPI recently launched its new mobile app – which promises customers access to “AI-powered insights” – and Sy-owned BDO announced plans to upgrade its digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and product capabilities. Meanwhile, fintech firm and digital bank Maya has kept its footprint completely online, just like CIMB.

According to Forbes, the biggest banks weren’t necessarily the best, which explained how the country’s two largest banks – BDO and Landbank – slipped to the middle of the rankings. 

(READ: [ANALYSIS] Should LBP and DBP be merged into a superbank?)

“Online banks are at the top in many countries, reflecting the pandemic’s impact on customers’ digital comfort,” Forbes said. “[O]ver the past two years, banks rapidly adopted new digital technology that made customers’ experiences more robust, swift and personal – all necessary to appeal to Millennial and Gen Z customers.”

To determine the world’s best banks, Forbes tapped market research firm Statista to conduct an online survey of 48,000 customers from 32 countries. Participants scored the banks based on:

• General satisfaction (30%)
• Likelihood to recommend the bank (30%)
• Customer ratings on trust, terms and conditions, digital services, customer services, and financial advice (40%)

To be considered for the list, banks had to offer checkings or savings accounts, and be rated by at least 250 customers.

Expert Speaks

[Vantage Point] How safe is our money in banks?

– Rappler.com