Banking

The Sultanate’s small but solid banking sector has been going through some significant changes in recent times. Consolidation has led to fewer lenders, a process that is likely to continue, while at the same time those banks that do remain are some of the best resourced in the region. Indeed, Brunei Darussalam’s banks have high levels of liquidity, good capital adequacy ratios and well-managed levels of non-performing loans. The sector includes both Islamic and conventional banks, with the former being dominant – a feature that makes the Sultanate unique in Asian banking. This chapter contains interviews with Yusof bin Haji Abdul Rahman, Managing Director, Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD); Pierre Imhof, CEO, Baiduri Bank; and Ajay Kanwal, Regional CEO, ASEAN and South Asia, Standard Chartered.