Deutsche Bank recognised as Best of the Best in Asia Pacific's financial markets

Deutsche Bank has been honoured with Asia Risk’s Best of the Best: 25 Years of Excellence award, recognising the bank’s sustained leadership, innovation and long‑standing commitment to clients and markets across Asia Pacific.

Ashok Das, the bank’s Head of Global Emerging Markets and FIC Trading for Asia, shares his views on how Deutsche Bank has influenced the region’s financial markets over a quarter‑century through product innovation, risk management expertise and close collaboration with clients and regulators. 

How have Asia Pacific markets evolved over the past 25 years?

Ashok: When I first joined the industry, Asia was generally considered a frontier region with very restricted access to markets and very limited range of fixed income products available in each of the countries. Since then, the industry and markets have made huge leaps forward, particularly with depth, liquidity and sophistication of products and participants.

There have been several major events that impacted the region’s financial markets for the long-term, including the Asian Financial Crisis, the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID pandemic. These events led to changes in regulations, market structures and risk management practices. The region has become much more resilient, with stronger fiscal conditions, diversified capital flows and more stable political environments.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from past crises?

Ashok: One of the most important lessons learned from the Asian Financial Crisis was for countries to not be overly reliant on foreign capital. This realisation led to efforts to open up markets incrementally while maintaining enough guardrails around reserve numbers, capital flows and regulations. Today, markets in Asia have much more developed structures, with the likes of South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong being truly developed, while others like China, India and others are becoming more accessible with two-way capital flows.

How has Deutsche Bank evolved alongside clients over the past two decades?

Ashok: Deutsche Bank in Asia Pacific has significantly evolved along with our clients, financial markets and regulatory landscapes. Our long-term commitment to the region has earned us strong credibility with clients and regulators. Our client mix has diversified, with a meaningful increase in banking local clients, in addition to global clients. We have also expanded our product offering to provide more innovative and technologically advanced solutions to clients for their risk management. 

What are some key highlights and milestones?

We have been at the forefront of pioneering trades and risk management solutions in various markets, including for Taiwan's wind farm financing projects, asset liability management solutions for clients in India and long dated hedging in China. Also being the first bank to execute a trade under the Registered Financial Institutions (RFI) programme in South Korea was a significant milestone.

Over the past 25 years, we have been proud to work closely with regulators and clients to ensure we remain at the forefront of innovation, market changes and industry trends.

What’s next for Deutsche Bank in Asia Pacific?

The next 25 years will likely bring further evolution in market structures, geopolitical landscapes and digitalisation. The region will continue to become more self-reliant and resilient, with ongoing efforts to open up capital markets and develop and innovate financial products.

Ashok Das