Asia lenders usher in year of the virtual bank

The surge in online banking is informing risk technologies in traditional banks

A drove of virtual banks is preparing to launch across Asia – Singapore plans to award up to five new licences by the middle of next year. And established lenders want to exploit their potential as a test bed for their own risk management practices – from credit risk management to fraud monitoring capabilities.

While virtual banks are the norm in many Asia-Pacific (Apac) centres – such as mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Australia – Hong Kong and Taiwan have been hesitant to join the