Eight Philippine lenders have secured spots on the World’s Best Banks 2026 list compiled by Forbes and Statista, a ranking where agile digital-native banks claimed the top positions even as traditional giants maintained their edge in trustworthiness among Filipino depositors.

MariBank Philippines Inc. took the top spot in the country for 2026. Controlled by Singapore’s Sea Ltd., the lender was formed through the acquisition and revitalization of the Rural Bank of Pagsanjan, an entity dating back to 1965.

MariBank has achieved market-leading customer satisfaction by integrating its financial services into the ecosystem of its sister company, e-commerce giant Shopee, a strategy that allowed the bank to bypass traditional customer acquisition costs.

GoTyme Bank, a joint venture between the Gokongwei Group and the Singapore-based Tyme Group, followed in second place.

Since its 2022 launch, the lender has deployed a “phygital” model, using digital kiosks located in Robinsons Supermarkets to bridge the gap between virtual banking and physical accessibility, mitigating consumer hesitancy toward purely digital interfaces.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the oldest lender in Southeast Asia, was the highest-rated traditional institution, finishing third.

Despite the digital surge, BPI’s performance indicated that established brands still hold significant sway among affluent and corporate clients who prioritize the security and physical presence of a legacy institution.

The digital momentum extended to Maya Bank, which ranked fifth. The lender, which evolved from the Maya mobile wallet, reported a net income of ₱1.7 billion for the full year 2025. The move into the black suggests the neobank business model has matured beyond subsidized growth into sustainable profitability.

Maya has also aggressively used high-interest savings offers to pull deposits away from traditional rivals.

Other traditional heavyweights maintained positions in the top eight, with Union Bank of the Philippines taking fourth place and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) ranking sixth.

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Philippine National Bank (PNB) rounded out the list.

The Forbes-Statista survey gathered feedback from more than 54,000 customers across 34 countries, evaluating lenders on trustworthiness, terms, customer service, digital tools, and financial advice.

While trustworthiness remains the most critical metric for Philippine depositors, the ease of digital tools has emerged as the primary differentiator in the latest rankings, according to Forbes.