Foreign banks operating in Australia grew their local assets at a faster pace than the big local banks last year, with Asian banks leading the charge.Law firm MinterEllison has released its annual Foreign Bank Tracker survey, reporting that it is the second year in a row that foreign bank local asset growth has outpaced the majors, and the third consecutive year of growth for foreign banks in Australia.Asian banks' local assets grew 15 per cent last year - up from 8 per cent the year before. Among the Asian banks, the Koreans stood out, with 64 per cent growth.The strong growth of Asian banks is due, in part, to a significant number of entrants from India, Korea and China.US and Canadian banks experienced their fastest growth since 2010, with assets up 14 per cent last year. European banks grew 8.4 per cent last year, compared with 6 per cent the previous year.There were two new foreign bank entrants last year - ABN Amro and China Everbright.Total local assets held by foreign banks were $440.3 billion at the end of last year - up by $45.8 billion over the year.The fastest growing banks were Standard Chartered, Woori Bank (South Korea), E.SUN Commercial Bank (China), Taishin International Bank (China), Shinhan Bank (South Korea), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, State Bank of India and China Merchants Bank Co.In some cases merger activity fuelled the growth. Japan's MUFG Bank acquired Commonwealth Bank's wealth business, Colonial First State, for A$4 billion.With local big banks constrained by a raft of regulatory issues and Australia's global trade and investment relationships continuing to expand, Minter Ellison says the current trend may continue.