At Sibos 2026 in Miami, The Asian Banker examines how leading financial institutions are deploying AI, advancing tokenised finance and adapting to regulatory shifts under this year's theme, “Digital finance for AI-driven economies”.
Our coverage focuses on:
Payments & market infrastructure Regulation, payment experience and infrastructure for future demand.
Securities & FX T+1 settlement, tokenisation and corporate actions.
Risk & resilience Supply-chain disruption, settlement risk and operational resilience.
AI & emerging technology AI governance and returns, quantum computing and distributed ledgers.
Sustainable finance & inclusion ESG-aligned assets and progress in financial inclusion.
MUFG’s Richard Yorke said the next phase of its corporate and investment banking strategy in Asia Pacific will focus on generating stronger returns from client relationships, increasing distribution and connecting financing with transaction banking, global markets and capital markets.
MUFG's Belinda Han said the bank wants to translate its regional footprint and ASEAN partner-bank network into a more integrated transaction banking franchise, capturing a greater share of clients' payments, collections, liquidity, trade and working-capital flows as intra-Asia business expands.
Partior CEO Humphrey Valenbreder said interoperability between banks, settlement institutions and different forms of commercial-bank money could reduce reliance on pre-funded bilateral accounts as the industry works to make 24/7 cross-border settlement more efficient.
BNY’s Fabian Khoshbakht expects correspondent banking, tokenised deposits, stablecoins and other emerging payment infrastructure to coexist rather than rapidly displace one another. The bigger question ahead of Sibos Miami is whether these increasingly diverse rails can work together to improve how banks and their clients move money and manage liquidity.
Bank of America’s Siddarth Gupta and Chandana Thanthrige argue that transaction banks will increasingly compete on their ability to convert data into decisions, coordinate multiple payment networks and deploy AI within clear limits as access to technology becomes less distinctive.
As cross-border payments become more sophisticated, DBS Bank's Sriram Muthukrishnan argues that competitive advantage will increasingly belong to banks that understand customer intent first, then hide the growing complexity of payment infrastructure behind a simpler customer experience.
International trade is steadily shifting from documentary trade towards open account trading, requiring banks to rethink how they assess risk and deliver financing. Runa Baksi explained how HSBC is redesigning trade finance around trusted commercial data, embedded finance and new digital operating models while preserving established risk principles.
Rather than replacing correspondent banking with a single new technology, Standard Chartered believes the next phase of cross-border payments lies in integration within a common operating model. Naveen Mallela explains why interoperability, liquidity and operational certainty are becoming more important than simply building another payment rail.
Swift has moved its blockchain-based shared ledger from concept to readiness for initial use in nine months, with 17 banks preparing to pilot live tokenised-deposit transactions. The test is whether a messaging cooperative can coordinate separate bank liabilities across borders without itself becoming a settlement institution.
As digital assets move into commercial deployment, Standard Chartered is preparing for their adoption across capital markets and payments by building capabilities in custody, tokenisation, settlement infrastructure and emerging payments.
Europe's on-chain euro challenge is no longer whether a regulated token can be issued, but whether enough banks and counterparties can make it liquid enough to matter. Qivalis, backed by 37 European banks, is testing whether commercial-bank network density can become Europe's answer to dollar stablecoin dominance.
Geopolitical realignment is reshaping trade corridors and increasing the importance of local banks in emerging markets. Anand Jha argues that Deutsche Bank can turn its global connectivity into an advantage by working with local institutions to give clients the access, capabilities and resilience they need as trade and supply chains fragment.
Real-time payments, new trade corridors and supply-chain diversification are reshaping institutional cash, liquidity and trade flows across Asia Pacific. Sebastien Avot argues that Deutsche Bank’s regional advantage lies in connecting payments, liquidity, trade, FX and risk capabilities across markets as financial institutions and corporate treasurers navigate an increasingly fragmented operating environment.
As traditional transaction banking products become more commoditised, Deutsche Bank sees new sources of growth emerging around data-driven services, embedded treasury, new payment rails and working-capital solutions. Tsvetanka Nankova argues that banks will need to turn transaction data into decision intelligence while retaining the advantages of regulated balance sheets and trust and partnering where others can extend their capabilities.
Financial Markets Weekly: Hong Kong prices $2.6 billion digital green bonds using tokenised deposits, Coinbase wins CFTC clearing approval and DTCC invests in iCapital; Capitolis buys eSecLending for $200 million.
Transaction Finance Weekly: Swift's pay-by-alias framework, FedNow's cross-border leg, BNY's Pay-to-Wallet and JP Morgan-Thunes expand cross-border payments; Citi extends tokenised liquidity.
Risk and Capital Weekly Brief: Swiss lawmakers advance a $16 billion CET1 hit for UBS, as Fed proposes capital rules for stablecoin issuers.
Financial Technology Weekly: BNP Paribas and Société Générale push AI deeper into banking operations, as regulators and industry bodies race to define liability and governance around it.
Financial Markets Weekly: Six Canadian banks began exploring a shared approach to tokenised deposits, while Hong Kong proposed changes to transaction rules and Singapore introduced new disclosure requirements for listed companies.
Transaction Finance Weekly: The Eurosystem launched Pontes for tokenised asset settlement, Partior and LSEG DiSH built a multi-bank liquidity framework, HSBC expanded cross-border cash pooling in China and NPCI introduced a UPI merchant fee framework.
Risk and Capital Weekly Brief: A Fed review found supervisors knew of SVB's flaws by 2022 but failed to act, as ECB problem loans rose. Australian liquidity improved but stable funding weakened, as Hong Kong planned renminbi tenders and Japan and Malaysia doubled their swap line.
Financial Technology Weekly: Sony Bank and Fujitsu apply GenAI to core banking, FIS wins mandates across new US banks, Partior and LSEG develop 24/7 cross-border settlement liquidity.
Financial Markets Weekly: US Senate blocks Clarity Act, Circle launches Arc blockchain, Shanghai Clearing House adds three currencies, India widens tokenised-bond pilot.
Transaction Finance Weekly: DBS, OCBC and UOB complete Swift's first live SGD tokenised-deposit settlement, Lloyds-SocGen digitise a letter of credit and US Bank pilots USBDC stablecoin.
Risk and Capital Weekly Brief: EU delays FRTB capital impacts through 2029, Canada cuts SME risk weights, Singapore proposes loss-absorbing capacity rules, and UniCredit gains 52bp CET1 boost.
Risk and Capital Weekly: China's state banks bolster capital, APRA tightens controls at ING Australia, RBI moves to drain surplus liquidity
Transaction Finance Weekly: Citi and HSBC advance Swift-ledger payments, OFSI fines Citi and ByteDance secures a $29.6 billion loan.
Financial Technology Weekly: Deutsche Bank consolidates core systems as TD and CMB scale AI while regulators flag cyber-resilience risks.
Financial Markets Weekly: Institutions globally advanced tokenisation and cross-border settlement infrastructure this week, as Broadridge scaled its $351 billion repo platform and China enforced variation-margin rules.
The 2026-2027 edition of the Global Leaders in Financial Institutions and Transaction Finance Directory and Handbook profiles leading transaction banks and practitioners worldwide. It brings together institutional directories covering banks across Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and global banks with research on the changing demands of corporate and financial institution clients.
The handbook examines how banks are connecting cash management, payments, trade and supply chain finance more closely with their clients’ systems. Its analysis traces the move towards real-time treasury information, automated workflows and payment services embedded in commercial processes. It also examines the challenges of improving receivables automation and enabling electronic trade records to move reliably between institutions and across borders.
This special edition of TAB Global 1000 ranks the world’s largest and strongest banks in 2026. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China leads by assets, while JP Morgan Chase tops the financial strength ranking. The edition also examines what scale delivers in profitability, efficiency and resilience. Its Islamic banking rankings place Al Rajhi Bank first for both size and strength, while highlighting institutions that outperform their scale.
The Sibos 2026 preview brings together perspectives from DBS, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Swift on payments, trade finance and digital assets. A feature asks whether tokenised deposits can move beyond early transactions to become mainstream money. In an exclusive interview, Bank of the Philippine Islands president and CEO Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco discusses the bank’s shift towards consumer and SME lending, and the costs of that growth.
The 2026-2027 edition of the Global Leaders in Banking and Financial Technology Directory and Handbook profiles the leaders and institutions driving change across banking and financial technology. It brings together executives from banks, fintech firms and AI companies at a time when the industry is moving beyond incremental digital upgrades towards a fundamental redesign of how banking operates.
The handbook pairs its directory of global leaders with research and analysis examining the technologies, operating models and infrastructure shaping this transition. Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving from isolated pilots into core banking processes, supported by real-time data, adaptable architectures and stronger digital infrastructure. Tokenised deposits, stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement are also gaining ground, while banks are embedding resilience, security and trust into increasingly connected and autonomous systems. These shifts are laying the foundations for a more intelligent, real-time banking environment and changing how institutions compete, innovate and serve their customers.
The TAB Global Leadership Achievement Awards take stock of the individuals reshaping the banking industry, measuring how leaders translate vision into execution rather than isolated financial performance. The 2026 cohort names Hironori Kamezawa of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group as Global CEO of the Year, with MUFG also recognised as Global Bank of the Year, alongside Best Bank CEO and Best Managed Bank honours in Malaysia (Hong Leong Bank) and the Philippines (Bank of the Philippine Islands), a lifetime achievement honour for Tengku Zafrul Aziz, and further recognition spanning regulation, technology leadership and rising banking talent, including the Promising Young Banker Awards, conferred every three years since 2008.
Our feature in this issue examines how financial institutions should build and sustain digital trust as artificial intelligence transforms the threat landscape, exploring the governance, data and control frameworks banks need to keep pace with increasingly autonomous systems.
