Lee Wan Sie, Cluster Director of AI Governance and Safety at Singapore’s IMDA says agentic AI brings greater autonomy because systems can act, not just generate information. Institutions, including banks must define the limits of that authority and how it is governed.

This week, Bank Indonesia's governor resigned in a surprise move, the OCC rejected Wise's US trust bank application and UniCredit raised its Commerzbank stake to 47.6%, prompting takeover talks.

N26 delivered its first full-year net profit in 2025, but a decade of prioritising growth over bank-grade controls left the German fintech trailing European rivals, prompting a sweeping leadership overhaul.

Thai financial players entered the lower-rate cycle in the first half of 2026 with strong balance sheets and capital positions, but the key differentiator was how effectively they repriced deposits as asset yields declined, rather than credit quality. Krungsri emerged as the best-performing financial institution among its peers

ICBC and peers gate leveraged precious metals trading after volatility, as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs reinforce capital buffers, Nomura builds instant FX settlement with Circle, and MAS advances enterprise AI governance.

BlackRock's HPS fund gates withdrawals for a second quarter as insurer private credit exposure draws Treasury scrutiny, while HDFC Bank clears a governance review and a Singapore court advances a $2.7 billion 1MDB suit.

The Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruption dominate global finance this week, as the IMF cuts growth forecasts, US banks post record but cautious Q1 results, and Hong Kong regulates stablecoins.

The BOJ, Fed and ECB all hold rates but diverge sharply on signals, as record first-quarter earnings at UBS, US banks and Standard Chartered mask early cracks in provisions and credit charges.

First-quarter results show fee, wealth and insurance income offsetting weaker margins across major banks, as Australia hikes rates, Malaysia holds steady, and the ECB and HKMA voice caution on stablecoins.

Kevin Warsh is confirmed as Federal Reserve chair, Trump's Beijing visit extends the US-China trade truce, Japan's megabanks post record profits with rising capital costs, and private credit stress deepens at FS KKR.

Currency pressure drives rate action in Indonesia, India and Nigeria as China holds its loan prime rate for a twelfth month, while US and UK regulators advance stablecoin supervision and tokenised settlement frameworks.

Diverging monetary policy and rapid AI adoption reshape banking risk this week, as Fed vice chair Bowman signals no rate hike, BOJ's Ueda flags oil-shock persistence, and regulators race to govern agentic AI.

ESMA advances centralised European market supervision as China extends state oversight to outbound investment, while US regulators strip reputational risk from supervisory guidance and the UK launches commercial variable recurring payments.

Intesa Sanpaolo's EUR 30.6 billion ($35.3 billion) bid for Monte dei Paschi becomes Italy's largest banking deal, as EU ministers advance centralised market supervision and Indonesia, South Korea and India take defensive currency measures.

The Fed's updated projections turn sharply hawkish under new chair Kevin Warsh, as Iran-war energy inflation pushes the Bank of Japan to a 31-year rate high and China issues its first AI governance rules for banks.