AI is changing banking faster than any technology since the internet. As systems become more autonomous, institutions must keep them secure, explainable and trustworthy. Digital trust is emerging as the operating discipline that enables banks to scale AI safely.

Banks are gaining access to increasingly powerful technologies, but the competitive gap is shifting towards how effectively they can adapt their governance, infrastructure, operating models and talent to use them.

The Asian Banker Weekly Brief: The ECB raised rates to 2.50% as inflation rose and Saudi pipeline attacks disrupted oil supply, while UniCredit advanced its Commerzbank bid.

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.

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.

Sustainable Finance Weekly: NextEra's $1.9 billion nuclear restart, Sonnedix's $1.3 billion Chile refinancing, Suniva's $835 million solar expansion and Yara's carbon-capture launch.

Leading Chinese banks delivered stronger earnings growth in the first half of 2026 (1H2026), but weaker loan demand, rising credit costs and continued pressure on asset yields kept returns under pressure.

Financial Technology Weekly: OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Financial Services with Morgan Stanley and Evercore, Ant International expands AMP, Meta's Muse links bank accounts via Plaid.

TAB China Weekly Brief: China injects RMB 360 billion into ICBC ABC and five insurers approves CICC's merger with Dongxing and Cinda Securities

Financial Markets Weekly: REC completes India's first tokenised bond pilot with RBI wholesale CBDC settlement as Standard Chartered launches UAE crypto trading.

TAB Africa Weekly Brief: Dangote Refinery launches $1.62 billion IPO to fund $14.3 billion expansion as AfDB unveils $5.1 billion crisis response.

Retail Finance Weekly: Chime buys Stride Bank, EverBank and WaFd merge, ANZ migrates Suncorp customers, Bank of Thailand moves to license BNPL.

HSBC Singapore’s Ishan Sarkar said the bank’s inaugural Global Affluent Report showed that investors trusted artificial intelligence for research but relied on human advisers to make final decisions, reshaping what wealth managers offer clients.

Malaysian banks' net profit was broadly flat in the first half of 2026 (1H2026), but their core lending businesses did not drive the result. Retail banking profit fell or stalled at most large groups, while corporate banking profit was likely flat. Treasury and markets income, wealth management and fund management provided most of the growth. Hong Leong Bank and Alliance Bank were the clearest exceptions, with broad-based operating strength.

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.