Khazanah Nasional and the Securities Commission Malaysia have priced the country's inaugural tokenised sukuk, a MYR 100 million (about $25 million) one-year issuance structured on distributed ledger technology, with Maybank and CIMB serving as the principal banking participants.

Cross-border capital into Asia’s infrastructure is abundant and increasingly diverse, but execution still depends on fragmented, project-by-project structures, regulatory clarity and the ability to combine capital with expertise across markets.

Sustainable finance in Asia is expanding rapidly across markets, but cross-border scaling still depends on how consistently capital, data and transition frameworks align across jurisdictions.

A weekly briefing on the developments shaping global banking and what decision-makers need to understand.

SMEs in Singapore are gaining more structured support to apply artificial intelligence within their operations through DBS’s expanded Spark GenAI programme, developed in partnership with government agencies.

The 48-point gap between USD stablecoins’ 98% share of market capitalisation and the USD’s 50% share of cross-border payments points to a structural opening for local-currency alternatives, particularly in markets where limited banking access and settlement frictions create demand for digital rails, according to a Standard Chartered and Zodia Markets report.

As banks expand artificial intelligence (AI) beyond pilots to enterprise-wide adoption, the real challenge is no longer experimentation but execution. State Bank of India’s Balaji Rajagopalan argues that scaling AI will depend on whether banks redesign architecture, strengthen data and governance and prepare operating models for a more autonomous future.

Bank Mandiri is making financial services in Indonesia more accessible and personalised for millions across the nation. Harry Sofri Putranda, vice president, digital experience and strategy, discusses the bank's roadmap to expand financial inclusion and empower customers with AI-enabled tools, digital wallets and cross-border capabilities through its Livin' super app.

Indonesia's banking sector comprises 16 institutions in the TAB Global World’s 1000 Largest and Strongest Banks Ranking 2025, out of a total of 105 commercial banks in Indonesia. Bank Central Asia and Bank Mandiri stand out in Indonesia’s financial landscape, each excelling with distinct strategies and financial performance.

Bank Negara Malaysia's supervised pilots are testing whether tokenised deposits and ringgit stablecoins can address specific wholesale settlement frictions to inform a policy position by end-2026. Evidence from three bank pilots will also help determine whether Malaysia's sukuk market depth gives it a structural advantage as Shariah-compliant tokenised instruments develop.

Cathay United Bank strengthens cross-border finance through regional expertise, delivering structured lending, sustainable deals and liquidity solutions that support clients’ expansion across Asia’s evolving markets.

The IMF's Spring 2026 publications find banks well-capitalised and liquid, but the fiscal and financial environment around them is materially more constrained than in prior cycles. This disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is unfolding against a backdrop of depleted policy space, with global public debt nearing historic wartime highs.

Asia Pacific remains the world's least profitable banking region, but a group of small emerging-market banks with assets below $50 billion are delivering outsized returns.

From Deutsche Bank’s perspective, beyond borders financing in frontier markets depends on following client-led trade corridors, financing strategic goods and distributing risk through local banks, insurers and multilaterals.

Standard Chartered announced in its results that it has achieved its RoTE milestone a year ahead of schedule. The Fit for Growth programme has already delivered $754 million in run-rate savings, and as the programme draws towards its final year, Brian O'Neill, global head of group transformation, explains why the real challenge is not execution but sustaining the discipline, culture and risk framework that enabled it.