Nedbank’s strategic shift to a mobile-first approach has transformed its operations, boosting customer engagement, acquisition and operational efficiency. By reducing reliance on physical branches, the bank has built a more accessible, convenient and digitally integrated banking experience.

Habtamu Eticha, manager of non-financial services and SME banking division at Awash Bank, discusses how the Ethiopian lender is repositioning its MSME model by integrating capability building and risk management to better align financing with underlying business performance.

Wang Xiang, founder and chairman of FoFund, set out how the firm has developed as a technology-led institutional platform serving China’s financial institutions through fund trading, research support, operating tools and selected cross-border capabilities.

Bank Central Asia continues to deliver one of the strongest combinations of profitability, efficiency and funding quality in Indonesia, even as the operating environment becomes more difficult. In the conversation with Hendra Lembong, president director of BCA, the focus shifts from headline financial strength to the practical issues now shaping the bank’s next phase of growth: capital market sentiment, wholesale banking, ecosystem expansion, artificial intelligence, customer experience and the intensifying competitive pressure from other large domestic banks.

A correlation analysis across 100 global retail banks in FY25 finds a weak but statistically significant negative relationship between asset size and return on assets. Regional leaders demonstrate that specific business model choices, not balance sheet scale, drive superior profitability.

MUFG Bank is developing its transaction banking franchise in Asia Pacific through a coordinated model that combines local execution, regional control and cross-border connectivity, but the extent to which it can translate this into a scalable, flow-driven business remains a defining question.

Standard Chartered is positioning its transaction banking business in ASEAN around rising intra-Asia flows, fragmented liquidity structures and the growing role of platforms, digital infrastructure and new forms of money.

This year's TAB Global Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2026 reveals three forces reshaping retail banking in ways that go beyond the interest rate cycle: the compression of spread-based income and the drive to diversify revenue; a fundamental reappraisal of the deposit franchise; and the deepening integration of artificial intelligence across banking operations and client engagement.

BIDV receives dual recognition at the TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards 2026, reaffirming its position as the leading retail bank in Vietnam and highlighting its innovative approach to digital banking with a standout deposit product in the Asia Pacific region.

Bank of New York Mellon reported record revenue and net income in 2025, driven by growth in fee and interest income, operational leverage and platform-based initiatives. Chief executive officer Robin Vince and chief financial officer Dermot McDonogh highlighted a continued focus on higher-margin growth, digital transformation and strategic client base expansion.

Al Rajhi Bank’s profit grew by 26% in 2025, supported by balanced loan growth, a shift toward SMEs and corporates, and expanding investment banking activity, as its “Harmonise the group” strategy concludes.

At the Shanghai International AI Finance Summit 2026, Wang Kaijing of SenseTime discussed how AI-driven models enable banks to integrate structured and unstructured data to improve risk management and operational efficiency. Chak Wong, managing director at JP Morgan, explained why many AI initiatives fail, stressing the need for strong leadership, organisational alignment and domain knowledge.

China’s Cross-Border Interconnection Payment Gateway (CPG) gives domestic and international payment institutions a single, standardised on-ramp for cross-border QR payments. Yang Wenhui, chief executive officer of TenPay Global (Singapore) discusses the gateway’s potential, why partnerships are essential and why common technical and compliance standards are needed before agentic payments can scale.

Discussions at The Asian Banker Shanghai International AI Finance Summit focused on how emerging AI agents are reshaping the economics of infrastructure, the boundaries of competition and the way customers access financial services.

As large language models move from generating answers to taking actions, financial institutions face a new risk profile. Permissions, reliability and data governance are now the three pressure points that matter most, as discussed during The Asian Banker Shanghai International AI Finance Summit.