In addition to leading their institutions to support customers and communities, some bank bosses are also taking pay cuts or making charitable donations to support the fight against the COVID-19

As the trade finance industry collectively progresses to address challenges around digital fragmentation and isolation, adoption of standard solutions and well-established legal frameworks along with technology as an enabler will play critical roles in truly digitalising trade.

As demand for sustainable products rises, stakeholders including consumers, investors, and regulators are pushing manufacturers, suppliers and lenders to incorporate ESG metrics in evaluating the performance of their supply chains.

Industry practitioners discuss how process of bringing offshore global supply chains back to the country of origin accelerates demand for existing and new financing programmes that provide liquidity for sub-tier level of suppliers

Given that remittances are so lucrative in so many markets in Asia, and that new competitors are offering faster and cheaper services, banks will need to develop new models if they want to keep their customers.

Driven by competition and rapid disruption, banks increasingly spend on technology enabled models targeted to improve customer experience and service capability. What are the recent developments and top priorities of banks in 2018?

As real-time processing becomes the norm in domestic payments, how long would it take for cross-border payments to catch up?

The current disintermediation in payments and MSME lending marks the tip of the iceberg, and retail deposits may be the next battleground

Trade finance is gradually digitalising amid evolving e-commerce models, driven by technology and sustainability; the $2.5 trillion global trade finance gap affecting SMEs prompts innovation in blockchain, tokenisation, and sustainability, despite geopolitical complexities

Bank boards globally lack enough technology experts to influence strategy decisions, though North American banks are better at integrating such experts into their boards