Bank on it: highlights and key takeaways from the annual FT Global Banking Summit

I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual FT Global Banking Summit in London. Global financial services conferences like these typically tend to focus primarily on the U.S., U.K. and European markets, so it was great to see a substantial representation of attendees from Africa who added diverse perspectives to the discussions.  

Here are some of the key themes and my insights from the event.

AI and GenAI: regulation, accountability, trust and security considerations

Unsurprisingly, AI and GenAI emerged as key themes at the summit. Larger, more established banks with substantial budgets continue to invest significantly in these areas, conducting ambitious experiments. Pure digital banks may have smaller budgets to work with, but they face less complexity arising from legacy infrastructures when deploying these technologies.

AI and GenAI regulation also sparked significant debate. Attendees from banks of all sizes and geographies highlighted the need for a balanced approach — yes, it’s essential to regulate, but not overly so. When it comes to ensuring accountability and building trust in AI and GenAI, speakers emphasized a need for co-learning among regulators, banks and other stakeholders in the financial services ecosystem.

Ensuring banks have the appropriate cybersecurity guardrails in place to mitigate the new threats that AI and GenAI inevitably usher in was another key topic of conversation. After all, we know cybercriminals are themselves enthusiastically using GenAI, so bolstering banks’ defenses is nonnegotiable.

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Customer centricity: a heightened focus on financial literacy and well-being

The summit dedicated considerable time to the topic of customer centricity. Banking leaders shared how they’re continuing to use technology to surface granular insights into customers’ unique needs and circumstances so they can develop more personalized, relevant services, ensure transparency and foster two-way communication.

Equally, banks across all regions shared their desire to find ways to continually enhance their customers’ financial literacy and decision-making. But what was interesting to me was the difference in how financial well-being is understood and approached in the U.S., U.K. and Europe compared with Africa.

In Africa, the adoption of digital technology has been slower, leading to less mature efforts in this region. African banks face the dual challenge of developing innovative products to improve financial well-being and educating customers on how to use them effectively to improve their lives and make better financial decisions.

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A blended banking ecosystem: from competition to collaboration

Everyone acknowledged the intense competition between traditional banks and their fintech and non-bank counterparts over the past few decades.

However, all stakeholders in this ecosystem are recognizing the wisdom of working together, collaborating more effectively and building mutual trust.

This includes establishing partnerships with technology companies to deliver enhanced customer experiences and drive sustainable growth and innovation.

Sustainability: reducing Africa’s branch infrastructure footprint

Almost every bank, whether local or global, has environmental, social and governance targets.

Conference speakers and attendees spent significant time discussing the concept of green financing and what it means for the customers and communities they serve.

One particularly interesting session explored the potential of leveraging Africa’s distributed network and the growth of agency banking and alternative distribution channels to increase financial inclusion and maintain physical proximity to customers without expanding branch infrastructure.

Closing thoughts

For me, the key takeaway from the conference was that banks in diverse regions face very similar core challenges; they’re just solving them differently. Africa has unique challenges across all the themes, which warrant unique solutions.

Looking ahead, African banks will continue to play a vital and active role in transforming the industry. In particular, their innovative approaches to sustainability and focus on financial literacy and inclusion will be essential for the broader development of the banking sector on the continent.