Five major consortiums, led by industry giants from tech, retail, and finance, are competing to secure Thailand's first digital bank licences. As the country prepares for a significant shift in its financial landscape, the stakes have never been higher.

The global outage led by the CrowdStrike-Microsoft faulty software update underscores the emerging gaps in resilience, interdependence of systems, vendor concentration, and single points of failure in networks

DBS’ Business Advance+ card will streamline cross-border transactions, alongside its StartUp Movement to provide targeted financial and business support for small businesses in Singapore

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

Evergrande's long-time auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has been implicated for issuing unqualified audit reports despite the beleaguered property developer’s significant financial irregularities. This has led to intense scrutiny and potential regulatory and legal actions that could threaten its long-term survival, and reshape the audit landscape in China.

Southeast Asia’s platform players Grab, GoTo, and Sea Group streamline operations, with Sea Group emerging as a leader in profitability and growth

Digital transactions nearing 90% at leading banks reveal core technology deficiencies, prompting over 50% in Asia Pacific to adopt microservices for enhanced agility and scalability

China’s retail banking sector faces regulatory and macroeconomic pressures that are lowering revenues and profits, with banks turning to AI and technology to boost growth and customer engagement

Despite recent market volatility and real estate downturns that resulted in a wealth decline in 2023, China’s wealth management industry is poised for continuous growth in 2024 and projected to exceed $100 trillion by 2025

China’s bank-backed fintechs, such as CCB Fintech and OneConnect, grapple with profitability, fierce competition from tech giants and evolving regulatory landscapes.

From 2019 to 2023, the share of consumer finance relative to total retail lending declined in Hong Kong and South Korea, but increased significantly in the Philippines.

Financial institutions are swiftly adopting blockchain and cryptocurrencies, catalysing regulatory discussions and heralding a significant shift in the global financial system.