AI & Banking Strategy: McKinsey says India’s growth is broadening beyond traditional engines, with banking, auto components, e-commerce and private capital gaining momentum, while warning banks face margin pressure and rising stress in unsecured retail lending. Credit Reallocation: Nigeria’s banks are shifting credit toward agriculture, with lending rising to N3.86tn in March 2026, while oil-and-gas exposure fell by about N335bn as lenders recalibrate amid rates, inflation and FX volatility. Regulatory Clampdown: The SEC ordered capital market operators to terminate correspondent banking ties and restrict dealings tied to Iran and North Korea, aligning with FATF risk updates. Branch-to-Banking Model: Ethiopia’s EthioPost plans to turn 3,000 branches into banking agents, starting with a 700-branch pilot to let customers deposit, withdraw and pay bills across bank networks. Crypto Meets Banking Licensing: The OCC gave conditional approval for Trump-linked World Liberty Trust to obtain a national trust bank license, with approval contingent on meeting preopening requirements. Wall Street Tech Spend: JPMorgan, Goldman and Citi are ramping AI spending to drive productivity gains, reshaping operations and internal tools. Community Banking M&A: Great American Bank and Cottonwood Valley Bank announced a definitive merger to build a larger community banking franchise. Deposit Rate Pressure: South Korea’s savings banks are cutting deposit rates again as they pull back from earlier 4% offerings. Market Behavior: Binance research shows Gen Z is rotating into ETFs, with unleveraged ETFs taking 21.9% of July net equity inflows. Digital Asset Trading Launch: Israel’s Bank Leumi plans to offer BTC/ETH/SOL trading via Galaxy partnership starting early 2027, pending regulator approval.