These days, top 10 banks don’t say that way for long.

In 2026, a new financial ecosystem will form around five trends—stablecoins, agentic AI, consolidation, financial media networks, and AI search—blurring boundaries between banking, technology, and commerce.

JPMorgan Chase will launch a digital-only retail bank in Germany in 2026. And Santander revealed that its US digital-only retail bank, Openbank, attracted over $6 billion in deposits in its first year. For a traditional bank, running a digital-only bank is a strategic choice rather than the side project it may seem. Rebuilding the technology stack and experience from the ground up fosters necessary digital transformation and enables business growth in new markets. To break out of a mold, bankers should think big about their options: A small subsidiary built from scratch can reshape the business.

Amazon added JPMorgan Chase, Santander, and Wells Fargo as financing partners for used vehicles on Amazon Auto, per Automotive News. Those banks now offer auto loans through the platform, which lets buyers apply for auto loans via Amazon in cities where sellers list used vehicles. The latest Amazon Auto partnerships illustrate embedded finance’s ascendancy into the mainstream. Megabanks and large regional banks will continue to participate in dedicated embedded finance partnerships, particularly with partners that need scale—demonstrating the maturity of a business model that 10 years ago didn’t even have a name.

Santander’s Bank of Antandec UK advertising campaign featuring the iconic British TV broadcasting duo Ant and Dec has concluded after six years, per Little Black Book. The series of 15 ads followed the Bank of Antandec as it humorously and unsuccessfully tried to compete with Santander’s products. By investing in a long-running, character-driven narrative, Santander put on a show and achieved a level of engagement and memorability that a simple product-focused ad could never achieve. It also showed consistency by building and maintaining its brand voice over the span of the campaign.

Latin America’s commerce media ecosystem is rapidly evolving. Financial, travel, and other nonretail players are now looking to monetize their own first-party data—following the path retailers have already paved.

The Latin American consumer banking market is vast, yet over 40% of consumers are currently underbanked. Foreign banks looking to enter the market can tap this audience, but they should learn from and partner with local fintechs to do so.

Six banks made Interbrand’s top brand ranking for their financial performances, influence, and brand strength.

The Spanish bank launched its digital speedboat in the US before most of its products become available.

Amid rising fintech and neobank competition, traditional financial institutions are investing in their rivals.

Consumer device and behavior trends are affecting payment providers’ strategies across retail, P2P, B2B, disbursement, and cross-border channels. Here’s what that means for the payments ecosystem.

The government hopes sweeping changes for Britain's banks will give the sector a lift. But it could expose lenders to more risk.

We wrap up what happened at last week’s Wealth Management Transformation Summit session on ESG in London.

This fourth annual study ranks 10 UK banks and building societies based on their support of 42 emerging mobile banking features, weighted by consumer demand.

Two green banking groups are going about cutting carbon emissions in very different ways.