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Eurozone banks tightened lending standards for businesses and consumer credit during the third quarter of 2026, while demand for business and housing loans weakened significantly, as higher interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty and declining consumer confidence continued to weigh on borrowing activity. The findings, published in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) October 2026 Bank Lending Survey, point to increasingly cautious lending conditions across the euro area. The

Vietnam has introduced stricter beneficial ownership and customer due diligence requirements, obliging banks and other regulated institutions to investigate complex corporate structures, identify individuals exercising ultimate control, and examine ownership arrangements extending beyond the country's borders. The measures, introduced under Government Resolution No. 66.23/2026/NQ-CP, took effect on July 24, 2026, and establish more detailed requirements for identifying the

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued final guidelines establishing a new framework for the management of third-party risks associated with services supporting critical or important functions at financial institutions. Published on 18 September 2026, the Guidelines on the sound management of third-party risk related to non-ICT services are intended to replace the EBA’s 2019 Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements and create a broader framework covering third-party re

Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC has uncovered potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in suspected mortgage fraud across 10 major Australian banks, exposing significant weaknesses in the country's lending sector. The findings emerged from Operation Claw, a joint analysis conducted through AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance, which brought together data from 10 major lenders to identify patterns that may not have been visible within individual institutions. Most of

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has directed private banking institutions to significantly reduce the time required to onboard new clients after years of delays caused by increasingly cautious compliance practices. The policy adjustment was formally announced through remarks delivered by Mr. Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director of MAS, during the UBS Asian Investment Conference, Singapore Wealth Edition, held on 25 May 2026. Under the new expectations, financial institu

Global banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC has issued a new investment report projecting stronger profitability for Greece’s systemic lenders, arguing that the country’s banking sector remains one of the chief beneficiaries of the European Central Bank’s tighter monetary policy environment. HSBC has revised its macroeconomic assumptions to include three additional ECB interest rate increases totaling 75 basis points during the second half of 2026. The banking group expects thes

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has unveiled a wide-ranging strategic initiative aimed at reducing the regulatory load on smaller financial institutions operating within Denmark’s banking sector. The project is designed to introduce a more proportionate supervisory framework for banks that operate primarily on a domestic basis and do not maintain complex or international business models. By concentrating on institutions with straightforward risk profiles, the autho

U.S. financial stocks and UK-listed lenders fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump proposed a one-year cap on credit card interest rates, threatening a significant revenue stream for the sector. Investors are now weighing the impact of the proposal amid ongoing interest-rate uncertainty, a development that may undercut the potential boost from a rotation into value stocks. On Friday, Trump called for a 10 per cent cap on credit card interest rates starting Januar

Eurobank and National Bank of Greece (NBG) have emerged at the top of European banking rankings for return on equity, according to a pan-European report by UBS, underscoring the sustained profitability and resilience of the Greek banking sector. The findings, shared by Greek business outlet Newmoney, place both Eurobank and NBG firmly in the upper echelons of the European ranking for return on equity, reflecting gains that are “not a cyclical phenomenon but is instead the res