Abu Dhabi: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on Wednesday launched the second report in its 2026 Future of Finance series. The report underscored that resilience, rather than size or legacy, will define long-term success for banks navigating disruption.
According to Emirates News Agency, the report, titled "The Changing Face of Banking: Building Resilience Through Change," examined how global banks must adapt their operating models to absorb disruption, evolve, and remain resilient amid AI, digital-native challengers, and shifting global demand. Built on AI-driven, cloud-first, and asset-light models, challenger banks are setting new standards for speed, personalization, and cost efficiency. This rapid growth exposes the limitations of traditional operating models, reinforcing pressures on established institutions and accelerating a shift where both sides must innovate faster to stay competitive.
The report warned that without decisive transformation, industry profit pools could fall by US$170 billion by 2030, pushing many institutions below their cost of capital. It emphasized that AI offers the clearest path out of this conundrum, becoming core infrastructure and delivering the productivity uplift the sector urgently needs. AI is forming the foundation of the next-generation operating model that digital native banks have turned into the industry's new template.
Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer at DIFC Authority, emphasized the need for innovation, resilience, and adaptability in the global banking industry's transformation. He stated that Dubai and DIFC are committed to enabling this transformation through a future-focused ecosystem that connects global institutions to high-growth opportunities across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
The report is the second in a four-part series on the Future of Finance, drawing insights from a high-level roundtable at the centre earlier this year. Discussions included senior financial services leaders, augmented by network-based research and interviews with industry experts like Ambareen Musa, CEO of GCC, Revolut; Rohit Garg, Chief Digital Officer and Group Head, Retail Products, Emirates NBD; and Fernando Morillo, Group Head of Retail Banking, Mashreq.
The report highlighted that banks moving early and decisively will not only defend profitability but also unlock new client groups, regions, and frontier asset classes. These proactive banks position themselves to capture a larger share of global finance by using jurisdictions with supportive regulation to pilot new services and test model accuracy and governance before regional scaling.
DIFC's role as a strategic base for institutions navigating structural change is reinforced by its ecosystem of 290 banks and capital markets firms, including 17 of the world's 19 global systemically important banks. DIFC's new report also revealed that entrepreneurs, family offices, and women are influential banking clients with distinct and evolving financial needs that remain underserved. AI-driven insights allow banks to deliver targeted, personalized offerings to these groups and unlock new revenue pools.
DIFC's pro-innovation regulatory framework, robust laws, regulations, and market infrastructure position Dubai as a leading global capital hub. Supporting next-generation banking services, the centre showcases AI-enabled client engagement and new operating models tailored to evolving client needs, reinforcing DIFC's role as a global platform shaping the future of finance.