I launched the Chinese version of my first book on 21 June 2024. As part of the launch, I had an engaging conversation with John Gong, a prominent academic and economist, about the significant changes reshaping the banking industry globally that the Chinese banks have to pay attention to. It is difficult to engage the Chinese banks on these because their priorities are always aligned to government policies which are caught up with current realities.
- GDPs and the Rise of Digital Assets: I pointed out to John that the US has been reclassifying the definition of GDP to include increasingly intangible assets like royalties, entertainment and creative arts. Soon, the definition of GDP will include the generation of digital assets and so on. So the balance sheet of banks around the world will increasingly include ephemeral assets and banks in China will have to deal with that as well.
- Device independence and the personalization of finance: In the same way that WeChat and Alipay stole the digital wallet business in the 2010 period, the next phase will be characterised by a move away from mobile devices and new players will emerge to re-engage with customers.
The conversation underscored the critical need for financial institutions to keeping thinking ahead while balancing regulatory compliance, customer needs, innovation, and sustainability.
I am not sure how much of my ideas are relevant to China right now, but when it comes, the industry will take a second look at my book and pay greater attention.
