Rethinking Relevance is this year’s main theme at The Banking Scene. That is what our conferences are about, and based on a couple of other publications, it seems to be the right theme for 2026.

What Backbase forgot to predict for 2026

Backbase recently published “Banking Reinvented: The 2026 Banking Predictions Report”, with prediction 5 being: the race for relevance: reinventing the bank’s role in an AI-native market. They quote BCG, saying “predictive, generative, and agentic AI are redefining the foundations of scale, efficiency and customer experience”.

Backbase explains that neobanks understand the fight, they are more agile, use modern technologies and have taken action, and incumbents must act quickly. That riddle rings a bell, doesn’t it? Indeed, it isn’t so new compared to the past waves of change in financial services.

I completely agree with the title that banks must reinvent their role in an AI-native market, and that includes both the internal and the external structure of the bank. In that respect, so far I’ve seen only one bank changing the paradigm and making it a concrete change with AI, and that is not a neobank but an incumbent. BBVA built a dedicated app directly into ChatGPT for the Italian and German market.

Although still a proof of concept and not available for BBVA’s main markets, this should make banks think and rethink their relevance. Yes, AI will improve a bank’s efficiency, leading to lower expenses, which can be translated into lower costs for the customer or a higher return for the customer, but the real change is there, and it is disruptive.

The real change requires every retail bank to rethink its relevance if it wants to avoid a pure price battle in the near future.

Private and Wealth Banking and The Great Wealth Transfer

On October 30, Investment Officer published an interview with Emanuele Vignoli, Head of Private Bank Continental Europe at HSBC. 84 trillion dollars worldwide is expected to be handed over from the baby boomer generation to their heirs over the next two decades.

It is interesting to see how this is making private and wealth bankers rethink their relevance, likely more so than the current AI hype. Private bankers are often seen as the high-value financial advisors, but what does all of that matter in a context where 50% fear that inheritance will lead to family disputes, and 40% even saying that it is difficult to discuss money with the next generation?

All this makes me believe that the real change in private and wealth banking is not so much technological but much more psychological. HSBC understands this as well. Emanuele explained that they employ a gradual approach that involves the establishment of family charters and an advisory board, and engaging heirs in open discussions and dedicated educational programmes.

This helps to align the values and ambitions of different generations and it clarifies how their banks should allocate the funds in future investments without friction.

None of this is new, I heard about private bank board games many years ago already, but it is more prominent on the agenda today. It is in everyone’s interest to bring down the 50% fear of family disputes, both for families and the bank.

Emanuele: “Clients appreciate the speed and transparency of digital tools, but when it comes to strategy, governance, or complex assets, they rely on trusted advisors.”

On top of that, we see that geopolitical fragmentation has turned cross-border wealth structuring from a niche capability into a core expectation. For private and wealth advisors, relevance today depends as much on the strength of their international networks as on their portfolio management skills.

Strong Today, Not Guaranteed Tomorrow: The Mass Affluent Wake-Up Call

On September 16, Deloitte published a study called “Reinventing Mass Affluent banking: A call to action for European banks”. They found that incumbent banks remain very well positioned to serve the mass-affluent consumers, despite the growth of fintechs and neobanks. Incumbent banks remain trusted brands, with a full-stack service and a good understanding of their customers, according to Deloitte. But they also acknowledge that today’s strengths are not a guarantee for the future.

Which brings them to the conclusion that banks must transform and rethink their relevance. In that respect, they highlight 5 key factors:

• Rethinking value propositions to address the distinct needs of different Mass Affluent subgroups.
• Adopt fully digital, yet human-augmented, hybrid engagement models that combine convenience with personalised support.
• Innovate products and pricing that deliver clear value and full transparency.
• Leverage emerging technologies to streamline operations and scale services, serving more clients at lower incremental cost.
• Embed financial education and community features to strengthen client trust and encourage participation.

These are all topics that we will discuss over the 3 conferences, and more as well. Banks must adopt new technologies and embrace changes in customer expectations. At the same time, these banks must build the literacy to explain the changes to their clients, whether they are technologically savvy or not.

More importantly, banks will need to make choices, very conscious choices.

Rethinking Relevance and The New Ethos in Banking

Last year, I published a book, “A New Ethos in Banking – Embracing Values and Ethics for a Meaningful Transformation”. Looking back, it may not have been the right time for this title. Based on the title, people often framed it as leftish, which I don’t think it is.

The book is about making conscious choices. It’s those choices that define you as a bank, and when a bank cannot beat competition on price or services, it’s the values that will make or break you, regardless of which values you live by.

Rethinking relevance in banking is ultimately about making conscious choices: precisely the core argument of A New Ethos in Banking.

Technology matters, but it never makes those choices on a bank’s behalf. When products converge and price advantages disappear, relevance is defined by judgement: which customers you prioritise, how transparently you act in moments of tension, and how consistently values are translated into behaviour.

Regulation and technology provide the framework and the tools, but ethos determines how they are used. Banks that fail to make deliberate choices will drift into irrelevance; those that anchor strategy, innovation, and technology in a clear set of values will remain distinctive and trusted.

About The Banking Scene Conference 2026 Luxembourg

On 27 January 2026, The Banking Scene Conference in Luxembourg will gather banking leaders, regulators, and ecosystem partners to discuss a key question: what does relevance truly mean in today’s financial industry? Across retail, mass affluent, private, and wealth banking, one point is clear: relevance can no longer be assumed or entrusted solely to technology. AI, platforms, and regulation are transforming the industry, but they ultimately compel banks to make sharper, more intentional choices.

As products converge and price advantages diminish, relevance is increasingly determined by judgement: clarity of purpose, consistency of behaviour, and the ability to translate values into everyday decisions. Rethinking relevance is therefore not an abstract debate but a leadership challenge. These are precisely the questions that will shape The Banking Scene Conference 2026 Luxembourg, shifting the conversation from prediction to responsibility, and from technology to the conscious choices that will decide which banks remain trusted and which fade into utility.

Join us there to be a part of the conversation.