Emerging trends for 2026, and other finance news to know

In the first quarter of 2026, the global economy faces familiar headwinds.

The United Nations’ latest outlook puts global growth at around 2.7%, still below pre-pandemic averages, while the Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 describes an “age of competition” marked by geopolitical tension and fragmented capital flows.

Last month, the future of economic growth was a major topic of discussion at the Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, where participants examined the future of finance and explored how firms can prioritize operational resilience and new productivity levers to successfully navigate this environment.

Two emerging trends illustrate how businesses are putting those priorities into practice: banks scaling more autonomous AI systems into core operations, and a continuing shift towards private credit as companies seek faster, more flexible funding amid tighter bank capital rules and lending standards.

In 2026, the banking industry – as anticipated in the November 2025 finance roundup – is moving from AI "assistance" to "transactional authority". These systems are no longer just summarizing reports; they are being integrated as semi-autonomous "digital co-workers" designed to settle routine trades and manage compliance checks under human oversight.

Goldman Sachs, for instance, is developing autonomous agents powered by Anthropic's Claude model to handle core trade accounting and client onboarding tasks. The bank says that these agents will act as digital co-workers, reducing the amount of time such essential but process-intensive functions take.

Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group has said 2026 will see "enterprise-wide deployment" across financial services of agentic AI. The bank expects these systems to add £100 million in value this year by automating fraud investigations and complex complaints – diverting routine cases to AI while reserving human staff for the most nuanced client escalations.

As use cases scale, regulators are considering how emerging AI could affect markets and firms in the longer term.

As traditional bank lending remains constrained by tighter capital standards, corporate funding is continuing to migrate towards private credit.

Private credit is currently reshaping a $41 trillion addressable credit market, with private funds on track to replace up to 15% of this traditional lending space as public and private credit markets merge, according to Bloomberg.

The market for trading private deal stakes (secondaries) reached a record $226 billion in total volume, Evercore’s 2025/2026 market data shows. This surge is driven by a critical need for liquidity, as limited partners (LPs) increasingly use secondaries to manage portfolios in the absence of a robust Initial Public Offering (IPO) market.

Regulators are focusing on the growing "interconnections" between banks and private funds. The Basel Committee recently stated that the boom in "significant risk transfers" (SRTs) – where banks pay private funds to take on the risk of their loan books – requires continued supervision. Excessive reliance on SRT could reduce the resilience of the banking system if the risk-bearing capacity of transactions were to fail, it said.

And several US IPOs are being trimmed or delayed as market volatility and tighter valuation checks weigh on new listings. Firms including Clear Street and Brazilian fintech Agibank have scaled back or postponed offerings amid investor caution.

The European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, introduced in 2021, has failed to improve funds’ environmental credentials or increase flows to greener investments, according to a recent study. The research suggests the rules have had little effect on fund portfolios, reinforcing concerns about greenwashing and the complexity of ESG labels.

Schroders is being acquired by Nuveen for £9.9 billion ($13.5 billion), ending 222 years of independence. The deal comes as the historic British firm manages over £800 billion in assets and the founding family prepares to sell its stake.

Fears of AI disruption have driven a recent pullback in US software stocks, but strategists at JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley see buying opportunities in higher-quality, AI-resilient companies, Reuters reports.

Africa’s biggest economies are driving a surge in stablecoin use, with firms in Nigeria and South Africa turning to digital dollars to hedge against local currency depreciation. Corporates are increasingly using stablecoins for cross-border trade and as a steadier unit of account amid persistent dollar shortages, a new study shows.

From AI agents to stablecoins, technology is advancing rapidly – but broad economic impact depends on reliable, interoperable financial infrastructure. See how the systems beneath digital finance are enabling global businesses and payments to move faster, safer and smarter.

How are central banks balancing price stability, independence, and credibility in a world marked by geopolitical tensions, fragmented markets and rapid technological change? Learn how central bankers are navigating these challenges and redefining their role in the 2026 global financial system.

Stablecoins are moving beyond niche experiments to become prominent tools for financial inclusion. From speeding cross-border payments and supporting small businesses to delivering humanitarian aid, these digital currencies offer faster, cheaper and more transparent ways to access money. Interoperability and collaboration with existing systems are key to unlocking their full potential in a resilient global financial network.