For more than a century,
And yet here we are. The U.S. banking industry is sound, safe, secure and successful — safeguarding $18.3 trillion in deposits and maintaining deep trust from hundreds of millions of customers. Banks are vital to the proper functioning of our economy, safely storing money, facilitating transactions and prudently infusing capital into our communities to fuel ideas and support families and multinational companies. The industry is profitable and has delivered 7% growth in net income over the last 25 years, according to research by McKinsey & Company.
This is not a story of survival. It is a story of
Today, we're on the precipice of the latest wave of substantial change to our industry.
Banking's first and most sacred duty is to safeguard trust. Every major crisis in our history — from the Great Depression to the global financial crisis — has tested that trust. And each time, the industry responded not with retreat, but with responsibility.
The amortizing mortgage, introduced in 1934, democratized homeownership and turned housing finance into a pillar of retail banking. Stronger capital rules reassured markets that banks could weather storms. Banks worked around the clock after the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered nonessential businesses, accepting applications for the Paycheck Protection Program just one week after the passage of the CARES Act. As global threats like terrorism and cybercrime accelerated, banks built systems and deployed analytics, biometrics, and digital tools to understand customers, monitor transactions, combat fraud and sustain the peace of mind of millions of customers.
Perhaps the most visible transformation has been in customer experience, where banks have consistently turned technological threats into mainstream value.
The advent of the internet and mobile phones permanently reshaped customers' expectations for convenience, control and timeliness. In an era where consumers expect to quickly and easily perform countless tasks from their phone — from ordering lunch to streaming a show to booking a flight — banks have given them easy ability to manage their finances on their personal devices.
Two large companies' announcements that they're laying off thousands of people they've deemed not AI-savvy have drawn mostly negative reactions.
Even in the face of fintech competition, banks responded with collaboration. Zelle is a prime example: Rather than resist real-time, peer-to-peer payments, banks built a federated network that scaled securely.
Digital advice, account aggregation, fractional trading, zero cost trades and tokenized shares are just some examples of innovations that banks have scaled to democratize investing.
Some of banking's best innovations were born in moments of crisis. It is also true that while banking thrived through trust, technology and other shocks, not all banks did. There are three guiding principles we rely on to ensure that the outcomes of this wave of change continue to strengthen our institution:
First is that customers are at the dead center of what we do: If an innovation promises to create better outcomes for our clients, we must lean into it.
Second is that there are no short cuts. Too many people's money, hopes and dreams rely on us operating with safety and soundness. Drive fast within guardrails.
The final element is invention. We have resources, talented people, loyal clients and roots in all communities. These are ingredients to deliver new solutions, not yet imagined.
Banking never dies because it never stands still. We do not wait for change — we lead it. And in doing so, we make money safer, more accessible and more useful for billions of customers.
