McKinsey: the decade that will redefine UK banking, with AI as one of three key races

By McKinsey & Company (Ishaan Seth and Stephanie Hauser, global leaders of the Banking Practice) · Tue, 13 Oct 2026 18:03:00 +0000.

The email introduces the report "The decade to redefine UK banking", published by McKinsey. Its authors are Anutosh Banerjee, David Tan, Manu Saxena, Megha Kansal, Miklós Dietz, Nurzhan Onashabay and Vinay Kumar.

According to the email, UK banks are enjoying some of their most profitable years in a long time. Beneath that strength, however, the foundations of competitive advantage are shifting.

One figure cited in the email is that neobanks and fintechs already account for around 27% of banking relationships in the UK. This is because customers are increasingly spreading their financial activity across different providers.

The email also notes that AI is poised to transform how customers manage their money, choose providers and access financial services.

The report outlines three races that could determine which banks will lead in the coming years:

1. Securing customers and deposits as traditional banking relationships fragment.

2. Winning the commercial transactions layer, as value shifts beyond lending towards payments, liquidity and everyday financial flows.

3. Rebuilding the cost base with AI, in order to compete with digital-native challengers and reach new levels of productivity.

The email closes with an open question: what will separate the banks that lead from those that fall behind in a decisive decade for the sector. To answer it, the email points readers to the full report via the "Explore the report" link.

Note: the email is only a promotional introduction to the report and does not provide further figures or details on its findings. This summary is therefore limited to what appears in it.