Bill Winters: First and foremost, we invest in growth
Our Group Chief Executive discusses our 2026 half-year results, our role as a super-connector – and how structural trends are creating growth opportunities.
Watch Bill Winters discuss our 2026 Half Year results on Bloomberg’s Daybreak Europe programme. ©Bloomberg LP 2026, All rights reserved, Used with permission.
Our role as a super-connector
There are clear structural trends creating growth opportunities for us and our clients. A more multi-polar world is increasing cross-border complexity, digital finance is reshaping financial infrastructure, capital flows are shifting, wealth participation continues to rise, and the transition economy is reshaping capital allocation.
These trends are increasing complexity for clients and reinforcing our role as a super-connector. As the world becomes more complex, our job is to make it easier for clients to navigate. By connecting markets, capital and opportunities across our footprint, we help clients capture growth opportunities.
Our cross-border and affluent strategy is working
Our sharpened strategy is aligned to these long-term trends. We are seeing that translate into strong performance across the areas where we have been investing.
In Wealth & Retail Banking, income was up 15 per cent, underpinned by strong performance in Wealth Solutions, which delivered a second consecutive quarter of more than USD1 billion in income. We continue to see sustained growth in Affluent net new money and client acquisition, reinforcing our confidence in delivering against the targets which we have brought forward by one year to 2028.
In Corporate & Investment Banking, income was up 4 per cent, with double-digit growth in both Global Banking and Global Markets Flow income. As supply chains evolve and capital flows shift, our network is becoming increasingly valuable, reflected in continued growth in network income, up 8 per cent.
We are also seeing strong growth in client engagement across digital assets as we invest in the next evolution of financial infrastructure. By helping clients move money, assets and risk more efficiently across markets, we are reinforcing our role as a super-connector in a rapidly evolving financial system.