Deloitte’s Ho Kok Yong: Resilience, trust will define the future of banking

He advocates for institutions that integrate innovation with strong governance, transparency, and long-term resilience.

The banking industry, which has been defined by traditional financial reporting, manual processes, and domestic operations for decades, has evolved into a highly interconnected ecosystem. 

Financial institutions continue to navigate this changing environment, with banks now expected to be resilient and have the ability to adapt technology and build lasting trust with customers, investors, and regulators.

Providing insight to this is Ho Kok Yong, CFO Program Leader at Deloitte Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia, who works with finance leaders from multinational corporations and financial institutions. He also provides technical accounting and advisory services for fintech and digital-bank-related entities.

He has more than 30 years of experience in public accounting in Singapore and Australia, which is credited to his expertise in audit and assurance services. He has also established himself as a trusted advisor to financial institutions, being at the forefront of discussions in financial reporting, banking resilience, technological innovation, governance, and the future role of finance in the economy.

As he brings his expertise to the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards and Wholesale Banking Awards 2026, Kok Yong shared his views on the evolution of banking transparency, the impact of artificial intelligence on financial reporting and assurance, and the rise of next-generation payment systems, as well as the qualities that will define resilient banks in the years ahead.

Having over 30 years of experience in public accounting across Asia, what major shifts have you observed within the financial industry?

Over the past 30 years, the financial industry in Asia has gone through several structural transformations — not just technological changes, but shifts in regulation, capital flows, risk management, and the role of finance in society. Some of the biggest changes from my perspective as a public accountant are the following:

The shift from manual accounting to digital finance: In the 1990s, much of accounting across Asia was manual, whereas almost everything today is electronic and digital.

Convergence towards international standards: 30 years ago, accounting standards across Asia were fragmented, whilst everyone is now moving towards IFRS-based reporting frameworks for better comparability, foreign investment confidence and regional capital market integration.

Stronger regulation after financial crisis: Several crises permanently changed attitudes toward governance and risk, pushing for stronger audit independence, stricter banking capital rules and more aggressive regulatory inspections, amongst others.

ESG reporting has become mainstream: Historically, environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters sat outside finance. Now, sustainability is integrated into mainstream financial reporting, with ESG metrics influencing investment flows and valuations.

Finance became more regional and cross-border – today, we see more treasuries being regional, tax structures being multinational, financing being global and compliance spanning multiple jurisdictions.

The biggest overall shift is that finance is moving from being backward-looking and transactional to becoming real-time, strategic, technology-enabled, and globally interconnected. This is broadly in line with Deloitte’s research from the inaugural edition of our Asia Pacific CFO Pulse Survey, which examines the sentiments and key issues facing the region’s chief financial officers.

What trends are you seeing in how banks approach transparency and disclosure in today’s regulatory climate?

Banks today operate in a regulatory environment where transparency is no longer viewed as merely a compliance exercise — it is now central to market confidence, risk management, and institutional credibility. Across Asia and globally, several important trends are shaping how banks approach transparency and disclosure.

Next, banks are now expected to explain why risks exist, how they are managed, and what could happen under stress scenarios. Some examples of new disclosures include stress testing outcomes, liquidity resilience, concentration risks, geopolitical exposure, cyber resilience, and climate-related risks.

Furthermore, banks are also increasingly expected to report on operational risk, cybersecurity, data governance, conduct risk, anti-money laundering controls, sanctions compliance and outsourcing dependencies.

In addition, regulators have become highly focused on whether banks can survive systemic shocks. There are more disclosures nowadays providing greater detail on Common Equity Tier 1 ratios, liquidity coverage ratios, stress-test assumptions, funding concentrations, and more. The emphasis is no longer only on profitability but also on resilience.

Supervision is increasingly becoming data-driven. Many regulators now use AI-assisted surveillance, advanced analytics and cross-border information sharing. This means banks cannot rely on broad narrative disclosures alone, because regulators increasingly validate disclosures directly against raw operational data.

Lastly, sophisticated banks now recognise that strong disclosure quality can lower funding costs, improve investor confidence, and support credit ratings. Hence, poorly aligned disclosures immediately raise red flags for analysts and regulators.

In summary, the broad trend is that banking transparency has evolved from periodic financial disclosure into continuous institutional accountability.

How do you think emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are impacting audit & assurance services and financial reporting?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping audit and assurance more profoundly than any technology shift since the introduction of ERP systems and digital spreadsheets. The impact goes far beyond efficiency – it is changing how evidence is gathered, how risk is assessed, how fraud is detected, and even how financial reporting is prepared.

For instance, auditing is moving from sampling to full-population testing – AI and advanced analytics now allow auditors to analyse entire transaction populations, identify unusual patterns, detect outliers in real time, and focus attention on high-risk anomalies.

AI-enabled monitoring systems also support near real-time controls testing, automated reconciliations, continuous exception monitoring, and predictive risk alerts. The nature of assurance is expanding as well – stakeholders increasingly seek assurance over things such as ESG metrics, cybersecurity controls, AI governance, sustainability reporting, operational resilience, and data integrity.

Finally, financial reporting is becoming faster and more automated as well. Many organisations now automate reconciliations, consolidations, variance analysis, disclosure drafting, and management reporting. Generative AI tools increasingly assist with tasks such as narrative disclosures, earnings commentary, and technical accounting research. This greatly improves efficiency but raises concerns, such as hallucinated content. As a result, there is an increasing need for auditors to validate not only numbers but also AI-generated narratives.

The most important long-term change is likely the automation of routine verification work by AI. Consequently, the value of auditors will increasingly come from judgement, interpretation, governance insight, and risk assessment rather than mechanical testing.

What role do payment systems innovations and cross-border transactions play in shaping the future of banking in Asia?

Payment systems innovation and cross-border transaction modernisation are becoming some of the most important forces shaping the future of banking in Asia. In many ways, Asia is now one of the world’s leading laboratories for next-generation financial infrastructure. Transformation is occurring simultaneously across retail payments, wholesale banking, remittances, trade finance, etc.

Today, real-time payment systems are setting a new benchmark for banks, as consumers increasingly expect instant settlement, 24/7 availability, low-cost transfers, and seamless mobile integration.

In Asia, cross-border payment linkages are expanding rapidly. For example, Singapore and Thailand are connected for instant cross-border transfers. Similar initiatives are also expanding across other markets, reducing remittance costs, settlement delays, and dependency on correspondent banking layers. As a result, a regional payment ecosystem is gradually emerging.

In addition, payment innovation has introduced powerful non-bank competitors such as fintech companies, digital wallets and telecom-linked financial services. These competitors have reshaped customer behaviour around payments and digital finance. Modern payment systems also generate enormous amounts of behavioural and commercial data that allows banks and fintech firms to improve credit assessment and personalise financial products.

Overall, mobile payments are helping integrate previously underserved populations into the formal financial system, reducing dependence on physical branches, paper documentation, and cash handling infrastructure.

What do you think will be the defining characteristics of a resilient bank in Asia over the next few years?

A resilient bank in Asia over the next few years will look very different from the traditional model that dominated the region for decades. Strength will no longer be defined only by capital size or branch networks. The most resilient institutions will possess the traits of financial discipline, technological adaptability, operational resilience, and public trust.

Several defining characteristics emerge very clearly. These include strong capital, liquidity resilience, concentration risks, and stress survivability. Resilient banks will maintain diversified funding sources, strong deposit franchises, conservative liquidity buffers, and disciplined asset-liability management.

Operational resilience will also help banks survive cyberattacks, cloud outages, ransomware, payment disruptions, geopolitical shocks, and AI-related operational risks. As regulators across Asia increasingly emphasise recovery capability, system redundancy, and critical service continuity, a resilient bank should be able to continue functioning even during severe technology disruptions.

In addition, good AI governance will differentiate strong institutions from the rest. Resilient banks will establish responsible AI governance frameworks, model validation disciplines, ethical oversight, and clear accountability structures.

Lastly, strong internal culture, ethical leadership, and adaptable talent are also key. Future banking teams will need expertise across many areas such as finance, technology, cybersecurity, data analytics and regulations.

In the coming years, resilience will not simply mean surviving losses but also adapting quickly, operating securely, and functioning reliably in an increasingly digital and interconnected financial system.

As a judge for the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards and Wholesale Banking Awards 2026, what qualities or innovations do you consider essential when evaluating nominees?

In today’s banking environment, true excellence comes from a combination of strategic relevance, innovation with measurable outcomes, resilience, governance quality, customer impact, and long-term sustainability.

Qualities which I would consider essential include customer-centric transformation, the ability of banking innovations to contribute to broader economic development, and strategic adaptability.

Ultimately, the winning bank should demonstrate the ability to innovate responsibly whilst building long-term institutional trust. The most deserving winners are usually institutions quietly building resilient systems, trusted customer relationships, strong governance, and sustainable long-term value for the broader financial ecosystem.