InMarketing Today

Jamie Dimon has signalled that JP Morgan could deploy $10–20bn on an acquisition, speaking at a banking conference yesterday (Source: City AM). The bank expects to accumulate $40–50bn in excess capital above regulatory requirements — headroom created by deregulation reforms — and Dimon was uncharacteristically specific about scale while deliberately vague about target. US law blocks JP Morgan from acquiring another deposit-taking bank, since it already holds more than 10% of the country's deposits, so any deal points toward adjacent financial services, fintech, or data. For brand leaders: when the most powerful bank in the world starts shopping in your space, the competitive map reshapes fast. Know what you stand for before someone else decides for you.

The enfant terrible narrative is over. In 2025, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency received 21 applications for new bank charters from fintechs — with approval times falling 40%, according to analysis by McKinsey and QED — marking a structural shift from disruption to respectability (Source: American Banker). Fintechs are becoming banks; incumbents are responding by investing in technology and rethinking legacy products. If your positioning still relies on being the challenger, check whether the market still sees you that way.

Half of asset managers have already deployed tokenisation — 17% at broad operational scale and a further 33% in limited deployment — according to Apex Group research based on a survey of 100 senior executives (Source: Investment Week). Broadening investor access is the primary driver, cited by 42% of respondents, while implementation costs remain the chief obstacle for 39%. The credibility threshold has been crossed; the communications job now is explaining it clearly to clients who may not realise they are already exposed to it.

ClearBank Europe has launched Digital Asset Rails, enabling regulated institutions to make stablecoin transfers and receive fiat payouts via SEPA Instant, around the clock (Source: Finextra). The service converts fiat into EURC — a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin issued by Circle — transfers it efficiently, then redeems it back into fiat on established banking rails, eliminating traditional settlement windows and prefunding requirements across multiple markets. This is hybrid finance in production: regulated, live, and processing client flows today.

Over a third of companies — 35% — now prioritise AI skills when hiring for email marketing teams, according to the Litmus State of Email 2026 report (Source: Martech.org). The data behind the headline, however, is the more useful read: 31% prioritise campaign strategy and planning, 27% marketing automation, and 24% data analysis — skills that make AI useful, rather than skills that merely use it. Hiring for AI proficiency without hiring for judgement is how you produce mediocrity faster.

Monzo has launched a mobile phone plan that gets cheaper each year, built on the Virgin Media O2 network and rolling out to the bank's 15 million-plus customers this summer (Source: Evening Standard). Plans start at £8 per month, with 5% off the bill annually — a 30% maximum discount for loyal customers — in explicit contrast to incumbents that raise prices mid-contract. Revolut is already competing in this space. The brand lesson here is not about telecoms: it is about what happens when a financial services brand builds enough customer trust to extend credibly into an adjacent category. Permission is earned slowly, then spent in a single product launch.