Financial Services in 2025 survey data

Explore our survey findings

All Sectors
Questions and Answers	Global	Asia Pac	EMEA	Americas
Regulatory Impact Thinking about the different areas that could potentially be impacted by regulatory changes over the next 5 years, which areas of regulation are you most concerned about?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
AML (Anti Money Laundering)	24%	23%	22%	27%
Use of new technology	30%	33%	23%	32%
Enhanced accountability	23%	27%	21%	19%
Open Banking	22%	23%	22%	22%
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)	27%	33%	25%	21%
Data privacy and cybersecurity	48%	40%	50%	57%
Environment and climate (e.g. ESG)	28%	36%	26%	20%
Customer communication	25%	28%	19%	26%
Digital identity authentication	31%	34%	26%	31%
E-money/Cryptocurrency	27%	28%	25%	26%
KYC (Know Your Customer)	28%	31%	26%	27%
Local regulatory pressures - different regulations in different regions	30%	35%	28%	26%
New business model (crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending)	26%	35%	22%	18%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	1%
Don't know	2%	1%	3%	2%
Cybersecurity Strategy Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact in shaping your cybersecurity strategy over the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Shortage of cybersecurity talent	35%	37%	36%	32%
Introduction of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics	30%	33%	25%	29%
Increasing complexity of cyber threats	45%	42%	42%	51%
Introduction of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks	29%	38%	23%	24%
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software	30%	40%	20%	26%
Growing public concern over data privacy	35%	34%	36%	36%
Cybersecurity and data privacy regulations	46%	46%	47%	46%
Vulnerabilities in supply chains and business partners	28%	26%	25%	33%
Rising geopolitical tensions	28%	30%	27%	28%
Human vulnerabilities (unintentional or malicious)	32%	29%	33%	35%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	2%	2%	3%	2%
M&A, Divestitures or Carve-out Is your organisation likely to consider any Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Divestitures or Carve-out activity in the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Yes - expect 1 or 2 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	25%	22%	23%	29%
Yes - expect 3 to 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	32%	40%	31%	24%
Yes - expect more than 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	13%	13%	11%	13%
No - we don't plan to consider any M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities expected within next 5 years	18%	15%	23%	18%
No - but we expect to be the target of an M&A/ ivestiture/Carve-out activity expected within next 5 years	4%	5%	4%	4%
Don't know	8%	5%	8%	11%
ESG Influence To what extent do you expect ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) to influence the following aspects of your organisation's business model?
Data shown: No influence Moderate influence Significant influence Don't know separated by commas in each table cell.
Selection of clients	21%,43%,34%,3%	13%,47%,38%,3%	20%,42%,35%,3%	30%,38%,29%,3%
Selection of suppliers (value chain partners)	17%,46%,34%,3%	13%,45%,40%,2%	17%,49%,31%,3%	21%,44%,31%,4%
Products/service offering	13%,45%,39%,3%	10%,48%,40%,2%	11%,44%,41%,4%	18%,44%,36%,2%
Investment decisions	14%,41%,41%,3%	13%,40%,46%,2%	13%,41%,42%,4%	17%,43%,36%,4%
Lending decisions	19%,43%,35%,4%	18%,44%,33%,4%	13%,41%,42%,4%	24%,38%,33%,5%
Recruitment of employees	22%,43%,33%,3%	17%,50%,32%,1%	24%,37%,35%,4%	26%,38%,32%,4%
Overall organisation's strategy	12%,43%,42%,3%	10%,44%,44%,2%	14%,40%,41%,5%	14%,44%,39%,3%
The role of employees in Financial Services The role of employees in Financial Services organisations is changing. Which of the following activities is your organisation planning to pursue over the next 5 years to address a potential future skills gap?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Change the composition of the workforce between permanent and contingent staff	35%	40%	33%	31%
Hire from competitors	30%	28%	33%	30%
Acquire a firm to access new skills/expertise	34%	43%	26%	29%
Establish a strong pipeline direct from education	40%	45%	30%	43%
Hire from outside the industry	29%	31%	28%	28%
Undertake significant retraining/upskilling	47%	47%	44%	49%
Outsource non-core activities to third parties	36%	41%	29%	36%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	4%	3%	6%	4%
Macro trends in FS Thinking about macro trends in the financial services industry, which of the statements below do you think is most likely to be true in the 2025?
Data shown for Trend 1: Continued low interest rates will require that institutions increase investment in measures to reduce costs, digitise and improve productivity to maintain margins and profitability. An eventual increase in interest rates in 2023 will help institutions improve margins and profitability. No change.
Data shown for Trend 2: Asset impairments resulting from the pandemic will further constrain lending and the risk-bearing capacity of regulated banks and insurers, increasing the share delivered by capital markets and the so-called shadow banking or alternative financing industry (such as PE funds and sovereigns) over today's levels. After the pandemic subsides, alternative financing will return to today's levels or below. No change.
Data shown for Trend 3: Alternative providers of capital will increase in importance, forcing financial institutions to adjust their business models to a less pronounced role in providing capital (with a corresponding P&L impact) and find new ways to participate in the value ch Policymakers will have not made the much needed regulatory, tax and legal changes to enable alternative financing to flourish, limiting its influence. No change.
Data shown for Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be implemented in short order. Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be further delayed. No change.
Data shown for Trend 5: De-globalisation of financial institutions will continue as will offshoring and nearshoring. Increased regionalisation of institutions and onshoring of operational activities will be driven by increased digitization and risk aversion. No change.
Data shown for Trend 6: Leading institutions will further digitise their customer interaction models, strengthen digital sales and service model interaction, and materially cut back on support functions and infrastructure that failed to prove their value during the pandemic. Leading institutions will revive some of their 'brick and mortar' operations that closed during the pandemic. No change.
Data shown for Trend 7: Big tech companies will continue to push into arenas formerly exclusively owned by incumbent FS firms (such as payments and credit, lending, and trading). Financial services incumbents will be able to fend off the big tech companies by increasing client satisfaction and trust with a wider and evolving set of products and services. No change.
Trend 1: Interest rates	62%,30%,7%	68%,26%,6%	57%,34%,9%	60%,33%,7%
Trend 2: Alternative finance	53%,38%,9%	62%,31%,8%	46%,43%,11%	46%,43%,11%
Trend 3: Sources of capital	56%,32%,12%	65%,26%,9%	49%,36%,15%	50%,38%,13%
Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives	47%,41%,12%	48%,44%,7%	46%,35%,18%	46%,41%,13%
Trend 5: Globalisation	34%,48%,17%	40%,52%,8%	29%,43%,28%	32%,48%,20%
Trend 6: Digital v Bricks & Mortar	68%,22%,10%	67%,25%,8%	66%,20%,14%	70%,21%,8%
Trend 7: Big tech in FS	61%,30%,8%	63%,31%,6%	57%,31%,11%	63%,29%,8%
Thinking ahead to 2025 And finally, thinking ahead to 2025,what do you expect to be your organisation's top 3 challenges over the next 5 years in the order of priority for your organisation? - Ranked 1-3
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
New and digital only market entrants	14%	13%	15%	14%
Inadequacy of basic infrastructure	8%	11%	6%	6%
Increasing frequency of cyber threats	19%	18%	21%	19%
Regulatory compliance	20%	16%	21%	24%
Investor demands	12%	12%	13%	10%
Low or zero interest rate environment	17%	18%	17%	17%
Increasing inequality	9%	12%	9%	7%
Geopolitical uncertainty	15%	13%	17%	15%
Climate change and environmental issues e.g. ESG	15%	18%	13%	13%
Crisis response preparedness	14%	15%	15%	13%
Customers loss of trust in their financial institutions	13%	16%	15%	9%
Attracting and retaining talented employees	17%	18%	17%	14%
Attracting new customers	19%	20%	19%	19%
Retaining existing customers	15%	14%	16%	14%
Increasing profitability of customers	16%	16%	15%	18%
Impact of new technologies	21%	20%	16%	26%
Product development	11%	12%	10%	11%
Pressure on Fees	15%	13%	18%	15%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Digital transformation	22%	19%	23%	26%
Don't know	1%	1%	1%	1%

AWM
Questions and Answers	Global	Asia Pac	EMEA	Americas
Regulatory Impact Thinking about the different areas that could potentially be impacted by regulatory changes over the next 5 years, which areas of regulation are you most concerned about?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
AML (Anti Money Laundering)	25%	26%	29%	22%
Use of new technology	31%	33%	27%	32%
Enhanced accountability	19%	24%	20%	13%
Open Banking	22%	26%	20%	16%
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)	25%	30%	31%	15%
Data privacy and cybersecurity	51%	41%	47%	66%
Environment and climate (e.g. ESG)	32%	34%	37%	25%
Customer communication	21%	24%	14%	23%
Digital identity authentication	31%	35%	22%	32%
E-money/Cryptocurrency	26%	30%	27%	20%
KYC (Know Your Customer)	29%	36%	18%	25%
Local regulatory pressures - different regulations in different regions	33%	41%	29%	25%
New business model (crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending)	24%	34%	16%	16%
Other (please specify)	1%	0%	0%	3%
Don't know	3%	0%	8%	4%
Cybersecurity Strategy Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact in shaping your cybersecurity strategy over the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Shortage of cybersecurity talent	33%	42%	22%	27%
Introduction of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics	23%	28%	14%	22%
Increasing complexity of cyber threats	47%	41%	41%	59%
Introduction of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks	27%	36%	20%	20%
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software	32%	49%	14%	20%
Growing public concern over data privacy	36%	38%	24%	39%
Cybersecurity and data privacy regulations	48%	51%	47%	46%
Vulnerabilities in supply chains and business partners	31%	30%	27%	35%
Rising geopolitical tensions	33%	34%	31%	34%
Human vulnerabilities (unintentional or malicious)	30%	25%	35%	33%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	1%
Don't know	1%	1%	4%	0%
M&A, Divestitures or Carve-out Is your organisation likely to consider any Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Divestitures or Carve-out activity in the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Yes - expect 1 or 2 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	31%	23%	14%	27%
Yes - expect 3 to 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	22%	38%	33%	20%
Yes - expect more than 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	22%	9%	8%	11%
No - we don't plan to consider any M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities expected within next 5 years	10%	23%	24%	19%
No - but we expect to be the target of an M&A/ Divestiture/Carve-out activity expected within next 5 years	4%	5%	4%	4%
Don't know	11%	3%	16%	19%
ESG Influence To what extent do you expect ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) to influence the following aspects of your organisation's business model?
Data shown: No influence Moderate influence Significant influence Don't know separated by commas in each table cell.
Selection of clients	21%,43%,33%,2%	9%,49%,39%,3%	22%,45%,31%,2%	37%,34%,28%,1%
Selection of suppliers (value chain partners)	15%,46%,35%,5%	6%,43%,49%,2%	16%,53%,24%,6%	25%,44%,23%,8%
Products/service offering	13%,43%,41%,3%	5%,51%,43%,1%	10%,35%,49%,6%	24%,39%,33%,4%
Investment decisions	12%,42%,43%,3%	5%,44%,50%,1%	10%,41%,45%,4%	23%,41%,33%,4%
Lending decisions	21%,43%,30%,5%	12%,49%,36%,3%	16%,49%,31%,4%	37%,33%,23%,8%
Recruitment of employees	19%,46%,32%,3%	10%,53%,35%,2%	27%,45%,24%,4%	27%,37%,32%,5%
Overall organisation's strategy	13%,44%,40%,2%	7%,44%,48%,1%	14%,47%,39%,0%	22%,43%,32%,4%
The role of employees in Financial Services The role of employees in Financial Services organisations is changing. Which of the following activities is your organisation planning topursue over the next 5 years to address a potential future skills gap?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Change the composition of the workforce between permanent and contingent staff	40%	44%	35%	37%
Hire from competitors	27%	26%	24%	28%
Acquire a firm to access new skills/expertise	31%	45%	22%	18%
Establish a strong pipeline direct from education	45%	49%	24%	52%
Hire from outside the industry	27%	30%	16%	30%
Undertake significant retraining/upskilling	46%	45%	37%	52%
Outsource non-core activities to third parties	37%	40%	29%	37%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	6%	4%	12%	4%
Macro trends in FS Thinking about macro trends in the financial services industry, which of the statements below do you think is most likely to be true in the 2025?
Data shown for Trend 1: Continued low interest rates will require that institutions increase investment in measures to reduce costs, digitise and improve productivity to maintain margins and profitability. An eventual increase in interest rates in 2023 will help institutions improve margins and profitability. No change.
Data shown for Trend 2: Asset impairments resulting from the pandemic will further constrain lending and the risk-bearing capacity of regulated banks and insurers, increasing the share delivered by capital markets and the so-called shadow banking or alternative financing industry (such as PE funds and sovereigns) over today's levels. After the pandemic subsides, alternative financing will return to today's levels or below. No change.
Data shown for Trend 3: Alternative providers of capital will increase in importance, forcing financial institutions to adjust their business models to a less pronounced role in providing capital (with a corresponding P&L impact) and find new ways to participate in the value ch Policymakers will have not made the much needed regulatory, tax and legal changes to enable alternative financing to flourish, limiting its influence. No change.
Data shown for Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be implemented in short order. Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be further delayed. No change.
Data shown for Trend 5: De-globalisation of financial institutions will continue as will offshoring and nearshoring. Increased regionalisation of institutions and onshoring of operational activities will be driven by increased digitization and risk aversion. No change.
Data shown for Trend 6: Leading institutions will further digitise their customer interaction models, strengthen digital sales and service model interaction, and materially cut back on support functions and infrastructure that failed to prove their value during the pandemic. Leading institutions will revive some of their 'brick and mortar' operations that closed during the pandemic. No change.
Data shown for Trend 7: Big tech companies will continue to push into arenas formerly exclusively owned by incumbent FS firms (such as payments and credit, lending, and trading). Financial services incumbents will be able to fend off the big tech companies by increasing client satisfaction and trust with a wider and evolving set of products and services. No change.
Trend 1: Interest rates	63%,31%,6%	68%,29%,3%	59%,33%,8%	59%,33%,8%
Trend 2: Alternative finance	53%,38%,8%	67%,30%,3%	45%,47%,8%	42%,43%,15%
Trend 3: Sources of capital	60%,30%,10%	68%,28%,4%	51%,33%,16%	56%,29%,15%
Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives	49%,37%,15%	56%,38%,6%	45%,33%,22%	42%,37%,22%
Trend 5: Globalisation	29%,53%,18%	38%,54%,8%	14%,51%,35%	25%,53%,22%
Trend 6: Digital v Bricks & Mortar	69%,21%,10%	72%,24%,5%	69%,16%,14%	66%,22%,13%
Trend 7: Big tech in FS	59%,33%,9%	58%,37%,5%	53%,37%,10%	63%,24%,13%
Thinking ahead to 2025 And finally, thinking ahead to 2025,what do you expect to be your organisation’s top 3 challenges over the next 5 years in the order of priority for your organisation? - Ranked 1-3
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
New and digital only market entrants	11%	10%	12%	11%
Inadequacy of basic infrastructure	6%	6%	6%	5%
Increasing frequency of cyber threats	24%	22%	27%	25%
Regulatory compliance	24%	23%	22%	27%
Investor demands	15%	15%	16%	14%
Low or zero interest rate environment	14%	11%	16%	16%
Increasing inequality	6%	9%	2%	5%
Geopolitical uncertainty	21%	11%	22%	6%
Climate change and environmental issues e.g. ESG	13%	15%	8%	14%
Crisis response preparedness	17%	18%	22%	14%
Customers loss of trust in their financial institutions	11%	15%	10%	8%
Attracting and retaining talented employees	15%	18%	12%	14%
Attracting new customers	15%	21%	18%	6%
Retaining existing customers	12%	18%	22%	24%
Increasing profitability of customers	18%	20%	20%	15%
Impact of new technologies	25%	25%	14%	32%
Product development	10%	12%	10%	9%
Pressure on Fees	16%	13%	20%	16%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	1%
Digital transformation	22%	18%	16%	30%
Don't know	0%	0%	0%	1%

Banking
Questions and Answers	Global	Asia Pac	EMEA	Americas
Regulatory Impact Thinking about the different areas that could potentially be impacted by regulatory changes over the next 5 years, which areas of regulation are you most concerned about?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
AML (Anti Money Laundering)	26%	23%	24%	30%
Use of new technology	27%	26%	19%	34%
Enhanced accountability	26%	29%	22%	27%
Open Banking	27%	23%	29%	30%
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)	31%	35%	26%	31%
Data privacy and cybersecurity	43%	31%	52%	46%
Environment and climate (e.g. ESG)	26%	33%	28%	19%
Customer communication	24%	27%	19%	26%
Digital identity authentication	31%	33%	30%	31%
E-money/Cryptocurrency	32%	32%	32%	32%
KYC (Know Your Customer)	30%	30%	28%	31%
Local regulatory pressures - different regulations in different regions	24%	23%	27%	23%
New business model (crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending)	25%	24%	27%	23%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	1%	0%
Don't know	1%	0%	0%	2%
Cybersecurity Strategy Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact in shaping your cybersecurity strategy over the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Shortage of cybersecurity talent	36%	34%	39%	35%
Introduction of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics	26%	20%	26%	32%
Increasing complexity of cyber threats	45%	45%	38%	50%
Introduction of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks	30%	38%	20%	31%
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software	27%	31%	23%	28%
Growing public concern over data privacy	35%	30%	42%	34%
Cybersecurity and data privacy regulations	46%	38%	48%	50%
Vulnerabilities in supply chains and business partners	28%	21%	25%	36%
Rising geopolitical tensions	27%	25%	28%	27%
Human vulnerabilities (unintentional or malicious)	35%	40%	38%	29%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	2%	2%	2%	2%
M&A, Divestitures or Carve-out Is your organisation likely to consider any Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Divestitures or Carve-out activity in the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Yes - expect 1 or 2 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	31%	24%	24%	30%
Yes - expect 3 to 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	26%	35%	31%	28%
Yes - expect more than 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	15%	24%	11%	15%
No - we don't plan to consider any M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities expected within next 5 years	17%	10%	22%	13%
No - but we expect to be the target of an M&A/ Divestiture/Carve-out activity expected within next 5 years	5%	4%	4%	6%
Don't know	6%	2%	8%	9%
ESG Influence To what extent do you expect ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) to influence the following aspects of your organisation's business model?
Data shown: No influence Moderate influence Significant influence Don't know separated by commas in each table cell.
Selection of clients	16%,42%,38%,5%	10%,43%,43%,4%	19%,41%,35%,5%	19%,41%,35%,5%
Selection of suppliers (value chain partners)	15%,45%,38%,3%	14%,45%,40%,1%	15%,46%,35%,4%	15%,44%,38%,3%
Products/service offering	11%,48%,38%,3%	10%,51%,37%,2%	14%,41%,41%,4%	10%,51%,35%,3%
Investment decisions	14%,41%,42%,3%	13%,40%,47%,0%	13%,40%,41%,6%	15%,43%,38%,4%
Lending decisions	14%,43%,41%,2%	12%,45%,43%,0%	18%,41%,38%,3%	11%,43%,42%,4%
Recruitment of employees	20%,42%,36%,2%	13%,52%,35%,0%	24%,33%,40%,3%	22%,41%,34%,3%
Overall organisation's strategy	11%,38%,47%,4%	11%,41%,48%,0%	14%,34%,43%,9%	9%,40%,50%,2%
The role of employees in Financial Services The role of employees in Financial Services organisations is changing. Which of the following activities is your organisation planning topursue over the next 5 years to address a potential future skills gap?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Change the composition of the workforce between permanent and contingent staff	35%	33%	38%	34%
Hire from competitors	34%	33%	34%	34%
Acquire a firm to access new skills/expertise	35%	38%	28%	40%
Establish a strong pipeline direct from education	38%	40%	36%	39%
Hire from outside the industry	24%	23%	29%	21%
Undertake significant retraining/upskilling	44%	41%	45%	47%
Outsource non-core activities to third parties	33%	35%	30%	34%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	4%	3%	5%	4%
Macro trends in FS Thinking about macro trends in the financial services industry, which of the statements below do you think is most likely to be true in the 2025?
Data shown for Trend 1: Continued low interest rates will require that institutions increase investment in measures to reduce costs, digitise and improve productivity to maintain margins and profitability. An eventual increase in interest rates in 2023 will help institutions improve margins and profitability. No change.
Data shown for Trend 2: Asset impairments resulting from the pandemic will further constrain lending and the risk-bearing capacity of regulated banks and insurers, increasing the share delivered by capital markets and the so-called shadow banking or alternative financing industry (such as PE funds and sovereigns) over today's levels. After the pandemic subsides, alternative financing will return to today's levels or below. No change.
Data shown for Trend 3: Alternative providers of capital will increase in importance, forcing financial institutions to adjust their business models to a less pronounced role in providing capital (with a corresponding P&L impact) and find new ways to participate in the value ch Policymakers will have not made the much needed regulatory, tax and legal changes to enable alternative financing to flourish, limiting its influence. No change.
Data shown for Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be implemented in short order. Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be further delayed. No change.
Data shown for Trend 5: De-globalisation of financial institutions will continue as will offshoring and nearshoring. Increased regionalisation of institutions and onshoring of operational activities will be driven by increased digitization and risk aversion. No change.
Data shown for Trend 6: Leading institutions will further digitise their customer interaction models, strengthen digital sales and service model interaction, and materially cut back on support functions and infrastructure that failed to prove their value during the pandemic. Leading institutions will revive some of their 'brick and mortar' operations that closed during the pandemic. No change.
Data shown for Trend 7: Big tech companies will continue to push into arenas formerly exclusively owned by incumbent FS firms (such as payments and credit, lending, and trading). Financial services incumbents will be able to fend off the big tech companies by increasing client satisfaction and trust with a wider and evolving set of products and services. No change.
Trend 1: Interest rates	62%,32%,6%	69%,25%,5%	58%,34%,8%	60%,35%,5%
Trend 2: Alternative finance	52%,40%,8%	62%,33%,5%	48%,44%,8%	48%,42%,10%
Trend 3: Sources of capital	55%,36%,9%	70%,24%,5%	51%,39%,10%	45%,45%,10%
Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives	49%,40%,12%	56%,40%,4%	40%,42%,18%	50%,37%,12%
Trend 5: Globalisation	41%,43%,16%	48%,47%,4%	34%,40%,26%	42%,43%,15%
Trend 6: Digital v Bricks & Mortar	66%,24%,10%	69%,24%,7%	60%,25%,15%	69%,24%,8%
Trend 7: Big tech in FS	65%,29%,6%	74%,25%,1%	63%,27%,10%	58%,34%,8%
Thinking ahead to 2025 And finally, thinking ahead to 2025,what do you expect to be your organisation’s top 3 challenges over the next 5 years in the order of priority for your organisation? - Ranked 1-3
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
New and digital only market entrants	14%	12%	15%	13%
Inadequacy of basic infrastructure	8%	15%	6%	5%
Increasing frequency of cyber threats	17%	13%	21%	16%
Regulatory compliance	21%	14%	25%	23%
Investor demands	9%	5%	12%	10%
Low or zero interest rate environment	19%	23%	18%	17%
Increasing inequality	11%	15%	10%	8%
Geopolitical uncertainty	15%	15%	8%	10%
Climate change and environmental issues e.g. ESG	16%	16%	18%	14%
Crisis response preparedness	13%	13%	13%	13%
Customers loss of trust in their financial institutions	14%	16%	18%	9%
Attracting and retaining talented employees	17%	19%	15%	16%
Attracting new customers	18%	19%	12%	24%
Retaining existing customers	11%	10%	16%	17%
Increasing profitability of customers	17%	15%	15%	20%
Impact of new technologies	20%	16%	16%	27%
Product development	9%	12%	7%	9%
Pressure on Fees	15%	14%	19%	12%
Other (please specify)	0%	2%	3%	1%
Digital transformation	26%	21%	25%	30%
Don't know	2%	0%	0%	0%

Insurance
Questions and Answers	Global	Asia Pac	EMEA	Americas
Regulatory Impact Thinking about the different areas that could potentially be impacted by regulatory changes over the next 5 years, which areas of regulation are you most concerned about?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
AML (Anti Money Laundering)	55%	46%	51%	66%
Use of new technology	28%	23%	20%	38%
Enhanced accountability	29%	27%	31%	29%
Open Banking	29%	27%	31%	29%
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)	26%	35%	29%	17%
Data privacy and cybersecurity	17%	25%	12%	16%
Environment and climate (e.g. ESG)	17%	21%	14%	16%
Customer communication	17%	19%	14%	19%
Digital identity authentication	21%	27%	18%	19%
E-money/Cryptocurrency	27%	27%	22%	31%
KYC (Know Your Customer)	23%	27%	12%	28%
Local regulatory pressures - different regulations in different regions	23%	29%	22%	17%
New business model (crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending)	11%	8%	8%	16%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	4%	6%	6%	0%
Cybersecurity Strategy Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact in shaping your cybersecurity strategy over the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Shortage of cybersecurity talent	43%	42%	45%	41%
Introduction of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics	45%	42%	45%	47%
Increasing complexity of cyber threats	36%	29%	37%	41%
Introduction of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks	37%	33%	43%	36%
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software	30%	25%	22%	40%
Growing public concern over data privacy	24%	21%	20%	29%
Cybersecurity and data privacy regulations	32%	25%	37%	33%
Vulnerabilities in supply chains and business partners	23%	23%	33%	16%
Rising geopolitical tensions	21%	19%	22%	22%
Human vulnerabilities (unintentional or malicious)	25%	19%	24%	29%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	5%	6%	4%	5%
M&A, Divestitures or Carve-out Is your organisation likely to consider any Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Divestitures or Carve-out activity in the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Yes - expect 1 or 2 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	23%	25%	33%	26%
Yes - expect 3 to 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	28%	17%	29%	22%
Yes - expect more than 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	23%	8%	12%	10%
No - we don't plan to consider any M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities expected within next 5 years	10%	21%	22%	26%
No - but we expect to be the target of an M&A/ Divestiture/Carve-out activity expected within next 5 years	6%	10%	4%	5%
Don't know	10%	19%	0%	10%
ESG Influence To what extent do you expect ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) to influence the following aspects of your organisation's business model?
Data shown: No influence Moderate influence Significant influence Don't know separated by commas in each table cell.
Selection of clients	26%,44%,29%,1%	15%,44%,40%,2%	22%,45%,33%,0%	40%,43%,17%,0%
Selection of suppliers (value chain partners)	21%,50%,26%,3%	21%,48%,25%,6%	20%,53%,27%,0%	22%,48%,26%,3%
Products/service offering	15%,45%,39%,1%	10%,42%,46%,2%	8%,57%,33%,2%	24%,38%,38%,0%
Investment decisions	15%,44%,39%,3%	17%,38%,46%,0%	16%,43%,39%,2%	12%,50%,33%,5%
Lending decisions	25%,46%,25%,5%	21%,50%,27%,2%	22%,49%,22%,6%	31%,40%,24%,5%
Recruitment of employees	23%,45%,28%,5%	29%,46%,25%,0%	16%,45%,33%,6%	24%,43%,26%,7%
Overall organisation's strategy	14%,46%,37%,3%	13%,40%,46%,2%	16%,43%,39%,2%	14%,55%,28%,3%
The role of employees in Financial Services The role of employees in Financial Services organisations is changing. Which of the following activities is your organisation planning topursue over the next 5 years to address a potential future skills gap?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Change the composition of the workforce between permanent and contingent staff	26%	33%	27%	21%
Hire from competitors	26%	21%	37%	21%
Acquire a firm to access new skills/expertise	27%	33%	22%	26%
Establish a strong pipeline direct from education	34%	29%	24%	45%
Hire from outside the industry	28%	21%	31%	33%
Undertake significant retraining/upskilling	49%	44%	53%	50%
Outsource non-core activities to third parties	35%	42%	29%	34%
Other (please specify)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	5%	4%	4%	7%
Macro trends in FS Thinking about macro trends in the financial services industry, which of the statements below do you think is most likely to be true in the 2025?
Data shown for Trend 1: Continued low interest rates will require that institutions increase investment in measures to reduce costs, digitise and improve productivity to maintain margins and profitability. An eventual increase in interest rates in 2023 will help institutions improve margins and profitability. No change.
Data shown for Trend 2: Asset impairments resulting from the pandemic will further constrain lending and the risk-bearing capacity of regulated banks and insurers, increasing the share delivered by capital markets and the so-called shadow banking or alternative financing industry (such as PE funds and sovereigns) over today's levels. After the pandemic subsides, alternative financing will return to today's levels or below. No change.
Data shown for Trend 3: Alternative providers of capital will increase in importance, forcing financial institutions to adjust their business models to a less pronounced role in providing capital (with a corresponding P&L impact) and find new ways to participate in the value ch Policymakers will have not made the much needed regulatory, tax and legal changes to enable alternative financing to flourish, limiting its influence. No change.
Data shown for Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be implemented in short order. Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be further delayed. No change.
Data shown for Trend 5: De-globalisation of financial institutions will continue as will offshoring and nearshoring. Increased regionalisation of institutions and onshoring of operational activities will be driven by increased digitization and risk aversion. No change.
Data shown for Trend 6: Leading institutions will further digitise their customer interaction models, strengthen digital sales and service model interaction, and materially cut back on support functions and infrastructure that failed to prove their value during the pandemic. Leading institutions will revive some of their 'brick and mortar' operations that closed during the pandemic. No change.
Data shown for Trend 7: Big tech companies will continue to push into arenas formerly exclusively owned by incumbent FS firms (such as payments and credit, lending, and trading). Financial services incumbents will be able to fend off the big tech companies by increasing client satisfaction and trust with a wider and evolving set of products and services. No change.
Trend 1: Interest rates	54%,34%,12%	50%,33%,17%	53%,35%,12%	59%,33%,9%
Trend 2: Alternative finance	50%,37%,12%	52%,35%,13%	45%,37%,18%	53%,40%,7%
Trend 3: Sources of capital	46%,32%,22%	48%,25%,27%	41%,37%,22%	50%,33%,17%
Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives	44%,43%,14%	33%,50%,17%	55%,27%,18%	43%,50%,7%
Trend 5: Globalisation	30%,44%,26%	35%,44%,21%	33%,41%,27%	24%,47%,29%
Trend 6: Digital v Bricks & Mortar	61%,24%,15%	35%,40%,25%	76%,12%,12%	71%,21%,9%
Trend 7: Big tech in FS	60%,27%,13%	58%,27%,15%	55%,29%,16%	66%,26%,9%
Thinking ahead to 2025 And finally, thinking ahead to 2025,what do you expect to be your organisation’s top 3 challenges over the next 5 years in the order of priority for your organisation? - Ranked 1-3
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
New and digital only market entrants	19%	21%	22%	14%
Inadequacy of basic infrastructure	15%	15%	14%	17%
Increasing frequency of cyber threats	19%	15%	14%	26%
Regulatory compliance	25%	21%	31%	24%
Investor demands	17%	19%	16%	17%
Low or zero interest rate environment	16%	15%	16%	17%
Increasing inequality	19%	19%	27%	14%
Geopolitical uncertainty	14%	13%	12%	17%
Climate change and environmental issues e.g. ESG	13%	13%	16%	10%
Crisis response preparedness	13%	15%	12%	12%
Customers loss of trust in their financial institutions	10%	13%	27%	28%
Attracting and retaining talented employees	23%	10%	12%	9%
Attracting new customers	11%	13%	12%	9%
Retaining existing customers	15%	13%	18%	16%
Increasing profitability of customers	16%	27%	10%	12%
Impact of new technologies	11%	13%	12%	9%
Product development	12%	10%	10%	14%
Pressure on Fees	12%	13%	12%	10%
Other (please specify)	10%	15%	4%	10%
Digital transformation	2%	0%	0%	0%
Don't know	0%	2%	0%	3%

Payments
Questions and Answers	Global	Asia Pac	EMEA	Americas
Regulatory Impact Thinking about the different areas that could potentially be impacted by regulatory changes over the next 5 years, which areas of regulation are you most concerned about?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
AML (Anti Money Laundering)	13%
Use of new technology	26%
Enhanced accountability	17%
Open Banking	30%
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)	30%
Data privacy and cybersecurity	39%
Environment and climate (e.g. ESG)	30%
Customer communication	26%
Digital identity authentication	13%
E-money/Cryptocurrency	22%
KYC (Know Your Customer)	26%
Local regulatory pressures - different regulations in different regions	26%
New business model (crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending)	17%
Other (please specify)	0%
Don't know	0%
Cybersecurity Strategy Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact in shaping your cybersecurity strategy over the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Shortage of cybersecurity talent	26%
Introduction of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics	30%
Increasing complexity of cyber threats	39%
Introduction of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks	26%
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software	26%
Growing public concern over data privacy	30%
Cybersecurity and data privacy regulations	48%
Vulnerabilities in supply chains and business partners	17%
Rising geopolitical tensions	26%
Human vulnerabilities (unintentional or malicious)	30%
Other (please specify)	0%
Don't know	0%
M&A, Divestitures or Carve-out Is your organisation likely to consider any Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Divestitures or Carve-out activity in the next 5 years?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Yes - expect 1 or 2 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	30%
Yes - expect 3 to 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	30%
Yes - expect more than 5 M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities	13%
No - we don't plan to consider any M&A/Divestitures/Carve-out activities expected within next 5 years	17%
No - but we expect to be the target of an M&A/ Divestiture/Carve-out activity expected within next 5 years	0%
Don't know	9%
ESG Influence To what extent do you expect ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) to influence the following aspects of your organisation's business model?
Data shown: No influence Moderate influence Significant influence Don't know separated by commas in each table cell.
Selection of clients	13%,30%,52%,4%
Selection of suppliers (value chain partners)	22%,30%,43%,4%
Products/service offering	9%,43%,43%,4%
Investment decisions	4%,43%,43%,9%
Lending decisions	13%,48%,35%,4%
Recruitment of employees	17%,35%,48%,0%
Overall organisation's strategy	9%,39%,43%,9%
The role of employees in Financial Services The role of employees in Financial Services organisations is changing. Which of the following activities is your organisation planning topursue over the next 5 years to address a potential future skills gap?
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
Change the composition of the workforce between permanent and contingent staff	17%
Hire from competitors	22%
Acquire a firm to access new skills/expertise	22%
Establish a strong pipeline direct from education	39%
Hire from outside the industry	52%
Undertake significant retraining/upskilling	26%
Outsource non-core activities to third parties	52%
Other (please specify)	0%
Don't know	0%
Macro trends in FS Thinking about macro trends in the financial services industry, which of the statements below do you think is most likely to be true in the 2025?
Data shown for Trend 1: Continued low interest rates will require that institutions increase investment in measures to reduce costs, digitise and improve productivity to maintain margins and profitability. An eventual increase in interest rates in 2023 will help institutions improve margins and profitability. No change.
Data shown for Trend 2: Asset impairments resulting from the pandemic will further constrain lending and the risk-bearing capacity of regulated banks and insurers, increasing the share delivered by capital markets and the so-called shadow banking or alternative financing industry (such as PE funds and sovereigns) over today's levels. After the pandemic subsides, alternative financing will return to today's levels or below. No change.
Data shown for Trend 3: Alternative providers of capital will increase in importance, forcing financial institutions to adjust their business models to a less pronounced role in providing capital (with a corresponding P&L impact) and find new ways to participate in the value ch Policymakers will have not made the much needed regulatory, tax and legal changes to enable alternative financing to flourish, limiting its influence. No change.
Data shown for Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be implemented in short order. Regulatory initiatives that had been planned or temporarily postponed during the pandemic will be further delayed. No change.
Data shown for Trend 5: De-globalisation of financial institutions will continue as will offshoring and nearshoring. Increased regionalisation of institutions and onshoring of operational activities will be driven by increased digitization and risk aversion. No change.
Data shown for Trend 6: Leading institutions will further digitise their customer interaction models, strengthen digital sales and service model interaction, and materially cut back on support functions and infrastructure that failed to prove their value during the pandemic. Leading institutions will revive some of their 'brick and mortar' operations that closed during the pandemic. No change.
Data shown for Trend 7: Big tech companies will continue to push into arenas formerly exclusively owned by incumbent FS firms (such as payments and credit, lending, and trading). Financial services incumbents will be able to fend off the big tech companies by increasing client satisfaction and trust with a wider and evolving set of products and services. No change.
Trend 1: Interest rates	65%,22%,13%
Trend 2: Alternative finance	52%,26%,22%
Trend 3: Sources of capital	65%,22%,13%
Trend 4: Regulatory initiatives	52%,43%,4%
Trend 5: Globalisation	39%,43%,17%
Trend 6: Digital v Bricks & Mortar	83%,13%,4%
Trend 7: Big tech in FS	74%,26%,0%
Thinking ahead to 2025 And finally, thinking ahead to 2025,what do you expect to be your organisation’s top 3 challenges over the next 5 years in the order of priority for your organisation? - Ranked 1-3
Data shown: Percentage of respondents who included each answer in their top 3
New and digital only market entrants	9%
Inadequacy of basic infrastructure	22%
Increasing frequency of cyber threats	4%
Regulatory compliance	0%
Investor demands	13%
Low or zero interest rate environment	13%
Increasing inequality	26%
Geopolitical uncertainty	0%
Climate change and environmental issues e.g. ESG	13%
Crisis response preparedness	9%
Customers loss of trust in their financial institutions	9%
Attracting and retaining talented employees	22%
Attracting new customers	26%
Retaining existing customers	30%
Increasing profitability of customers	17%
Impact of new technologies	35%
Product development	17%
Pressure on Fees	13%
Other (please specify)	0%
Digital transformation	17%
Don't know	0%

Retail Banking 2025 and Beyond

The retail banking industry is undergoing tremendous change. Our analysis suggests several possibilities for how the next decade could unfold. Now is the time to consider radical future-facing scenarios to prepare to build the capabilities and resilience that will be necessary to thrive in tomorrow’s far more dynamic environment.

Learn more about Retail Banking in 2025 and beyond

Payments 2025 & beyond

The financial services industry is in the midst of a significant transformation, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. And given the key role digitisation plays in the financial lives of more and more of the world’s population, electronic payments are at the epicentre of this transformation.

Learn more about Payments in 2025 and beyond

Insurance 2025 and Beyond

Five key trends influencing the industry and five strategic imperatives insurers should consider as they rethink their strategies and plan for the future.

Learn more about Insurance 2025 and Beyond

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