The financial services industry is currently being impacted by a variety of factors, including geopolitical uncertainties, stricter regulatory requirements, rising operating costs and volatile interest rates. According to the latest KPMG study "Global Tech Report", technology is the key to successfully overcoming these hurdles. Financial companies that strategically implement digital transformations have the best chance of strengthening their resilience and achieving sustainable growth.
Key findings:
- Regulation remains a major challenge: 75 per cent of financial service providers see complex regulatory requirements as the main obstacle to investment.
- Artificial intelligence as a growth driver: 92 per cent of companies state that their AI investments are already generating profits, but only 32 per cent are achieving this on a large scale.
- Technical failures: 58 per cent of companies experience weekly disruptions due to vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure.
- Cloud technologies as a priority: 82 per cent of financial service providers prioritise investment in Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS) models in 2025 to improve data management, security and compliance.
Data and AI: the key to resilience and strategy
Regulatory requirements such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and increasing security risks require new solutions from financial organisations. Many institutions are already relying on artificial intelligence and modern analysis tools to identify regulatory changes more quickly, adapt processes more dynamically and monitor risks in real time. This strategy is paying off. The proportion of companies in the financial services sector that have recorded an increase in profits in the past 24 months as a result of technology investments has risen significantly since 2023.
Strict regulatory requirements are a hurdle, but they also offer the opportunity to build trust and effectively manage risks through innovative compliance solutions.
IT modernisation as a priority
A powerful, secure IT infrastructure is crucial for processing large amounts of data efficiently and gaining useful insights. The key lies in flexible, cloud-based architectures and the replacement of outdated systems. Technologies such as cloud platforms enable rapid scaling and adaptation to new challenges - and are therefore essential for resilience to regulatory and economic uncertainties. Investments in XaaS structures are therefore among the top priorities for financial service providers in the coming months, followed by expenditure on cybersecurity and AI.
