Finastra’s survey of more than 1,500 senior financial executives across eleven markets documents an industry in the middle of widespread technological modernisation.
Based on comprehensive empirical research covering over 1,500 senior financial executives and decision-makers across eleven global markets, Finastra’s benchmark documents an industry in the middle of widespread technological modernisation. Only two percent of surveyed institutions report zero engagement with artificial intelligence, illustrating that digital inertia is no longer viable in mainstream banking. Over sixty percent of institutions actively upgraded and expanded their core AI capabilities over the previous twelve months.
The report highlights an acceleration in cyber defence investments, with security budgets projected to expand by roughly forty percent throughout 2026. This surge in security spending matches the rapid rollout of customer personalisation engines and autonomous agentic workflows, signalling that financial enterprises understand that expanding their digital surface area requires equivalent investments in defensive resilience. Technology leaders are shifting away from fragmented point solutions toward modern platforms and unified data architectures that enable continuous deployment without compromising legacy core stability.
Finastra’s study serves as an essential global planning benchmark for Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, and Chief Information Security Officers balancing boardroom growth mandates against operational risk. As institutions integrate third-party fintech capabilities and open banking Application Programming Interfaces, legacy operational friction is being systematically replaced by API-driven integration frameworks.
Sustainable modernisation requires establishing responsible AI governance frameworks, ensuring explainability across algorithmic credit decisions, and maintaining end-to-end auditability across automated systems.
