Most Banking, Financial Services Firms Lack Unified AI Strategy; Privacy Among Top Challenges: Report
Only 12% of BFS firms have a global, enterprise-wide AI strategy.
There is a critical gap at many banking and financial services (BFS) firms between artificial intelligence initiatives and overarching business objectives. According to a new study from Infosys, while generative AI has driven 66% of BFS enterprises to update their AI strategy, the majority (88%) of BFS firms lack a comprehensive, enterprise-wide AI strategy.
The main data highlights from the study include:
Only 12% of BFS firms have a global, enterprise-wide AI strategy, with roughly 34% having an AI strategy defined by lines of business at the country or regional level.
The top AI objective for nearly 65% of BFS enterprises is to boost bottom-line productivity.
BFS firms’ AI budgets are expected to increase 25% in 2025, making up 16% of total tech budgets. Return on investment expectations are set at two years, and the average tenure of formal AI programmes within firms is 2.6 years.
The top three initiatives in BFS firms’ current AI budgets are data modernisation to support AI (58%), technology licensing of gen AI software (53%), and AI model development and management (40%).
The top three challenges to AI success—data quality and access, security and privacy, and talent—are exacerbated by the fact that only 23% of BFS enterprises have mature AI governance and risk management practices.
The study, which sampled 505 global banking and financial services leaders, found that despite BFS enterprises being heavily invested in AI, they need to better assess, adopt, and apply AI in strategic ways. Without a strategic alignment of AI in the broader business strategy, AI efforts are fragmented across individual business lines and geographic silos.
To maximise enterprise-wide value, a top-down strategic framework with clear and purposeful guidance from C-suite leadership, coupled with bottom-up execution driven by domain experts, is essential. This approach capitalises on the AI opportunity for BFS firms and enables its consistent deployment.
Dennis Gada, EVP and global head of banking and financial services, Infosys, said, “To unlock the full potential of AI, leadership teams must remove roadblocks through strong AI governance practices—an area that is underdeveloped for more than 75% of banking and financial services firms.”
