{"id":7251,"date":"2026-06-29T12:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/?p=7251"},"modified":"2026-06-29T12:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:42:26","slug":"artificial-intelligence-in-banking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/resources\/artificial-intelligence-in-banking\/","title":{"rendered":"Banking Had a Great Year. That May Be the Problem."},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence in banking: changing the rules of the game<\/strong><\/h2>\n

McKinsey\u2019s latest Global Banking Annual Review<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0contains\u00a0a message that every banking leader should sit with for a moment:\u00a0The industry is performing exceptionally well \u2014 and yet the future looks increasingly uncomfortable.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Global banking net income reached $1.3 trillion in 2025. Revenues, profits, capital buffers, and shareholder distributions\u00a0remain\u00a0strong. On the surface, this is a success story.\u00a0But the more interesting insight is not that banks are doing well.\u00a0It is that investors still do not fully believe in the long-term story.<\/p>\n

Despite record results, banking continues to trade at weaker valuation\u00a0multiples\u00a0than many other industries. That suggests a clear message from the market: profits today are not enough if the business model\u00a0for\u00a0tomorrow is uncertain.\u00a0And that is where the report becomes especially relevant.<\/p>\n

The balance sheet is no longer the whole story<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

For decades, the core logic of banking was simple: collect deposits, lend money, manage risk, and earn\u00a0spread.\u00a0That model still matters. But McKinsey points out that the balance sheet is becoming a smaller part of the global financial system.\u00a0The economics of value creation are shifting: more value is moving toward\u00a0<\/span>distribution, transaction banking, wealth management, platforms, and advisory services.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a subtle but important shift.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If the balance sheet becomes less central, then\u00a0<\/span>customer access becomes more important.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>And customer access is exactly where banks are becoming vulnerable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new competitors are not just\u00a0<\/span><\/span>fintechs<\/span>. They are better habits.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

The old fintech narrative was too simple: startups would disrupt banks.\u00a0That did not fully happen.\u00a0Many\u00a0fintechs\u00a0failed. Many were\u00a0acquired. Many struggled with profitability.\u00a0But the stronger players survived, matured, and learned how to scale. Neobanks such as Revolut,\u00a0Nubank, Wise, Robinhood, and others are no longer just \u201cdigital challengers.\u201d They are increasingly profitable, trusted, and expanding across product categories.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not growth at any cost anymore.\u00a0It is growth with better unit economics, better technology, and lower marginal cost of serving customers.\u00a0That should worry incumbents.\u00a0Because the advantage of many traditional banks was not always love. It was\u00a0<\/span>inertia<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0Customers stayed because switching was inconvenient.\u00a0But\u00a0AI may remove that inconvenience.<\/span><\/p>\n

AI may attack the most profitable thing in banking: customer laziness<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the most surprising insights in the report is not about chatbots or internal productivity.\u00a0<\/span>It is about deposits.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Many customers do not actively\u00a0optimize\u00a0where their money\u00a0sits. They keep balances in familiar accounts, often accepting lower returns because moving money is inconvenient.\u00a0That inertia is valuable to banks.<\/span><\/p>\n

But<\/span>\u00a0artificial\u00a0intelligence\u00a0changes the equation\u00a0in banking.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0An\u00a0AI\u00a0assistant can\u00a0monitor\u00a0balances, compare rates, move idle cash,\u00a0optimize\u00a0card usage, refinance debt, search for better financial products, and make switching easier.\u00a0In other words, AI does not only help banks become more efficient.\u00a0It helps customers become less passive.\u00a0That may be a much bigger disruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AI-enhanced<\/p>\n

There will be no \u201cdigital grace period\u201d this time<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Banks survived the internet and mobile waves partly because adoption was gradual, especially among older and more profitable customers.\u00a0AI is different.\u00a0<\/span>Adoption is much faster and less limited by age.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Customers are already using AI for complex tasks, including financial decisions. Banks cannot assume that high-value customer groups will move slowly again.\u00a0This time, the customer may learn faster than the institution.\u00a0That is the\u00a0<\/span>real strategic risk.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Banks should stop treating speed as the opposite of safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

Banking culture is built around control, compliance, resilience, and risk management. That is necessary.\u00a0But it is no longer sufficient.\u00a0The recommendation from McKinsey is convincing:\u00a0<\/span>banks need to become \u201cmulti-speed\u201d organizations.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Not everything should move at startup speed.\u00a0Core banking, compliance, and risk systems require discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n

But experimentation, AI-enabled propositions, ecosystem partnerships, and new customer journeys need a different rhythm. Banks need a model where some parts of the organization protect stability, while others test, learn, and scale much faster.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mistake would be to apply one speed to everything.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Too slow, and the bank becomes irrelevant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Too fast in the wrong areas, and the bank creates unacceptable risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The future belongs to institutions that can do both.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What banking leaders should do now<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Here are five practical recommendations:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Treat customer ownership as the central strategic issue.
    \n<\/span><\/b>The main battle is not technology itself. It is who owns the customer relationship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Build AI around customer outcomes, not internal efficiency only.
    \n<\/span><\/b>Cost reduction matters, but the bigger opportunity is helping customers make better financial decisions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. <\/span><\/b>Redesign journeys<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0before competitors or AI agents do it for you.<\/span><\/b>
    \n<\/span>If your mortgage, savings, credit card, or investment journey is too complex, someone else will simplify it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Create amulti-speedoperating model.
    \n<\/span><\/b>Separate core resilience from high-speed experimentation. Both are needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Measureloyalty. Honestly.
    \n<\/span><\/b>A customer who has not switched is not necessarily loyal. They may simply be inactive \u2014 until AI makes switching effortless.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The uncomfortable conclusion<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

    The strongest message from McKinsey\u2019s review is this:\u00a0banks are not failing.\u00a0They\u00a0are profitable, capitalized, and still trusted.\u00a0The danger is not\u00a0weakness\u00a0\u2014 it is complacency. And\u00a0that may be exactly why the risk is so easy to underestimate.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The next wave of competition will not only come from other banks. It will come from\u00a0<\/span>artificial\u00a0intelligence\u00a0agents, neobanks, stablecoins, embedded finance, and customer expectations<\/span><\/b>\u00a0shaped outside banking.\u00a0The winners will not be the institutions that simply add AI to old processes.\u00a0They will be the ones that redesign banking around a faster, more informed, less passive customer.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The key question for every bank is no longer:\u00a0\u201c<\/span>How do we protect our current model?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    It is:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIf customers had perfect information, intelligent agents, and zero switching friction, why would they still choose us?\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Redesigning TRUST \u2013 The role of bank branches in the digital age \u2013 Free\u00a0<\/span>Ebook<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a><\/p>\n

    E<\/span>xplore how digital tools, AI, and human insight together create a next-generation branch experience. Learn how banks can deliver faster service, reduce uncertainty, and build deeper customer relationships.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Download our free\u00a0<\/span>ebook<\/span>\u00a0today.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    McKinsey\u2019s latest Global Banking Annual Review\u00a0contains\u00a0a message that every banking leader should sit with for a moment:\u00a0The industry is performing exceptionally well \u2014 and yet the future looks increasingly uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,64,57],"tags":[102,103,99],"class_list":["post-7251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","category-featured","category-resources","tag-ai-in-banking","tag-customer-journey","tag-customer-service-analytics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7251"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7259,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7251\/revisions\/7259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linistry.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}