Today’s banking CEOs have transitioned from operational leaders to tech-first strategists, redefining industry benchmarks for efficiency, innovation, and growth.

Competing in a digital-first landscape requires a relentless focus on experience innovation—leveraging technology to enhance personalization, streamline operations, and drive seamless customer interactions. Simultaneously, cost optimization remains imperative, ensuring sustainable value creation while maintaining robust risk management and regulatory compliance.

Modern CEOs are not just navigating change; they are architects of transformation, shaping resilient, future-ready institutions.

Top 10 priorities for banking CEOs

#01 CASA growth

Low-cost deposits are under pressure, requiring a fresh approach to drive sustainable growth.

1. Challenge
   • Banks facing pressure on low-cost deposits
   • Digital banks offering competitive rates
   • Core product growth is slow
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Develop innovative salary account propositions
   • Create targeted micro-market strategies for retail and corporate CASA
   • Launch digital-first savings products with embedded lifestyle benefits

#02 Operational efficiency

Outdated systems and manual processes are increasing costs and slowing down operations.

1. Challenge
   • Legacy systems and processes causing high cost-to-income ratios
   • Manual interventions leading to longer turnaround times
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Reimagine customer journeys with AI at branch and in-app
   • Implement end-to-end process automation to streamline workflows and reduce manual intervention.
   • Deploy cloud-native solutions for core banking to enhance scalability, speed, and resilience.

#03 Non-Performing Assets

Rising stress in key sectors is making risk management more challenging than ever.

1. Challenge
   • Stress in high-risk sectors like MSMEs, hospitality, and commercial real estate.
   • Lack of robust early warning systems to detect potential delinquencies.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Implement AI-driven early warning systems to identify and mitigate risk proactively.
   • Develop sector-specific stress testing models to assess and respond to emerging threats.
   • Create automated collection workflows to enhance recovery efficiency and reduce manual intervention.

#04 Fee-income growth

Traditional revenue streams are shrinking.

1. Challenge
   • Traditional fee sources under pressure from fintechs, reducing margins.
   • Need to unlock new revenue streams beyond conventional banking.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Launch value-added services like embedded insurance, wealth advisory.
   • Develop an API-driven banking marketplace to monetize third-party integrations.
   • Introduce subscription-based models for premium banking with exclusive perks, business banking suites with financial tools, and AI-driven financial insights for personalised advisory.

#05 Customer experience innovation

Evolving customer expectations are pushing banks to rethink digital engagement.

1. Challenge
   • Rising customer expectations for seamless, intuitive, and hyper-personalized digital experiences.
   • Intense competition from neobanks offering frictionless, mobile-first banking solutions.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Implement hyper-personalization using AI-driven insights to tailor products, offers, and interactions.
   • Deploy conversational banking solutions with AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants for instant support.
   • Create a gamified loyalty program that rewards customers for engagement, transactions, and referrals, driving long-term loyalty.

#06 Talent and culture evolution

The demand for digital skills is reshaping workforce strategies.

1. Challenge
   • Growing demand for digital skills to drive transformation and innovation.
   • Need for cultural shift to foster agility, experimentation, and continuous learning.
   • Digital talent ratio must exceed 30% to stay competitive in a tech-driven landscape.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Develop a digital talent acquisition strategy to attract and retain top tech talent.
   • Create an innovation-focused culture that encourages collaboration, upskilling, and agile methodologies.
   • Implement hybrid working models to enhance flexibility, productivity, and employee engagement.

#07 AI-First banking

Banks must embrace AI to stay competitive against tech-driven financial players.

1. Challenge
   • Legacy decision-making models limit speed, accuracy, and personalization.
   • Competition from tech-first players leveraging AI for superior customer experiences and efficiency.
   • Inefficiencies in risk management, fraud detection, and operational processes.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Deploy AI across customer journeys to enable seamless, intelligent interactions.
   • Implement AI for risk management, fraud detection, and real-time compliance monitoring.

#08 Cybersecurity measures

Increasingly sophisticated cyber threats are putting financial institutions at greater risk.

1. Challenge
   • Increasing cyber threats targeting financial institutions and customer data.
   • Heightened regulatory focus on security, compliance, and data protection.
   • Rising complexity of cyberattacks requiring advanced defense mechanisms.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Implement zero-trust architecture to strengthen access controls and minimize attack surfaces.
   • Deploy AI-driven threat detection for real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and automated response.
   • Create a security-first culture through continuous training, awareness programs, and strict governance.

#09 App consolidation

A fragmented digital experience is reducing customer engagement and increasing complexity.

1. Challenge
   • Multiple apps create a fragmented experience, leading to customer confusion and lower engagement.
   • High maintenance costs due to redundant platforms and overlapping functionalities.
   • SUPERAPPs are driving 3x higher engagement, setting new industry standards.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Create a SUPERAPP strategy to integrate banking, payments, investments, and lifestyle services in one platform.
   • Implement a unified customer experience with seamless navigation and cross-product accessibility.
   • Deploy a microservices architecture to ensure scalability, agility, and faster feature rollouts.

#10 Next-Generation lending

Faster, more flexible lending solutions are needed to meet changing borrower profiles.

1. Challenge
   • Need for faster loan processing to meet customer expectations.
   • Intense competition from digital lenders offering instant approvals.
   • Traditional underwriting models fail to capture the creditworthiness of new-age borrowers like gig workers and startups.
2. Strategic imperatives
   • Implement AI-driven credit scoring using transaction data, cash flow analysis, and alternative credit markers.
   • Launch tailored loan products with dynamic risk-based pricing for gig workers and startups.
   • Create embedded lending solutions within fintech and platform ecosystems for seamless financing.

Learn more about these priorities and key success measures by downloading the full report above.