Publications

The 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report, published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements, IMF, and World Economic Forum, finds that the financial services industry is rapidly outpacing regulators in AI adoption. Fintechs are leading the charge over traditional incumbents, with Generative AI and agentic AI emerging as highly accessible frontiers. Current deployment is concentrated primarily in internal operations, and while productivity gains are evident — especially in technology, data, and product functions — demonstrating clear enterprise-wide value remains a persistent challenge, with profitability linked to AI investment remaining uneven.

The report identifies the main barriers to scaling AI as data quality issues, talent shortages, and the constraints of legacy systems. Despite these hurdles, a broad consensus is forming among industry players, vendors, and regulators around the importance of operational efficiency, clearer regulatory guidance, privacy, accountability, and human oversight. On the risk front, data privacy and protection as well as model hallucinations and unreliable outputs are recognized as the top concerns, while agentic AI is adding a new dimension of cyber risk. Differences persist, however, in how industry and regulators perceive accountability and market expectations.

Looking ahead to 2030, the report anticipates significant shifts in competition, market dynamics, and industry consolidation. Regulators, though currently playing catch-up, are increasingly using AI for supervisory functions and express cautious optimism about AI's potential to help them meet their objectives by then. Notably, the report suggests that workforce reskilling will be far more prevalent than outright job displacement — and a substantial share of respondents believe that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and even Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), could be achieved within this decade.