Imagine trying to disrupt an industry that has been around for a long time, which many believe can’t be disrupted. Imagine being told that fintech and digital banking are the future, but in the same breath you’re advised that traditional banking has too much of a stronghold to ever lose its footing.

Ransomware attacks have been rising to fame this year through high-profile incidents at financial institutions, hospitals, law firms, retail organizations and even governments offices.

Bill Gates has said, “Banking is necessary. Banks are not.” Astonishingly, he made this statement 20 years ago. If banks do not transform soon, he may be proven right.

The revolution of personalization and convenience underscores the transformation of banking industry operating models. The concentration on enhancing positive user experience has sparked the development and rollout of many innovations in 2016.

Most of the innovations in financial services industry, including insurance, are coming through leaders who are very new to the industry or come from outside the financial industry.

While it may be a new year, risk managers’ top challenge
remains the same: cyberrisk. The top threat vectors, however,
constantly evolve.

At a time when the number of strategic challenges facing the banking industry seem overwhelming, prioritizing what needs to be focused on is an important exercise. To find out what the most
important priorities will be in 2017, the Digital Banking Report
surveyed over 500 financial institutions globally as part of the
research done for the 2017 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions
report, sponsored by Kony, Inc.