Only a quarter of top executives at global financial institutions said they had the technology capability to support their firms’ growth ambitions, according to research published today.
The research also found that senior executives were split on the prospects of growth over the next three years with more than a half (53%) saying that they did not expect the economic outlook to create growth opportunities.
However the research – compiled by fintech company FIS on the basis of interviews with 1,000 global buy-side, sell-side and insurance firm executives – also found that financial services investment in automation, data and emerging technologies was well placed to grow.
Major barriers to growth highlighted in the report included regulation, with more than half (59%) of respondents saying this would hinder their growth plans, while more than a third (34%) said the global political outlook represented a threat to growth.
Martin Boyd, FIS executive director, said: “Despite all of the headlines around fintech disruption and the need to automate, financial institutions are still not where they ought to be when it comes to embracing technology and operations.
“With only a quarter of respondents believing that their current tech capability is strong enough to fully support growth ambitions, firms can no longer take a wait-and-see approach to growth.”
©2017 funds europe