Banks face rising pressure in 2026, data‑driven insight is now essential to manage risk, protect profitability and make confident, evidence‑based decisions.
The Need for Insights Now… More Than Ever.
In times of stability, businesses can afford to rely on instinct, experience, and momentum...in times like these, they cannot!
The Profit Insight team and I have been speaking with banks as they look ahead to 2026, and we notice a pattern where they are all facing a convergence of pressures that shows no sign of easing. These include:
- Shifting customer behaviour
- Profitability compression
- Cost inflation
- Intensified competition
All of which are now compounded by heightened regulatory scrutiny, evolving compliance expectations and increasing reputational risk.
Decisions that once felt operational now carry strategic and, in some cases, fundamental consequences.
In this environment, any business not looking to continuously optimise its bottom line is a vulnerability in itself.
Banks are not short of data; but many are short of resources to help interpret their data and devise clear and tangible actions. Data remains fragmented across products, channels, customers, and systems… limiting the ability of most senior executives to form a coherent view of their different business unit's performance and exposure.
As regulatory expectations increase, and boards demand greater transparency, operating without a joined-up awareness leaves organisations exposed, unable to confidently predict outcomes, anticipate issues or even act decisively.
This is why insight matters more than ever!
In 2026, I feel that the resilient banks will be those that can dig deeper into their data to:
- Clearly identify emerging risks across customer segments and portfolios
- Understand which relationships genuinely drive profitability, and conversely, those which erode value
- Recognise how changing customer behaviours impact conduct, compliance and reputation
This level of information enables organisations to act earlier and more decisively, addressing areas of exposure before issues escalate and thereby defacto protecting their businesses performance and trust.
A recent example Profit Insight has seen highlights this clearly. While working with a bank, analysis of its data revealed unusual spikes in declined transactions and chargebacks that were difficult to explain through existing reporting. By digging deeper and applying advanced data analytics, we assisted our client identify a small number of isolated rules that were automatically declining transactions which had previously been approved. Once addressed, these issues resulted in a significant recovery in transaction volumes, alongside improved visibility and control for the bank.
Ultimately this insight reduced uncertainty. It replaced assumptions with evidence and facilitated faster, more confident decision-making. Critically, it provided a defensible understanding of the business, one that stands up to regulatory scrutiny and protects long-term reputation. At Profit Insight this is exactly how we help our clients by being their analytics partner, providing the knowledge and experience needed.
As we move into 2026, this is no longer a “nice to have” capability, it is a safeguard. Banks that fail to invest in truly understanding their data place themselves at risk operationally, commercially and reputationally.
Uncertainty may be the new normal. The question we all need to be asking is whether we are entering this year armed with the tools and resources on tap to see threats coming.
George White,
CEO
When teams are performing well but stretched for time or analytical capacity, we can provide the additional bandwidth and specialist expertise to dig deeper into your data. If you want to accelerate analysis, strengthen decision‑making and uncover opportunities faster, we’re here to support you.
Contact us at info@ProfitInsight.com, or visit https://www.profitinsight.com/solutions/data-driven-advisory for more information.
