2025 Financial Services Outlook

Talking points

• Deloitte’s 2025 financial services industry outlook reports explore sector trends for the year.
• Each outlook takes a deep dive into anticipated sector influences and drivers.
• FSI businesses can use the publications as a planning tool throughout 2025.

What’s in store for the financial services industry (FSI) in 2025? Three new Deloitte FSI outlooks answer that question by offering insights into the trends, challenges, and opportunities expected to influence FSI sectors in 2025.

Insurance: Balancing profitability and purpose

Deloitte’s 2025 global insurance outlook outlines trends expected to shape the industry in 2025. Among them: balancing profitability with societal purpose amid challenges like extreme weather events and inflation. Here are other insights from the report:

Mitigation strategies: As regulatory bodies, insurers, vendors, data suppliers, and policyholders align, insurers that transform traditional mindsets and processes in this challenging environment can seize new opportunities to effectively balance profitability with purpose.

Technological advancements: Leveraging emerging technologies and alternative data sources can help mitigate losses and build trust through transparency.

Sustainability: Adopting circular economy practices and incentivizing green initiatives may reduce claims costs.Regulatory compliance: Adapting to new global tax rules and ensuring compliance can help insurers avoid potential restructuring.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and talent development: Fostering a culture of responsible AI use and prioritizing digital literacy and AI knowledge in talent strategies can increase insurer success.

Investment management: Alternative investments, AI and more

The 2025 investment management outlook touches on emerging trends in the investment sector—from the growing preference for low-cost funds to the importance of expanding product offerings. Highlights include:

Low-cost funds: The continued preference for products with a low expense ratio and active management has led to the popularity of exchange-traded funds (EFTs).

Product-line expansion: Expansion into alternative investments such as private credit and evergreen fund structures is expected to continue.

AI disruption: Harnessing AI technologies for sales and distribution may enhance revenue.

Risk management: The sector will have to manage growing risks associated with digital transformation, cybersecurity, and regulatory changes.

Banking and capital markets: Macroeconomic shifts and regulatory changes

The 2025 banking and capital markets outlook explores trends that could affect banking and capital markets, highlighting challenges and opportunities such as macroeconomic shifts, regulatory changes, and technological advancements. Takeaways include:

Boosting noninterest income: This may involve adopting strategies to offset net interest income growth challenges through retail banking pricing innovations, increasing transaction volumes with new payment channels and services, and enhancing wealth management offerings.

Tech modernization through AI: AI will serve as a catalyst for technology modernization, balancing traditional AI and generative AI, and embedding trust across the AI life cycle.

Sustainable cost management: Many banks will explore increasing cost transparency, integrating risk controls into transformation initiatives, maintaining robust execution discipline, and scaling AI and automation to reduce inefficiencies.

What role can Deloitte play?

Deloitte’s Audit & Assurance offerings can play an important role in enabling you to take advantage of the trends and opportunities discussed in our 2025 FSI outlooks. For more information, visit our Audit & Assurance page. 

Article adapted from The Pulse Blog