Banking CEOs displayed measured optimism, anticipating business and earnings growth while recalibrating M&A toward strategic, value‑adding transactions. Meanwhile AI has moved from pilot to scale — becoming central to operating models, customer experience, fraud detection and cyber defense — with leaders increasingly confident in near‑term ROI. At the same time, CEOs recognized the imperative to build trust in AI, addressing ethical challenges, data readiness, and governance to ensure fair, transparent outcomes.

      Banks prioritized reskilling and redeployment, rethinking roles and entry‑level skills to enable human–machine collaboration that boosts productivity without eroding the human touch. Sustainability and compliance are being embedded across risk, credit and finance functions — advancing energy efficiency, climate risk modeling, and more robust ESG reporting.

      Explore the report to uncover deeper insights — how banking leaders are scaling AI responsibly, strengthening cyber resilience, reshaping talent, and fine‑tuning deal strategies to advance the banking sector.


      KPMG 2025 Banking and Capital Markets CEO Outlook

      Discover why banking CEOs are optimistic about growth and transformation, and how they’re leveraging AI, digitalization, and ESG strategies to build resilience and trust.


      The 11th edition of the KPMG CEO Outlook, based on insights from 1,350 CEOs, offers a unique perspective on their mindset, strategies, and planning approaches. This report focuses exclusively on the 110 Banking and Capital Markets CEOs surveyed, representing commercial banking, capital markets and investment banking, retail banking, and organizations operating across multiple segments, including retail, commercial, and investment banking.

      Key findings



      Hear from our leaders

      Given high operational and regulatory costs, scale (in terms of assets and customer numbers) is critical for banks to be able to spread these costs effectively, driving M&A activity. Banks are looking for deals that will expand their distribution capabilities, differentiate their value propositions and help them gain access to new markets/regions.
      Geoff Rush

      Head of Global Banking and Capital Markets

      KPMG International

      Why download the report?

      By downloading the 2025 Banking CEO Outlook report, you will:

      • Discover why 83% of banking CEOs are confident in their company’s growth prospects, despite ongoing economic change.
      • Learn how 65% of CEOs are making AI a top investment priority, with 69% expecting returns on AI within just 1–3 years.
      • Find out why 86% of CEOs identify cyber risk as the top factor impacting organizational growth, and how banks are responding with advanced cyber resilience strategies.
      • See how 83% of CEOs are prioritizing workforce reskilling to unlock AI’s potential, while 79% say AI is redefining entry-level skills in banking.

      Explore the full report to gain a deeper understanding of the trends, perspectives, and emerging themes shaping the future of banking.

      Latest insights

      The imperative of balance sheet optimization

      How leading banks are driving successful operational and cost transformation

      A blueprint for creating value through AI-driven transformation

      CEOs doubling down on AI and talent investment as the keys to resilience and growth

      Our people

      Geoff Rush

      Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets, KPMG International Partner and National Industry Leader, Financial Services

      KPMG in Canada

      Owen Lewis

      Global Lead for Banking Cost Transformation

      KPMG International

      Helen Campbell

      Partner, Financial Services

      KPMG Switzerland

      Richard Bernau

      Global ESG Lead, Banking & Capital Markets

      KPMG International