Important items on the Executive Board agenda at the start of 2026

What should be on the board agenda for 2026

At their closed-door meetings at the start of 2026, many banks will still be looking back on 2025 with satisfaction.

However, the trend of falling margins, lower credit growth and higher risk provisions is already weighing on the results of many institutions – and this will only change to a limited extent in 2026.

Below, we have compiled five items that should not be missing from the board agenda at the start of 2026.

1. More time for risk control and selective growth

According to the Bundesbank, real GDP in Germany could increase to 0.7% in 2026, following 0% in 2025. However, this is solely attributable to the government’s plans for an expansionary fiscal policy. This means that sluggish credit demand and increased risk provisioning will continue in many areas.

Recommended actions

• Increase risk control, i.e. free back-office staff from many standard processes (e.g. through AI) and use the time gained to better understand customer situations (e.g. through data-driven comparative analyses). This will increase protection against loan defaults.
• Control sales selection, as growth cannot be achieved without new business. To avoid unnecessary risks and optimise returns at the same time, banks need the right database for selecting customers, solutions and prices. Artificial intelligence offers new models for making tailor-made offers.

2. Skilled labour shortage – align strategic personnel planning at an early stage

By 2036, the baby boomer generation (1955–1969) will gradually be retiring. This will make it difficult (not only) for financial institutions to fill more than 10% of the necessary positions. The skills shortage particularly affects back-office and other support areas such as IT, data analysis and compliance.

Recommended actions

• Promote outsourcing, as many activities that are not part of the bank’s core business can also be carried out by external service providers, such as compliance, auditing or IT applications. In doing so, institutions should definitely use providers who not only have the technical expertise but also keep the bank’s overall picture in mind.
• Initiate employee pooling, i.e. banks can join forces and form a pool for the shared use of workers whose expertise is only needed on an ad hoc basis. Reasons for flexible deployment in several institutions instead of full-time employment at just one institution could include, for example, highly seasonal or cyclical processing intensity or the quantity of use cases that occur.
• Recruit early, i.e. attract young people to the bank at an early stage through internships, training or increased university cooperation and other events; this usually promises a high chance of success for later employment.

3. Countering consolidation pressure with benchmark measurements

Since 2000, the number of banks in Germany has halved – from more than 2,900 to fewer than 1,400 institutions. Cost pressure and economies of scale are driving this development even further.

We expect a further reduction of 5% to 8% by 2026. However, while mergers are usually technically and legally ‘in the bag’ after 18 months, overcoming cultural differences often takes much longer.

Recommended actions

• Measure cultural fit, as the success of mergers is usually only determined in the cultural post-merger integration phase. A data-driven cultural pulse check makes it possible to identify cultural overlaps and potential points of friction at an early stage, thereby reducing merger risks in a targeted manner.
• Plan for the long term, because whether or not a merger is necessary also depends on the bank’s efficiency potential and how it can incorporate this into its strategy. The effectiveness of managers plays a fundamental role in this. Measurements show that too much time is lost in conflict resolution, poor communication and incorrect prioritisation. Identifying and eliminating these inefficiencies should be a top priority.

4. Increase employee productivity – view and test AI as a tool

Studies show that the annual value creation potential of generative AI in the banking sector is between US$200 billion and US$340 billion. Automation can reduce operating costs by up to 20% and significantly reduce throughput times.

While initial AI trials have been conducted in recent years, a clear AI strategy will be needed from 2026 onwards in order to identify a roadmap tailored to the institution, including a suitable change management concept.

Recommendations

• Strategic AI roadmap, because with the help of a medium- and long-term target vision, AI assistants can be identified that can make a sustainable contribution to the corporate strategy. The AI roadmap should be consistently derived from the overall strategy. An API-first approach creates a high degree of flexibility, as it allows internal and external AI services to be integrated, combined or exchanged in a modular manner – a decisive advantage for maintaining data sovereignty and control over sensitive information.
• Increase AI IQ, as many AI initiatives fall short of expectations because new processes are not used consistently. This is often due to uncertainties, a lack of application knowledge or data protection concerns. Targeted training programmes increase the acceptance and use of AI tools and contribute to the sustainable development of company-wide AI IQ. The use of multiplier roles is recommended in order to disseminate knowledge efficiently and realise economies of scale.

5. Test digital sovereignty with an IT check

With increasing regulatory attention, the topic of digital sovereignty is becoming more prominent. Data location, cloud control and dependencies on hyperscalers are becoming strategic issues for organisations and associations. Consequently, cloud and data strategies must be differentiated according to criticality.

Recommended action

• Perform an IT health check, because a structured analysis of the existing IT landscape, including targeted benchmarking to classify your own market position, helps to derive tailor-made, institution-specific recommendations for action. High data quality forms the foundation of powerful digital services and AI applications. Clear guidelines on data storage (on-premise vs. EU-compliant cloud), access rights and processing procedures are also crucial. Confident handling of data requires clear governance; only a consistent data strategy enables sustainable and targeted scaling.

Conclusion & outlook

The year 2026 will put increasing pressure on the bank’s business and operating model.

In order to emerge from this phase stronger than ever and benefit disproportionately from the expected economic upturn from 2028 onwards, strategic investment is necessary: only those who invest specifically in productivity, talent, technology and governance now will secure the necessary competitive advantages.

It is therefore crucial to identify these strategic issues at an early stage, evaluate them thoroughly and implement them consistently.