Top Issues on Bankers’ Minds
We asked community bankers to identify the issue most likely to affect the financial industry in 2025. Their responses offer insight into how they perceive the environment and the range of pressures they face heading into the new year.
What Did Bankers Identify as Top Issues for 2025?
In anticipating the most impactful industry issues, financial professionals identified the following key concerns.
Cybersecurity/Data Privacy
28% of bankers selected this as the top concern for the upcoming year. From phishing and ransomware to account takeover and cloud attacks, cyber threats are constantly evolving as motivated bad actors use the latest tactics.
Interest Rates
Coming second, 19% of bankers view interest rates as the most pressing concern for 2025. Bankers’ concern for interest rates has lowered since 2023, potentially due to stabilized rates and anticipated future rate changes from the Fed.
Regulatory Change
Ranking third, regulatory change was identified by 14% of respondents as the most pressing issue. This is an increase from the 8% reported last year, showing bankers are taking note of an evolving regulatory landscape.
“Banks need to stay on top of security, and the landscape is changing on a daily basis. Security needs to be highly prioritized by the bank and consumers.”
Source: Survey Participant
The remaining options each took less than 12% of the vote.
The 2024 Election
Nearly one in 10 bankers selected the 2024 election as the most impactful issue. Since this survey was conducted in the month prior to the general election, bankers could’ve been considering any potential legislative or regulatory implications from an administration change.
Recruiting and Retaining Employees
Only 11% of bankers selected talent acquisition and retention, the same percentage as last year’s survey. This overall optimism could mean bankers perceive the job market as relatively stable.
Mergers and Acquisitions
10% of bankers believe mergers and acquisitions to be the top issue.
Fraud
Less than 10% of respondents selected fraud, which is quite the contrast to last year when fraud took 30% of the vote. The drop from last year likely stems from a heightened focus on other issues at the time of response.