Emerging tech tops growth plans for UK finance firms

A Lloyds Bank survey of more than 100 senior decision-makers at UK banks, insurers, private equity firms and asset and wealth managers found 77% now view investment in emerging technologies as a growth priority, up from 41% a year earlier. Within that group, 93% ranked artificial intelligence as the technology likely to have the greatest impact over the next five years.

The findings come from Lloyds Bank’s tenth annual Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey. Two-thirds of respondents (64%) said they plan to increase overall expenditure and 91% said they will raise technology budgets. Lloyds noted that emerging-tech investment has shifted from pilot projects to mainstream planning at many firms.

Respondents reported higher confidence in their future business prospects: 94% expect their business to grow over the next decade, compared with 81% in last year’s poll. Seventy-one percent backed the UK to retain a strong position in global financial services, up from 60% previously.

Rohit Dhawan, group executive director of AI at Lloyds, described AI as having ‘crossed a threshold’ and said the focus is on how quickly firms can embed it at scale. He urged parallel investment in technology, talent and governance to ensure deployment is responsible.

Lisa Francis, global head of corporate and institutional banking coverage at Lloyds, noted institutions are using technology to drive long-term growth and are prioritising AI, data, talent and international expansion. Ron van Kemenade, group chief operating officer, described scaling AI as a matter of getting real use cases into production to simplify processes and offer more personalised services.

Lloyds has announced an internal AI Academy to train its 67,000 employees this year. The programme will include interactive training modules, short courses, articles, podcasts and community learning, beginning with mandatory training on responsible, safe and ethical AI use.

The survey shows firms are increasingly focused on how advanced AI and data solutions can improve productivity, deepen client relationships and open new markets. Respondents told Lloyds they are moving beyond experimentation toward deployment and that investment in emerging technologies is now a primary growth lever.