Smarter Banking Under Pressure

Smarter Banking under pressure

In today’s fast-moving banking environment, finding the right balance between competitiveness and resilience is more challenging than ever.

Through primary research with senior executives from leading global banks, we explored how institutions are navigating this challenge – and what sets them apart.

The findings point to a shift already underway: banks that embed risk into the heart of their operations are turning uncertainty into opportunity.

Download the report

Banks under pressure

Margin compression, market volatility, rising regulation, and competition from agile non-bank lenders are putting new pressure on banks.

In this video, Andrew Bockelman, General Manager of Banking at Moody’s, explores how banks are navigating these pressures and sets the stage for the research that explores the challenges of this journey.

Download the report

Industry quote

Private credit is an emerging competitor to traditional banks. These entities - often unregulated or lightly regulated - are stepping into the lower middle market space with speed, flexibility, and a higher risk appetite. They’ve filled the gap left by banks who’ve retrenched due to regulation.

— Managing Director, Corporate Banking, US

Industry quote

We’re being asked to act fast - but also to explain and evidence every decision. That tension is real. You can’t just race through a deal anymore, but if you take too long, you’ve lost it.

— Director, Portfolio Risk, Europe

Industry quote

They can turn around a deal in 48 hours. We can’t compete on speed – but we can on depth and safety.

— Director, Portfolio Risk, EU

Industry quote

It’s my job to protect the bank. But it’s also my job to grow the bank – and those aren’t always easy to reconcile.

— CFO/COO, Corporate Banking, US

Industry quote

Everyone is looking at different dashboards, in different formats, at different times.

— Senior Banker, EU

Report findings

We spoke with more than 30 banking executives around the world to understand how leading institutions are navigating today’s complex financial landscape—and what sets them apart.

What we found signals a shift already underway: banks that embed risk into the heart of their operations are turning uncertainty into opportunity.

These conversations also revealed the major challenges banks face, and the strategies they’re using to stay agile, relevant, and profitable in an increasingly unpredictable environment.

From those insights, six pressing themes emerged.

Volatility is the new normal – banks must learn to thrive in chaos.

FinTechs and private credit are redefining competition. They are making banks re-assess their speed and pricing.

Fragmentation is still the silent killer. Data is plentiful, yet shared insight within the business is scarce.

Real-time risk and early warning insights are the biggest gaps.

Risk is moving from gatekeeper to partner.

AI has promise, but there is still a mismatch between the potential and the reality

Smarter Banking Under Pressure 2025 report

Read the full report on how leading institutions are aligning growth and resilience.

Download the report

Report highlight: Risk mindset shift

Across our research, we saw signs that risk philosophy is shifting. While caution still defines many institutions, a more forward-leaning, integrated approach to risk is starting to take root.

Risk is no longer just the final checkpoint. Increasingly, the function is involved early on, shaping decisions, aligning with risk appetite, and partnering with the front line.

How we help

In today’s market, it’s not enough to move fast. Success depends on acting with precision, clarity, and control.

As banks look to build a culture of confident, connected growth - where resilience and competitiveness reinforce each other – Moody’s supports them as a partner.

We are committed to delivering solutions that help banks to get the balance right.

01 Lending Suite

Lending Suite

Moody’s Lending Suite is an end-to-end solution that streamlines the entire loan lifecycle—from onboarding and spreading to underwriting, operations, and ongoing monitoring. Embedded with Moody’s trusted data, analytics, and GenAI-powered insights, it empowers financial institutions to make faster, smarter credit decisions. With tailored workflows for C&I, Agriculture, Commercial Real Estate, and Small Business lending, the suite helps lenders manage risk, boost efficiency, and deliver a seamless borrower experience.

Risk and Finance Solutions

Moody’s Integrated Risk and Finance is a suite of interconnected solutions that embeds excellence at every step of these critical banking workflows.

Our offering unites Moody’s proprietary data, scenarios and models, with leading workflow software and governance frameworks – all to create a common, efficient and solid foundation that helps to balance growth, risk and regulatory demands with confidence.

Maxsight™

Maxsight™ brings together thousands of data points to offer a consistent, unified view of risks to teams across your bank.

From KYC and ongoing monitoring to sanctions screening and supplier risk management, Maxsight™ consolidates critical intelligence into a single platform. This shared risk insight empowers teams to manage exposure, meet regulatory expectations, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.

CreditView

CreditView combines Moody’s century of credit rating experience, with proprietary data, advanced analytics and advanced GenAI technology to reveal every layer of credit risk, helping you make efficient, informed and confident decisions.

Economic Research

Our forward-looking, comprehensive and timely analysis helps customers understand the components that drive global national and subnational economies.

EDF-X

Timely risk insights and early warning signals play a critical role in navigating today’s complex financial, economic, and geopolitical landscape. Moody's EDF-X analyzes credit risk for any company in the world—rated or unrated, public or private—to uncover vulnerabilities across portfolios, supply chains, and counterparties with greater speed and accuracy. By evaluating over 550 million companies globally, we combine time-tested credit models and alternative data to deliver reliable assessments of financial resilience and empower informed decision-making.

News and views

ebook

Jun 19, 2025

Moody's

Experts’ Corner: Good AI without good data? Don’t bank on it

To fully harness AI’s potential in banking, banks must prioritize good data. But what does this mean in practice? Read our e-book to discover the five key principles of good data, and how your bank can optimize the data journey for AI excellence.

case study

Jun 18, 2025

Moody's

Moody's Early Warning in action: Builder.ai

When AI Goes Missing: How EDF-X Early Warning System spotted the cracks in Builder.ai’s fantasy amidst inflated revenues, mounting liabilities, and deceptive operations.

article

Mar 20, 2025

Moody's

Experts’ Corner: Banking Connector – Connecting the dots on the Moody’s Banking SaaS Platform

In this edition of the Experts’ Corner, we speak to Annie Choi, Senior Director for Product Management at Moody’s Banking. She explains the technology which underpins Moody’s Banking SaaS platform, and the benefits it provides to banks.

case study

Dec 03, 2024

Moody's

Innovation at the core: Brex’s commitment to client success with Moody’s Lending Suite

Brex Inc. adopted Moody’s Lending Suite to transform its financial operations, improving efficiency, decision-making speed, and client experiences with AI-driven insights and automation.

article

Sep 18, 2024

Moody's

Enhancing efficiency in lending: the game-changing impact of AI on banking operations

Discover how AI in lending is revolutionizing loan origination and management, enhancing decision-making, and boosting efficiency in the financial sector.

Speak to our team

Interested in learning more about our offerings? Our solutions specialists are ready to help.

Who We Serve

Solutions

Capabilities

Insights

Support

Smarter Banking under pressure

Connect with our solutions specialists

Thank you

Banks under pressure

Report findings

Smarter Banking Under Pressure 2025 report

Report highlight: Risk mindset shift

How we help

Lending Suite

Risk and Finance Solutions

Maxsight™

CreditView

Economic Research

EDF-X

News and views

Experts’ Corner: Good AI without good data? Don’t bank on it

Moody's Early Warning in action: Builder.ai

Experts’ Corner: Banking Connector – Connecting the dots on the Moody’s Banking SaaS Platform

Innovation at the core: Brex’s commitment to client success with Moody’s Lending Suite

Enhancing efficiency in lending: the game-changing impact of AI on banking operations

Get in touch

Speak to our team

Who We Serve

Solutions

Capabilities

Contact Us

Moody's Integrity Hotline

Company Information

Regulatory