From technical debt to digital dominance: Banking’s roadmap for transformation

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to be a game-changer—potentially boosting global banking profits by 9% by 2028 via efficiencies and hyper-personalized customer services—its potential is severely constrained by aging legacy infrastructure and technical debt. Nearly six in ten banking leaders see legacy infrastructure as the top challenge impeding growth, with the majority of tech budgets spent on maintenance rather than innovation.

To achieve dominance, banks must accelerate AI adoption (moving beyond pilots) to streamline core functions like fraud detection, risk management, and loan processing. Operational efficiency is now a necessity, driving the use of intelligent automation and AI agents to digitize manual processes and improve productivity.

Institutions must also prioritize robust data strategies and open banking to deliver the seamless, mobile-first experiences demanded by digital natives and millennial business owners, who are less loyal than previous generations.

Finally, addressing a complex regulatory environment (including Basel III and AI ethics) and mitigating risks associated with embedded finance and rising cyber threats are essential for sustainable growth. Iron Mountain helps institutions modernize infrastructure, eliminate costly paper-based retention burdens, and enable agile, data-driven decision-making.