The Nordic Banking Inflection Point: Why Speed, Personalisation, and Infrastructure Will Define the Next 5 Years

What emerged wasn't just a conversation about technology or products, but a fundamental reckoning: Nordic banks are at a crossroads, and the decisions made today will determine who wins the SME and commercial banking market of tomorrow.

Here's what stood out—and what it means for banks navigating this transformation.

1. The SME "Forgotten Child" Problem

One of the most striking themes across multiple sessions was how poorly served SME customers remain. As one expert put it bluntly: "SME customers are the forgotten child—somewhere in the middle. Not many people understand them."

SMEs aren't retail customers, but they're not corporate clients either. They're entrepreneurs juggling personal and business finances (think: the hairdresser using business funds to renovate their home). They need custom-built products designed specifically for their reality—not scaled-down corporate solutions or scaled-up retail offerings.

The pain points are clear:

• Speed and accessibility are critical—SMEs don't have time to think weeks ahead when they need working capital.

• Regulatory burdens add friction at a time when agility matters most.

• Trust issues run deep—if business banking doesn't work for a week, they're in serious trouble.

In recent discussions on optimising SME lending, the message was unanimous: SMEs need to be actively listened to and understood, not just serviced.

2. From Months to Minutes: The Speed Imperative

Here's the uncomfortable truth that emerged repeatedly:lending decisions that take months are no longer acceptable. The future is measured in minutes.

As one expert noted, "The entire market should move to faster decisions and faster lending times." But speed isn't just about customer convenience—it's about profitability and competitive survival.

The old model was volume-driven—give out as many loans as possible. The new model is relationship-driven—put lending in the right place, at the right time, with the right data to monitor and mitigate risk. This requires a fundamental shift in how banks operate.

The challenge for established banks? Newer, less-regulated players already have more streamlined back offices and faster processes. They're not burdened by legacy systems or decades of technical debt.

Speed alone won't win. It needs to be paired with personalisation—understanding the SME's business model deeply enough to anticipate needs they haven't even articulated yet.

3. The Infrastructure Reality: You Can't Build Customer Experience on a Broken Backbone

Perhaps the most critical insight came from the SME lending panel: "If you begin to segment customers, you're not solving problems of cost and efficiency backbone to service clients the right way."

Translation? You can't deliver modern customer experiences on outdated infrastructure. No amount of front-end polish will compensate for a backend that can't support real-time decisioning, integrated data flows, or automated workflows.

The banks that will win over the next 5-7 years are the ones making "radical movements to support their backbones with technology." This isn't incremental improvement—it's foundational transformation.

Industry leaders shared how they're working with fintechs and partners like Visa and Subayo to build features that optimise customer spending, cancel unused subscriptions directly from the banking app, and provide personalised financial guidance. But this level of service requires infrastructure that can support it—and most legacy systems simply can't.

4. AI: The Great Accelerator (If You Don't Lose Your Talent)

AI was a consistent thread throughout the conference, but with an important caveat that often gets overlooked: "What we don't talk about is the impact on people."

As banks rush to deploy AI for efficiency gains, industry participants shared how they're experimenting with new ways of working while maintaining the same regulatory framework. Some discussed how they've built fully automated SME lending from scratch and are driving cultural adaptation around AI use.

But as one executive warned: "We need to not rely so much [on AI] as getting talent back onboard is a challenge. Progress could be faster—people need to be trained."

The lesson? AI isn't a replacement strategy. It's an augmentation strategy. Banks that treat it as a way to eliminate headcount rather than empower employees will struggle with both adoption and long-term innovation.

5. The Personalisation Paradox: Customers Want You to Know Them (Without Overstepping)

There's a fascinating tension emerging in Nordic banking: customers want banks to know them and provide timely, relevant guidance—but they also want control.

Industry leaders shared a compelling example: some banks now help customers identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions directly through the app. It's a small feature, but it represents a bigger shift—from transactional banking to advisory banking.

Banks that can help customers optimise spending, anticipate cash flow challenges, and provide proactive guidance will differentiate themselves.

But here's the key: this requires AI and data used intelligently—not intrusively. As one expert noted, "Help customers see the needs they don't have yet...they may gain more profit by efficient payments or providing a local account. Help customers see the pains they may have but not see."

6. The Competitive Landscape is Shifting—Fast

The conference made one thing clear: the next 5-7 years will fundamentally reshape SME and commercial banking in the Nordics.

We're already seeing:

• Consolidation among smaller players (three banks merged just last week).

• Non-bank lenders growing more bank-like—adding products and deepening customer relationships.

• Niche banks carving out specialised segments with better technology and faster processes.

• Established banks defending their reputations and product breadth but struggling with agility.

Industry participants emphasised the importance of being effective with digital solutions while maintaining focus: "Build it once and deploy it everywhere. SMEs have specific needs, not like corporate banks."

The winners won't necessarily be the biggest or oldest—they'll be the ones who combine the trust of established institutions with the speed and innovation of challengers.

What This Means for Nordic Banks

If there's one takeaway, it’s this: incremental change isn’t sufficient anymore. Banks that want to remain competitive in SME and commercial banking need to:

• Invest in infrastructure now—the technology backbone must support speed, automation, and real-time decisioning.

• Rethink how you serve SMEs—they're not retail customers with bigger accounts; they need purpose-built solutions.

• Balance automation with humanity—AI should enhance relationships, not replace them.

• Move from months to minutes—lending speed is becoming a competitive differentiator.

• Help customers anticipate future needs—advisory becomes the new competitive advantage.

The clock is ticking. The question isn't whether to modernise—it's whether you can move fast enough before the market moves without you.