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As we step boldly into the new year, Nordic banks face mounting pressure. But, while sector analysts from the likes of UBS predict that Nordic banks will underperform their European peers through 2026, here at nCino, we see opportunity and a clear path forward; one that leverages the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI).
The key message from our recent EMEA Summit was clear: AI is moving from hype to reality. We see that real success requires Nordic banks to get the fundamentals right in 2026.
So, what does this look like? What are the 5 key considerations?
1. Lay the Data Foundations
No amount of sophisticated AI can compensate for poor data quality, but the right data foundations amplify AI's power exponentially.
Analysts suggest that Nordic banks have reached what they call an "efficiency wall", where traditional automation and cost reduction have hit their limits. For institutions already facing valuation pressures, getting this right will unlock significant competitive advantage
AI solutions built on incomplete data will always underperform. Before deploying AI, it’s therefore vital that Nordic banks lay the right data foundations. This means consolidating fragmented customer data across siloed systems, standardising data formats, and ensuring data governance frameworks are robust enough to support AI workflows. Banks with clean, well-structured data will gain a significant advantage over competitors who skip this foundational step.
Learn more about the importance of democratising data to unlock growth and unleash the AI advantage here.
2. Launch Agentic AI Partners
Agentic AI capabilities will emerge as a key tool to help Nordic banks eliminate friction and break through the so-called “efficiency wall”. These tools, trained on the complexities of rich financial services data, enhance workflows, address pain points and drive advanced decision-making. Not by replacing human capabilities, but rather by enhancing them.
For Nordic banks, this represents a fundamental shift in how they ensure their people achieve their best work, and therefore how they improve client experiences and outcomes.
Take for example commercial lending, the deployment of an agentic AI, or “Digital Partners” as we call them, streamline and optimise financial and credit analysis and the assessment of risk factors, streamline onboarding and eliminate workflow bottleneck, thereby improving time to finance and customer relationship management, whilst leaving the relationship manager free to focus on strategic client conversations and high-value advisory work.
Efficiency + automation + value = working smarter, not harder. Exactly what Nordic banks need to improve earnings and performance in 2026.
Learn more about the agentic AI opportunity here.
3. Keeping Humans in the Loop
Another powerful message from our EMEA Summit was that AI must operate with humans in the loop.
This is not a concession to technological limitations. It’s a recognition that in a highly competitive landscape, growth and high performance still demand human judgment, empathy, personalisation, and transparency.
For example, AI can recommend a credit limit increase, but a relationship manager should approve it with the full context of the customer's circumstances. Or AI can flag a suspicious transaction, but a compliance officer is best placed to make the final determination based on a 360-degree understanding of the client’s needs and circumstances.
The competitive advantage will go to Nordic banks that strike the right balance. Deploying solutions that drive innovation and automation whilst thoughtfully and intentionally maintaining human oversight where it truly matters.
This theme was discussed at length by leading industry experts at our EMEA Summit, including Lene Gulbrandsen, Head of Product Management for Commercial Banking at DNB. Watch the panel session here.
4. Personalisation is Still the Name of the Game
Nordic banks are recognised for their strong customer service, but that doesn’t make them immune to evolving and increasingly more demanding digital-first expectations.
Discussions at our EMEA Summit highlighted how AI can empower banks to boost personalisation at scale. By analysing customer behaviours, preferences, circumstances, and risk profiles, banks can deliver tailored product recommendations, customised, relevant and timely engagements, and better support at every stage of the client lifecycle experience.
For Nordic banks facing competitive and earnings pressure, utilising AI-generated behaviour and risk insights to achieve this level of scalable personalisation serves to reduce churn by deepening engagement with existing customers while creating differentiation that attracts new ones
From pre-screening to activation, ongoing monitoring to relationship growth, learn more about the power of AI for highly personalised client lifecycle management here.
5. Rethinking How Work Gets Done
Tackling the “efficiency wall” facing Nordic banks isn't just about reducing costs; it’s about fundamentally rethinking how work gets done.
For banks across Europe, including the Nordic region, the gap’s growing between those embracing digital transformation and those who aren’t. 73% of financial data remains unused, 60% report workflow inefficiencies as a barrier to growth, 30% of revenue is being lost to manual processes, and 50% potential boost in customer satisfaction is being missed.
Our EMEA summit highlighted that the next wave of productivity gains will come not from marginal process improvements or tech bolt-ons, but from AI-powered transformations of entire workflows that unify people, data, and AI to enhance decision-making, risk management, and customer satisfaction.
This reimagining of the end-to-end customer journey—acquire, onboard, originate, monitor, retain and grow—empowers people and boosts productivity, eliminates bottlenecks, and revolutionises how Nordic banks grow client relationships.
Watch our EMEA Summit CLM masterclass here.
Will You Advance Your Resolutions This Year?
If there’s one clear message for Nordic banks from our EMEA Summit, it’s that they must invest now. To overcome the distinct challenges they face, banks across the region must lay the right data foundations, deploy AI thoughtfully and intentionally, deliver genuine personalisation, and deploy tools to help them work smarter, faster and more efficiently.
Arrange a demo to see nCino’s AI, built on 13 years of industry data, in action.
