85% of banks’ corporate clients plan to engage with a non-bank financial institution within the next year as competition with private capital intensifies

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85% of banks’ corporate clients plan to engage with a non-bank financial institution within the next year as competition with private capital intensifies

• Banks look to bolster AI expertise with external hires (40%) as upskilling proves challenging
• Only 29% of IT budgets are currently directed to transformative technologies
• Corporate Investment Banks executives bet on tokenized products (51%) to improve performance
  

Paris, March 16, 2026 – Corporate and investment banks (CIBs) are facing intense competition from non‑bank financial institutions, as client expectations rise and technology initiatives fail to deliver the anticipated benefits, according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s inaugural World Corporate and Investment Banking Report 2026. The research shows that 85% of corporate clients plan to engage with a non-bank financial institution within the next 12 months, in search of faster, more transparent, and responsive services.

CIB clients say they expect real-time responsiveness (58%), personalized engagement (49%), and innovative solutions (40%) – but less than one-in-four (23%) find CIBs currently meet those needs. Instead, many flag that CIBs offer limited integration with ERP and treasury systems forcing manual workarounds (92%), display a lack of personalization and flexibility (89%), and insufficient advanced analytics and forecasting capabilities (68%).

Adding to their challenges, CIB executives report that current innovation programs are not delivering the expected results. A vast majority (82%) say these efforts are not producing improved revenue via new products, while 51% of respondents say they did not deliver the expected cost savings.

As client expectations rise, banks are finding they have limited capabilities to respond. Executives say that only 29% of their IT budgets are currently directed to transformative technologies, while 43% goes towards running and maintaining legacy systems. In addition, 61% of CIB executives say they are constrained by high compliance costs.

The findings come as Capgemini analysis shows CIB revenue growth is decelerating, with a forecasted 5.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years – down from 6.5% between 2022 and 2024.

Despite structural headwinds, banks are continuing to broaden their product and service portfolios to remain competitive. CIB executives are prioritizing real-time treasury capabilities for cross-border payment flows (77%) and next-generation AI market products for algorithmic trade execution, such as AI-driven hedging, and research insights (65%). More than half are exploring tokenized products (51%) to unlock new fee streams through digital custody, token issuance, and premium services.