Outlook for 2025: Key Trends to Watch

As we step into 2025, the financial services landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Drawing from industry analysts and thought leaders, here are the key trends shaping our sector:?

• Gresham's view: Our thought leaders including CEO Ian Manocha , shared an outlook for 2025, highlighting DeFi, AI, and improved data distribution as key areas of focus. As firms seek more flexible and efficient ways to distribute, access, and govern information, 2025 could mark a shift toward more agile and interconnected data infrastructures and increased automation within the financial services sector.?

• Ready to go IPO mad?: Early forecasts for the future of the IPO market are generating considerable excitement. Several analysts predict several hot IPOs to watch in 2025, suggesting a potential rebound in IPO activity. This anticipated 'revival' indicates a possible return to a more robust market for initial public offerings, potentially offering new investment opportunities and signaling renewed confidence in the market.?

• Deep dive 2025 report highlight: S&P Global 's Big Picture for Capital markets report highlights a mix of predictions in the year ahead. Main headlines include equity markets recovering at a slower pace, stronger macroeconomic conditions plus rate cuts boosting overall capital markets activity and the continuation of Generative AI’s significant capital expenditure cycle, proving to be close to that of the .com boom.?

• Regulation out the window?: There is growing market anticipation of a potential ‘regulation-light era’, according to 彭博资讯 , triggered by the Trump election with a potential shift towards a less stringent regulatory environment for financial services in 2025. This news follows significant SEC changes announced in November.?

What we hear from our Clients

• Investment in data control infrastructure is top of mind: Clients are seeking unified platforms that can handle the increasing complexity of multi-asset trading while ensuring data accuracy and compliance. Many are looking to consolidate their vendor relationships and seek end-to-end solutions.?

• The big banks need for speed: There is a growing demand for automated reconciliation capabilities particularly among our tier-one banking clients. Firms are seeking solutions that can process and validate transactions instantaneously, reducing risk and improving operational efficiency in an increasingly fast-paced market environment.?

• Regulation ambition still on the table: Despite uncertainty in the evolving US regulatory landscape, clients plan to proactively upgrade their data infrastructure for real-time settlements and compliance, even with an anticipated decrease in regulatory scrutiny.?

What's new with Gresham

• Increasing budgets for data in 2025: Banking News reported our insights on 94% of firms increasing data budgets in 2025. Read the full article here: https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/94-of-fis-expect-higher-data-spend-in-2025/. If you missed it, the report is now available. We surveyed 200 senior data decision-makers working in financial services across the UK and US and found that while rising data volumes and the demand for real-time accessibility are driving budget increases, many firms are struggling to effectively monitor and manage these growing expenses.??

• Philip Flood , our regulatory specialist, provides two in-depth analyses of the regulatory landscape, tracing its evolution from Dodd-Frank and presenting an optimistic outlook for the future, emphasizing how data automation can drive transformative change in regulatory reporting.?
• Gregor Stolz and Julian Trostinsky also shared their outlook for 2025, read the full overview here.

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