What’s ahead for procurement leaders in financial services in 2026

As 2026 approaches, financial services procurement faces a rapidly shifting landscape defined by structural transformation, advanced AI adoption, and a new regulatory paradigm in Europe. What should procurement leaders prioritise to unlock value and manage risk in a sector under pressure to deliver both resilience and innovation?

Setting the context: A new era of transformation and opportunity

In the coming year, procurement leaders in financial services will operate in an environment shaped by significant cost-out programmes, technology-driven change, and a renewed focus on risk and resilience. 

Across Europe and globally, several major financial institutions are targeting cost savings of up to £2 billion by 2026, signalling a clear shift toward deep structural transformation and sustainable margin improvement. However, our recent survey of CPOs and CFOs on indirect spend revealed that only 1 in 5 CPOs and CFOs felt that they have full visibility of their indirect spend, pointing to challenges that could get in the way of these cost-out ambitions. 

But the role of Procurement is evolving fast. When empowered by leadership to operate as strategic enablers of business objectives, Procurement becomes integral to enterprise-wide transformation, digital initiatives, and risk management.

Three major trends shaping the financial services procurement agenda

2026 also brings heightened risk

While transformation and innovation will dominate the agenda in 2026, the year will also bring a sharper focus on regulatory, geopolitical, and operational risk. As financial institutions push harder on digitalisation and cost transformation, procurement leaders must ensure that resilience and compliance evolve at the same pace.

Resilience amid regulation: The impact of DORA

2026 sees the first full oversight cycle for the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), fundamentally changing how institutions manage ICT and third-party risk. Procurement faces heightened regulatory accountability for enforcing supplier compliance, audit rights, and resilience testing across the supply base. Smaller suppliers may struggle to meet these standards, likely driving further consolidation of third-party ecosystems. While this shift may strengthen resilience in the short term, it also increases concentration risk. For procurement leaders, the upcoming challenge will be balancing compliance with innovation and competitiveness.

Beyond DORA, ongoing volatility – from geopolitical disruption to economic uncertainty and evolving regulation – will keep risk firmly at the top of the procurement agenda.

Investing in risk management is key

Procurement teams will increasingly invest in predictive analytics and machine learning to detect, assess, and mitigate supplier risk. Access to real-time data will enable faster, risk-informed decisions and a stronger supply chain, with Procurement shifting from reactive compliance to proactive, predictive resilience.

Leaders investing in digital infrastructure, cross-functional governance, and collaborative supplier platforms will be best placed to respond dynamically and maintain business continuity through future disruptions.

The way forward: priorities for procurement leaders

As 2026 approaches, procurement leaders in financial services should focus on three imperatives:

• Drive cost transformation and margin improvement through advanced sourcing, AI adoption, and strategic supplier relationships.
• Prioritise post-M&A value creation by investing early in integration, harmonisation, and synergy capture.
• Strengthen risk and resilience by embedding digital tools, data-driven risk management, and rigorous supplier oversight into procurement processes.

Those who take a proactive, innovation-driven approach – supported by technology and deep collaboration across the enterprise – will position procurement as a true value engine for the business, delivering both resilience and a competitive edge in 2026 and beyond.