Entering 2026, Geopolitical Risk and Trade Tensions, Cyber Risk, and U.S. Economic Slowdown Named Top Risks Facing Global Finance, According to New DTCC Survey
Respondents to DTCC’s annual Systemic Risk Barometer also highlighted concerns about the industry’s growing reliance on AI
New York/London/Hong Kong/Singapore/Sydney, December 9, 2025 ‒ The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the results of its annual survey on the top risks facing financial markets. Conducted every year since 2013, DTCC’s Systemic Risk Barometer offers important insights into the evolving risks that are top of mind for financial services professionals around the globe.
Key highlights on the top risks entering 2026:
- Geopolitical Risks and Trade Tensions ranked as the top overall risk to global finance for the fourth straight year (78% of respondents called it a top five risk).
- Cyber Risk was the second overall top risk, with 63% of respondents ranking it as a top five risk.
- U.S. Economic Slowdown (41%), Market Volatility / Sudden Dislocation in Financial Markets (38%), and U.S. Monetary / Fiscal Policy Uncertainty (38%) rounded out the remainder of the top 5 overall risks.
Amid the financial services industry’s growing reliance on AI solutions, FinTech was ranked a top 5 risk by 33% of respondents, following Excessive Global Public/Corporate Debt (34%) and Inflation (34%).
Respondents named cybersecurity and data protection vulnerabilities the top risk associated with adoption of artificial intelligence (41% of respondents). AI-generated misinformation, such as false outputs or hallucinations, was cited next by 38% of respondents. Respondents also said that insufficient governance, controls and oversight was a concern (37% of respondents), followed by overreliance on AI solutions (34%).
“A common theme across the survey responses was concern over uncertainty—whether economic, geopolitical, or tied to emerging technologies like AI,” said Tim Cuddihy, DTCC Group Chief Risk Officer. “Respondents also flagged concentration risks, such as heavy reliance on a few technology providers or platforms, warning that new technologies like AI and quantum computing could introduce fresh pathways for contagion and systemic events.”
Cuddihy continued, “The most effective tool to navigate uncertainty is industry-wide communication and collaboration. DTCC remains committed to fostering open dialogue and engagement to strengthen resilience and mitigate systemic risks.”
New to the survey this year was a question on quantum computing. Only 29% of respondents confirmed that their firm was currently actively planning for the cybersecurity risks associated with the technology. 25% said their firm acknowledges quantum computing as a risk but did not have any current plans to address it.
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About DTCC
With over 50 years of experience, DTCC is the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry. From 20 locations around the world, DTCC, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the processing of financial transactions, mitigating risk, increasing transparency, enhancing performance and driving efficiency for thousands of broker/dealers, custodian banks and asset managers. Industry owned and governed, the firm innovates purposefully, simplifying the complexities of clearing, settlement, asset servicing, transaction processing, trade reporting and data services across asset classes, bringing enhanced resilience and soundness to existing financial markets while advancing the digital asset ecosystem. In 2024, DTCC’s subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at U.S. $3.7 quadrillion and its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from over 150 countries and territories valued at U.S. $99 trillion. DTCC’s Global Trade Repository service, through locally registered, licensed, or approved trade repositories, processes more than 25 billion messages annually. To learn more, please visit us at www.dtcc.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
