Our 2026 Looking Ahead Report explores the trends, developments, and emerging risks shaping financial services in the year ahead, covering topics like agentic AI in fintech, corporate fraud prevention, cybersecurity, workforce strategies, a regional spotlight on the Middle East and much more. Here is an excerpt:
Global workforce strategies for the financial sector
As financial institutions recalibrate their workforce strategies for 2026 and beyond, they face a rapidly shifting regulatory terrain shaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption and evolving societal expectations. 2025 has seen a marked acceleration in legal reforms and policy shifts across jurisdictions, with four key themes emerging at the forefront of employment and compliance planning. These trends are not isolated – they are interconnected, and they demand a proactive, globally attuned approach to workforce governance.
The Shifting DEI Landscape
While institutional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices have been subject to more legal scrutiny in the US this year, other regions—particularly EMEA and parts of Asia—are deepening commitments and expanding regulatory requirements. Major US-based financial institutions have scaled back public commitments to DEI, rebranding or removing references to diversity figures and programs in corporate filings, amid heightened political scrutiny under the current US administration. In contrast, many financial institutions across EMEA remain committed to robust DEI frameworks. For example, the UK’s financial regulators have proposed regulatory standards to embed diversity and inclusion into governance structures. And in South Africa, financial and insurance activities is a sector specifically identified under new affirmative action targets now in force. This divergence underscores the need for multinational financial institutions to carefully navigate DEI policy and goals with regional nuance, balancing local regulatory pressures with global values and workforce expectations.
Employers, including those in the financial sector, are under pressure (from both employees and government authorities) to increase transparency, particularly on workforce composition and compensation. In Brazil, for example, equal pay enforcement has intensified, with hundreds of companies inspected in the last year. Some of the significant changes include the US, where certain states, including California, require gender pay reporting, and shareholder activism is driving pay equity disclosures. In the EU, the Pay Transparency Directive requires member states to implement legislation by June 2026, with gender pay gap reporting starting in June 2027. Key requirements include: mandatory pay range disclosure; banning salary history questions; and employee rights to pay information with an increased role overall for worker representatives.
Rapid Adoption of AI in HR
AI adoption in HR functions is surging, but so is regulatory oversight. The EU’s AI Act, for example, mandates transparency, risk-based controls and involvement of worker representatives. A number of jurisdictions in North and Latin America have introduced or are reviewing AI bills with employment-related provisions. In the US, state and other local laws impose strict notice and consent requirements relating to certain automated decision-making technology. Japan has adopted a voluntary, soft-law approach, issuing ethical guidelines focused on transparency and societal impact to influence corporate behavior in areas like recruitment and employee monitoring, while governments in both Australia and Singapore are introducing sandbox environments and governance frameworks for responsible AI use. Employers must now map AI-related risks across jurisdictions, implement governance protocols and prepare for audits and whistleblower protections.
Growing Regulatory Pressure to Prevent Workplace Harassment
Jurisdictions are imposing proactive obligations on employers to prevent workplace harassment. New laws mandate employer action against harassment and workplace violence in Chile and Colombia; meanwhile, Asia Pacific jurisdictions including Australia, Japan, China and Taiwan require employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment, with new compliance frameworks emerging.
In the UK, a new legal duty will require employers to take all reasonable steps (including third-party misconduct) to prevent sexual harassment, while in the Netherlands, employers with 10 or more employees will soon need to have a code of conduct to prevent improper conduct in the workplace.
Business Protection Strategies
While demand for top talent remains high, financial institutions continue to focus on business protection risks that arise when employees leave the organization. They are looking to enforceability of post-termination restrictions and traditional confidentiality obligations, while strengthening employee exit procedures. Financial institutions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea are recalibrating hiring strategies to respond to renewed deal activity, leading to more frequent cross-border moves and lateral hiring across jurisdictions.
This heightened mobility has placed greater emphasis on cross-border enforcement of restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations. As a result, firms are adopting more sophisticated approaches to protecting business assets at the point of termination. These include tailored exit protocols, forensic audits of departing employees’ digital footprints and the use of garden leave (where legally permitted) to mitigate competitive risk.
There is also growing global interest in contractual mechanisms, such as clawbacks and deferred compensation structures, to discourage premature departures and protect proprietary information.