British banks fear US tech dependence as geopolitical shocks accelerate
New research from core banking engine provider, SaaScada, shows UK banks are increasingly concerned about their reliance on US technology providers and their ability to plan for and respond to geopolitical shocks.
The survey of 150 UK banking IT innovation leaders shows UK banks are reeling from recent events, throwing planning into turmoil and raising questions over their reliance on US tech:
- 77% say geopolitics is now a core strategic risk for banks – not a peripheral concern.
- Consequently, 80% say persistent global uncertainty is making long-term planning significantly harder.
- And 80% say their leadership teams are now forced to plan for multiple geopolitical and economic shock scenarios simultaneously.
- With rising pressure to strengthen digital sovereignty, 83% say geopolitical risk has accelerated internal conversations about reducing US tech dependence.
- Yet 82% think that, at scale, sovereign cloud is largely a pipe dream for most banks.
“Geopolitics has gone from a footnote to a board-level priority almost overnight, and most banks weren’t ready,” argues Steve Round, co-founder and president of SaaScada. “Regulators are now forcing the issue, asking tough questions about exposure to foreign tech and dependencies that weren’t on the radar five years ago. That is driving growing unease around reliance on US providers – not because they’re weak, but because banks don’t control the risk.
“That’s driving a structural shift. Banks are already looking for European alternatives, and that will accelerate as regulation fragments. The reality is that sovereign cloud at scale doesn’t exist yet, but that gap will drive investment across the UK and Europe. The trade-off is complexity: as regions build their own infrastructure, from cloud to payments, cross-border banking gets harder, and the system becomes more fragmented.”
The findings point to a widening gap between the speed of external change and banks’ ability to respond, with legacy systems and risk-averse operating models limiting agility. While the EBA says European banks can withstand current shocks, the data suggests many on the frontline do not share their confidence:
- 75% say a deterioration in US trade or political relations would expose major vulnerabilities in banks’ technology strategy
- 75% believe most banks are too dependent on legacy technology and processes to pivot quickly in response to geopolitical shocks.
“The industry is kidding itself if it thinks it can manage today’s volatility with yesterday’s technology. The pace of change has broken the traditional banking model: geopolitical shocks, economic disruption and customer behaviour all shifting in real time. But most banks are still trying to respond on systems that were never designed for that kind of speed. They’re operating like cruise ships in a market that now demands speedboats.
“That gap isn’t just inefficient, it’s dangerous. If a bank is launching or managing a lending product and conditions change overnight – whether that’s sanctions, supply chain disruption or sudden shifts in risk – they can’t wait months to respond. Banks must be able to reprice, rebalance and reconfigure in near real time. That requires trusted data and a core architecture that can flex. Without that, banks aren’t just slow to react, they’re flying blind in a market that’s moving faster than they can see.”
About the research:
The data was gathered in March 2026 from 150 UK-based business heads/C-Suite staff at retail and business banks who are responsible for product innovation (e.g. heads of digital transformation/CTOs/chief Innovation officers/heads of innovation/CEO). The banks had a balance sheet size of £0.5bn – £100bn.