FICO Survey: Two-Thirds of APAC Bank Leaders Prioritize Agility, but Strategy Deployment Still Lags

A new industry poll by global analytics software leader, FICO, has uncovered challenges facing banks in the APAC region as they seek to improve the speed and flexibility of their decision-making. Despite the pace of market and operational change, nearly half (48%) of APAC banks still take months to deploy new decision strategies, such as setting fraud detection rules and adjusting credit risk models. In contrast,

nearly two-thirds (63%) of senior bank leaders ranked the update decision strategies as a top priority.  

This disconnect is especially concerning amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical disruption, due to cross-border trade tensions and shifting tariffs regimes out of the U.S.  

“Market volatility and evolving trade dynamics require financial institutions to move quickly and decisively,” said Dattu Kompella, Managing Director in Asia for FICO. “Banks that build agility into their operations will be better positioned to maintain stability, earn customer trust, and stay competitive.”

Emerging Practices Reveal Gaps in Preparedness

The poll also reveals a limited uptake of advanced testing capabilities. Just 27% of banks report frequent use of simulation tools, such as digital twins— virtual replicas of systems used to model responses to change. This may indicate a preparedness gap as banks face increasing complexity in customer behavior, regulation, and risk.  

While not yet standard, the use of virtual environments is gaining traction. Among banks using them, respondents estimate that around half of their credit and marketing strategies are now tested in this way before deployment, pointing to a growing emphasis on pre-implementation rigor. Meanwhile, 55% of banks are reusing decision components across functions, from fraud detection to customer service, signaling progress toward more integrated and efficient decisioning.

Composability Seen as Key to Agility
More than half (53%) of bank leaders view business composability—the ability to reconfigure and scale operations quickly—as critically important to remaining responsive in volatile markets.

Composability enables teams to assemble decision strategies from modular components such as data sets, business rules, and predictive models— often drawing from different functions. This design approach supports faster innovation and cross-functional collaboration.

Many banks are still early in this transition, which will require systems that can support modular design and agile deployment. Open APIs, flexible architecture, and low-code authoring tools for business users are likely to be foundational enablers.

“Agility starts with breaking down silos—whether technical or organizational,” concluded Kompella, “When data, tools, and teams are connected, banks can adapt faster to the needs of both their customers and the market.

FICO conducted the poll during a customer event in Singapore in late 2024, drawing insights from over 30 senior executives and C-suite leaders from banks across the Asia Pacific region.