4 key compliance trends for 2025 (and how to respond)
15 January 2025With the year well under way, several emerging compliance trends are crystallising. Which Global Compliance and Reporting (GCR) shifts have been gaining traction? Which new and existing compliance issues truly matter when building your compliance strategy? And how can your organisation prepare and adapt to these developments? Let’s explore the key themes that are top of mind for financial institutions and other compliance-heavy organisations – and how you can take smart, effective action.
1. The rise of AI in compliance
Where we stand now
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into compliance operations and has found its way into most risk assessment and regulatory reporting processes. At the same time, organisations remain (rightly) concerned about AI governance and the cost-effectiveness of the AI systems they’ve already implemented. They’re particularly worried about a potential lack of transparency in their artificial intelligence tools (the infamous AI black box), bias in training data and privacy and security concerns.
What's coming next?
The deployment of AI is prompting organisations to redesign workflows across all business units, including compliance. One in five businesses surveyed in a recent McKinsey study reported that they have fundamentally redesigned at least some workflows in their organisation. AI is here to stay, and there is both low-hanging fruit to be picked as well as more innovative pilot projects.
What you can do
Sensible action is the key term for organisations looking to capitalise on AI in compliance and beyond. The guiding principle? Implement AI tools that improve compliance efficiency while maintaining human oversight. Take the Harmoney platform, for example: we’ve been using AI as a powerful compliance aid, applying it where it provides tangible added value – instead of treating it as a magical fix for every business problem.
More on AI in compliance
2. Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM)
Where we stand now
Organizations are increasingly dependent on third parties. As a result, TPRM has become a key focus for companies looking to reduce their risk exposure. In a 2024 Gartner report, 82% of compliance leaders reported negative consequences stemming from third-parties in the previous year. From external partners and vendors to service providers, vulnerabilities span cybersecurity, legal compliance and operational resilience.
What’s coming next?
Integrated and real-time TPRM is fast becoming the norm, with businesses shifting from manual due diligence to continuous monitoring and risk detection – ideally through a unified platform. With increasing regulatory pressure and operational ecosystems growing more complex, financial institutions and other compliance-heavy organisations need to know what risks their third parties may carry, be they regulatory, financial or operational.
What you can do
Smart organisations adopt a centralised TPRM platform that provides a full view of their third-party landscape. Key requirements? Automated alerts, due diligence workflows tailored to your business, and audit-ready documentation. At Harmoney, integrated TPRM that ties into your broader compliance strategy is at the core of what we do, allowing you to manage your external partners, vendors and service providers all in one place.
3. ESG focus and climate change
Where we stand now
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors have become a force to be reckoned with. The EU’s introduction of the CSRD has been a key driver for ESG adoption in the financial sector in particular. Financial institutions and brokers alike must report on their environmental risks and outline solid mitigation strategies. At the same time, many are still struggling with fragmented data, making it difficult to even start defining the KPIs they need to set for themselves. For insurance companies especially, it’s not just about ESG reporting: climate change has had real effects on their risk management. According to a report by reinsurer Swiss RE, natural disasters drove global insured losses over USD 100 billion for the fifth consecutive year in 2024.
What’s coming next?
2025 marks the compulsory transition from ESG strategy to ESG accountability in the EU, with deadlines approaching for broader CSRD applicability. Financial players will not only need to disclose their ESG risks, but also demonstrate how these are integrated into their broader risk management decision-making.
What you can do
The first step? Get your ESG data and profiling in order. Harmoney supports you in this journey with dedicated modules for and tools for ESG profiling in investments and insurance, helping you to make ESG a measurable and easy-to-manage part of your overall compliance framework.
4. Privacy and data protection as compliance pillars
Where we stand now
Regulations like the GDPR and emerging frameworks such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) are placing renewed emphasis on responsible data handling and user consent. Financial institutions and intermediaries are now expected to manage data securely and transparently. Still, many organizations continue to take a reactive stance, addressing risks only after they surface.
What’s coming next?
Privacy-first is becoming the standard. By 2025, compliance teams will be expected to embed data protection principles into their KYC and AML workflows. This includes automated identity verification, eKYC solutions, and secure data sharing based on explicit user consent. At the same time, regulatory frameworks demand continuous monitoring, robust documentation, and full auditability, all of which are central to DORA and similar directives.
What you can do
Building a privacy-centric compliance framework takes time, the right tools, and a culture shift. Embedding privacy, data protection, and digital identity verification into your operations doesn’t happen overnight. Harmoney is here to help, offering managed compliance services for complete peace of mind, and a leading platform that integrates privacy, security, and data protection from the ground up.
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