Why Data Now Defines Value in Banking and Financial Services

Article Highlights:

• Data is now a core economic asset in financial services, shaping risk, revenue, trust, and the customer experience.
• The advantage isn’t collecting more data but managing and valuing it effectively as regulatory cyber pressure increases.
• Like life sciences, financial services rely heavily on intangible assets, including customer data, models, and algorithms.
• Organizations that treat data as a strategic asset will be leaders in the next frontier of banking, payments, and FinTech.

In my previous series, I focused on Life Sciences companies.[1-4] Now, I shift my attention to the financial services industry. I have been fortunate to work in both sectors and have gained insights that can be applied across these fields. Financial services, like life sciences, have become heavily reliant on data; data is now a vital part of the industry, driving everything from risk modeling and fraud detection to payments innovation and highly personalized customer experiences. However, as data volumes increase—and regulatory expectations rise—so do the challenges of managing, protecting, and deriving value from data. 

I’ve worked with property and casualty insurance companies, employee benefits carriers, and international commercial banks. In all these organizations, the real opportunity isn’t just in collecting more data but in transforming data from an operational byproduct into a strategic asset that manages risk, drives competitive advantage, and supports long-term growth. This challenge is similar to what’s seen in the life sciences industry, but with a different perspective.  

Commercial Banks [5] 

Commercial banks make money in eight basic ways: 

1.Net Interest Income (NIM) 

Banks earn the spread between what they pay depositors and what they charge borrowers. For example, paying 1% on deposits and lending at 6% yields a 5% net interest margin.[6] 

2. Fees for Services  

Service fees are a significant revenue source and vary by product, often adding up quickly for customers. Standard fees include checking and account maintenance, ATM usage, wire transfers, overdrafts, mortgage origination, loan servicing, wealth management, safe deposit boxes, and merchant card processing. [7]  

3. Credit Card Revenue 

Credit cards generate income from interest on unpaid balances, interchange fees paid by merchants, annual membership fees, late-payment fees, and foreign-transaction fees. Companies like American Express demonstrate how spend-based rewards and premium cardholders drive substantial revenue despite higher merchant fees. [8] 

Table 1 – Credit Card Revenue and Profit Sources [9]  

4. Investment Income & Trading 

Banks invest in government and corporate bonds, securities, money markets, and other financial institutions’ assets. Large banks also operate trading desks in areas such as market-making, derivatives, and foreign exchange—activities that can be highly profitable but carry significant risk.[10] 

5. Wealth Management & Advisory Services 

Focused on high-net-worth clients, these services include financial planning, investment management, private banking, trust services, and, for large banks, merger and acquisition advisory. [9] 

6. Loans and Credit Products 

Banks earn interest and fees across a wide range of lending products, including mortgages, personal and auto loans, small business loans, corporate lending, lines of credit, and student loans. [11]

7. Treasury & Cash Management Services  

Business-focused services generate recurring revenue through offerings such as payroll processing, fraud protection, cash concentration, account reconciliation, lockbox services, and short-term liquidity solutions. [12] 

8. Foreign Exchange (FX) and International Banking

Banks profit from foreign exchange by charging conversion fees, selling currency at a markup, facilitating international payments, and offering hedging instruments to corporate clients. [13] 

As this list illustrates, the range of products offered by commercial banks is diverse and complex. In the era of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, financial services organizations face new challenges that require executive-level focus on data and its use to improve economic performance. Financial institutions depend heavily on data and its integrity, as customer trust is essential for business success. [14] 

As in the life sciences, the answer for financial services companies becomes clear when looking at the modern balance sheet. For most global companies—including banks and Finance Technology organizations (FinTechs)—the main asset class is intangible assets. According to IFRS, intangible assets are “non-monetary assets without physical substance,” yet they hold future economic value and are often the most strategically essential assets in financial services. [14] 

In banking and FinTech, intangible assets encompass customer data, proprietary algorithms, risk models, transaction data, fraud analytics, and AI-driven intellectual property. Although these assets are unseen, they are often more valuable than physical infrastructure. They support competitive advantage, regulatory compliance, and enhance the customer experience. 

The World Intellectual Property Organization estimates that the global value of intangible assets now exceeds USD 80 trillion. Technology, payments, and financial platforms make up a large part of the world leaders in this category. [15] 

Conclusion: What does this mean for financial services? 

Data is a significant driver of economic value in today’s financial ecosystem. Institutions that excel at creating data value—through analytics, governance, monetization, and AI—will determine the winners in banking, payments, and FinTech in the coming decade. 

Financial services firms are exploring new data-driven frontiers across numerous areas. Below, I focus on two that are undergoing the most rapid change. Additional aspects will be discussed in future posts.  

While I highlighted revenue and profitability in banks, nearly every function in financial services is undergoing data-driven reinvention: 

1. Algorithmic trading and quantitative strategies 
2. Customer Insights, market Intelligence, and personalization 
3. Customer onboarding and digital identity 
4. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) – sustainability scoring 
5. Financial product pricing models 
6. Operational efficiency modeling 
7. Payments and settlement optimization 
8. Regulatory reporting automation 
9. Risk, Fraud, and Compliance Analytics 
10. Treasury and liquidity analytics

These topics will be the focus of future articles.

How Green Leaf Consulting Group Assists Financial Institutions 

Green Leaf Consulting Group brings hands-on experience helping financial organizations harness the value of data across risk, customer analytics, digital transformation, and strategic decisioning. 

Looking Ahead 

In this series, I will explore additional dimensions of financial data strategy, including: 

• Direct and indirect monetization of financial data 
• ROI of modern data capabilities 
• business value creation through data-driven optimization 
• The transformative force of AI

Mastering data assets will define the winners and losers in the evolving financial services ecosystem.

References 

1. Ferrara, E.,Data in the Evolving world of Life Sciences – Part 1, inGreenleaf Insights, M. Miner, Editor. 2025, Greenleaf Group: Ambler, PA, USA. 
2. Ferrara, E.,Data in the Evolving World of Life Sciences – Part 2: Change and Measurement, inGreenleaf Insights, M. Miner, Editor. 2025, Greenleaf Group: Ambler, PA, USA. 
3. Ferrara, E.,Data in the evolving world of Life Sciences – Part 3: Compliance, Regulation, and National Security, inGreenleaf, M. Miner, Editor. 2025, Greenleaf Group: Ambler, PA, USA. 
4. Ferrara, E.,Data in the evolving world of Life Sciences – Part 4: Chaos to Order, inGreenleaf Insights, M. Miner, Editor. 2025, Greenleaf Group: Ambler, PA, USA. 
5. Board, F.R.,Federal Reserve Board Large Commercial Banks: September 30, 2025. 2025, Federal Reserve Board New York, NY, USA.
6. Mahajan, O.,Net Interest Margin – Overview, Components, and Examples, inWall Street Oasis, W. El Maouch, Editor. 2025, Wall Street Oasis. 
7. Kenton, W.,Comprehensive Guide to Bank Fees_ Types, Definitions, and How to Avoid Them.pdf>, inInvestopedia, C. Potters, Editor. 2025, Investopedia: Investopedia.com. 
8. Reiff, N.,How American Express Profit:  Fees, Interest, and Merchant Revenue, inInvestopedia, E. Estevez and M. Rosenston, Editors. 2025, Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com. 
9. Jonas, D.,Morgan Stanley’s Revenue Streams: Institutional, Wealth, & Investment Management, inInvestopedia, T.J. Catalano, Editor. 2025, Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com. 
10. Liu, J.,Credit Default Swap (CDS) – A Major Player in the 2008 Financial Crisis, inWall Street Oasis, I. Lin, Editor. 2025, Wall Street Oasis: wallstreetoasis.com. 
11. Redlin, P.,The Different Types of Credit Productsin Money Management. 2025: https://www.edvisors.com. 
12. Weekly, T.F.,What is the Difference Between Cash Management and Treasury Management, inThe Finance Weekly. 2025, The Finance Weekly: https://www.thefinanceweekly.com. 
13. Cusimano, J.,What Is the Foreign Exchange Market? How It Works & Examples, inForex Resources. 2024, Satrys: https://statrys.com. 
14. Institute, C.F.Intangible Assets. 2025; Available from:https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/accounting/intangible-assets/. 
15. Brown, A., et al.,The Value of Intangible Assets of Corporations Worldwide Rebounds to All-Time High of USD 80 Trillion in 2024, inGlobal Innovation Index. 2025, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – The United Nations: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index.