For CTOs, the next wave of productivity is operational as well as strategic.
Automation has been a cornerstone of operational strategy in investment banking for decades. From auto-populating valuation models using financial statement data to streamlining data extraction from filings, banks have consistently invested in tools to improve accuracy and speed. But what sets genAI apart from these traditional automations is its potential to augment not just how analysts process data — but how they think, create, and deliver differentiated insight. It shifts productivity from pure efficiency to strategic enablement.
The latest research from LexisNexis Future of Work 2025: Innovating the Industry – GenAI and the Rise of the Creative Financial Professional shows that genAI is already producing measurable results therefore creating shift in focus for CTOs. As they now must consider more than evaluating genAI’s potential to exploring how it can be operationalized at scale.
From Tactical Gains to Scalable Impact
The data shows clear upside:
- 34% of financial services professionals save 3–4 hours daily using genAI
- 72% report improved productivity with genAI
- 58% say genAI has increased job satisfaction
But the bigger opportunity lies in what that recovered time enables. GenAI allows analysts to shift from gathering data to insight generation and from routine drafting to strategic storytelling. However, that shift depends on seamless integration across systems, tools, and teams.
Turning Adoption into Advantage
In many investment banks, genAI is still living in isolated use cases, tested by individuals and early adopters but not yet enabled firmwide. This fragmented approach limits the full value of the technology and keeps productivity gains at the individual level, rather than scaling them across the business.
Yet the data is clear:
- 72% of financial professionals using genAI report improved productivity
- 42% report increased efficiency with genAI
- But only 14% of firms provide advanced genAI training
This mismatch points to a clear opportunity; CTOs are uniquely positioned to close this gap by building the infrastructure that moves genAI from experimentation to enterprise enablement.
That includes:
- Building secure genAI workflows that protect data, ensure model reliability, and comply with internal policies and regulatory requirements.
- Integrating genAI capabilities into existing analyst toolkits — pitch platforms, CRM, research systems, and internal portals.
- Enabling version control and explainability, ensuring outputs are transparent and traceable to credible sources, so teams and clients alike can trust the results.
Ultimately, genAI enablement is not just about technical implementation, it is also about creating a reliable, secure, and intuitive genAI ecosystem. By doing so, CTOs can unlock the next level of analyst performance and ensure those 1–4 hours saved per day become a measurable, compounding return on investment.
Closing the Productivity Gap
Productivity is a direct driver of revenue, margin, and reputation in investment banking. It enables faster turnaround on pitch materials and gives analysts more time to apply critical thinking, rather than formatting slides or sourcing data.
Consulting firms are already further ahead: 56% of professionals report saving 3–4 hours daily with genAI, compared to 34% in financial services. Firms that centralize training, governance, and tool access are capturing compound gains. Those without a clear framework remain in the experimentation stage.
These aren’t marginal differences — they’re the factors that win deals, retain clients, and drive competitive advantage.
Yet without structured genAI enablement such as centralized training, governance frameworks and performance tracking, the benefits are limited to early adopters rather than embedded across teams.
CTOs have a unique role in closing this gap by building the architecture, policy, and automation that lets genAI perform where it matters most.
Conclusion: From Experimentation to Transformation
GenAI has already proven its ability to unlock meaningful productivity gains but realizing its full impact depends on enterprise-wide enablement. For CTOs, it is important to push teams to move beyond experimentation, build for scale, and position genAI as a tool in supporting analyst performance, operational efficiency, and long-term competitive advantage.
Is your infrastructure ready for high-impact genAI adoption?
Explore the full LexisNexis Future of Work 2025 report to see how financial institutions are turning GenAI from experimentation into transformation.