The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) released its Systemic Risk Barometer Survey for 2025, which showed that geopolitical risks were identified by 84% of respondents as a top 5 risk and the third year running in pole position.
Cyber risk advanced significantly into second place, with 69% of respondents citing it as a top 5 risk, an increase from 50% in last year’s survey.
Almost half of respondents (48%) included US political uncertainty and the US presidential outcome within their top 5 risks while inflation saw the largest percentage decline for this year’s survey, at 32% versus 55% last year.
In terms of the fintech posing the highest potential system risk, 69% of respondents identified artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotic processing automation (RPA).
55% of respondents consider the probability of a high-impact systemic event in the global financial system in 2025 to be high or very high.
Ali Wolpert, DTCC managing director and head of Global Government Relations, said in a statement: “The consistent theme we heard from survey respondents was uncertainty. The evolving conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine have contributed to an extremely complicated and unpredictable geopolitical environment. Throughout 2025, risk experts should be prepared for this environment to pose downstream impacts on global economies and financial market stability.”
Dan Thieke, DTCC managing director and head of the DTCC Enterprise Resilience Office, said in a statement: “If a disruptive event happens in a single jurisdiction or financial market segment, it can have ripple effects across the entire global sector. Now more than ever, a focus on resilience is essential. It all starts with robust planning and ensuring you’re not only actively preventing disruptions, but you can quickly recover from a disruption, should one occur. Ultimately, we must expect the unexpected. In this dynamic and constantly evolving landscape, robust risk management and resilience planning across the industry is a critical and continuous journey.”
Timothy Cuddihy, DTCC managing director and Group chief risk officer, said in a statement: “Geopolitical risks, cybersecurity concerns, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence have created a complex risk landscape. According to our survey, 55% of respondents believe that there is a high or very high chance of a high-impact systemic event in the global financial system in 2025. To ensure readiness, firms must continue to collaborate across the industry to remain vigilant, share information, and stay ahead of the curve by evolving and improving risk management practices and strategies.”
