FIS key takeaways from Finance Connect Leaders’ Summit Europe 2026

Cologne, Germany | FIS Gold Sponsor Summary Report

FIS was proud to join leaders from across Europe’s asset finance community in Cologne as a Gold Sponsor of the Finance Connect Leaders’ Summit 2026. Across two days of discussion, debate and practical case studies, several themes emerged that signal an industry in the middle of structural transformation.

This article summarises what FIS see as the most relevant insights for lenders, captives, brokers and asset‑intensive businesses preparing for the next phase of market change.

1. A decade of volatility has triggered structural change

In the opening keynote, Finance Connect CEO Edward Peck detailed the economic shocks reshaping the asset finance landscape: the 2022 supply chain breakdown, the accelerated entry of Chinese BEVs in 2023–2024, and current geopolitical realignments affecting procurement and capital flows.

The consequences are clear:

• Residual value assumptions are being rewritten as global supply becomes unpredictable.
• Capital remains constrained, forcing stricter asset‑level ROI scrutiny.
• End‑customers now prioritise flexibility, pushing back against long‑term commitments.

Rather than waiting for stability, leaders across the summit emphasised that the operating model must adjust permanently.

2. Connected asset data is now a core credit input

A major theme of the event was the shift from traditional documentation‑based credit assessment toward real‑time connected asset intelligence—enabled through IoT, telematics and OEM‑integrated data.

Where the shift is most impactful:

Credit & risk
Lenders increasingly incorporate actual utilisation patterns—duty cycle, maintenance behaviour, environmental exposure—into underwriting and pricing.

Portfolio management
Connected data enables proactive lifecycle forecasting, including:

• Usage‑based depreciation modelling
• Predictive maintenance intervals
• Asset‑type / operator performance correlations

Commercial innovation
Several institutions shared pilots offering:

• Adaptive usage‑based pricing
• Performance‑linked maintenance + finance bundles
• “Pay for output” operating agreements

These models represent a clear movement away from static agreements toward dynamic, real‑time financing frameworks.

3. Balancing stability with modernisation

Executives repeatedly returned to a central tension: how to maintain stability for customers while modernising systems, data infrastructure, and compliance frameworks.

The key operational pressures include:

• New EBA and sustainability reporting demands, requiring tighter integration of asset and credit data.
• Customer expectations for faster decisioning, driving the digitisation of origination and credit operations.
• Rising switching rates, heightening the importance of retention‑focused service differentiation.

Modernisation is no longer discretionary; it is linked directly to margin protection and regulatory resilience.

4. Sustainability is shaping demand and secondary markets

Sustainability is transitioning from a compliance obligation to a core commercial driver.

Key changes noted at the summit:

• Operators are shifting toward higher‑efficiency assets with predictable operating costs.
• Lenders are recalibrating RV models around sustainable equipment due to growing secondary market traction.
• Customers increasingly demand clarity on total cost of usage, not just finance terms.

Speakers emphasised that sustainability is now both a profitability lever and a competitive differentiator.

5. What comes next for the sector

Across sessions, the direction of travel for asset finance became clear:

• Customers will value trust, predictability and transparency.
• They will also expect flexibility, adaptive pricing, and digital service channels.
• Regulatory complexity and connected data will reshape credit, servicing and asset lifecycle strategies.
• Technology investment is shifting from experimentation to core platform replacement.

The providers that succeed will combine stability with adaptability and invest in systems that support data‑driven portfolio decisions.

Stay connected

If you attended the Summit or would like to explore how FIS is supporting modernisation in asset finance – from connected asset data strategies to AI‑supported credit decisioning – we’d be delighted to continue the conversation.