Finance Finland (Finanssiala ry) is consolidating its annual banking and insurance reports into a new Financial Sector Annual Report and expanding the scope to include also asset management. The renewal will be carried out in collaboration with VALOR Partners. In addition, a separate thematic review on artificial intelligence in the financial sector is underway.
Finance Finland represents banks, life and non-life insurers, employee pension companies, finance houses, fund management companies and security dealers operating in Finland. As an advocacy organisation, it brings together the views of the Finnish financial sector and promotes the interests of its members, acting as a common voice both in Finland and in Europe.
“Our task is to monitor legislative developments in Helsinki and Brussels and to take positions on them based on our members’ mandate,” says Tuomo Yli-Huttula, Director at Finance Finland.
Alongside its advocacy work, Finance Finland regularly produces and publishes various reviews and studies. Previously published as separate reports, the banking and insurance sector reviews will be combined into a new Financial Sector Annual Report, developed in cooperation with VALOR Partners into a more comprehensive information package for Finance Finland’s members. As a new element, the report will include a market review of asset management.
“The renewed report will provide both us and our member companies with a more comprehensive overview of market conditions and current topics than before, thereby supporting our advocacy work,” Yli-Huttula notes.
He adds that the largest member companies have become diversified financial services groups in which banking, investment and insurance operations function under the same roof. The boundaries between subsectors have blurred, and a combined annual financial sector report therefore better serves the needs of the industry.
A clear and illustrative tool for industry stakeholders
The new Financial Sector Annual Report will compile the most essential data on the financial sector, including market shares and key performance indicators. The report will also feature sector-specific analyses produced by VALOR Partners. Sources include data from Finance Finland, the Bank of Finland and the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority, companies’ financial statements, as well as VALOR Partners’ other data sources.
VALOR Partners has published industry reviews across various sectors for more than ten years. These have become a popular tool for corporate management in gaining an overall view of their industry, for example to support strategic planning.
“The new Financial Sector Annual Report brings together Finance Finland’s previously separate financial sector reviews into a single, coherent whole. Drawing on VALOR Partners’ experience in the financial sector, the report structures the key information in a clear and accessible format,” says Juha Viljakainen, Partner responsible for the financial sector at VALOR Partners.
According to Yli-Huttula, VALOR Partners is a well-known player with deep expertise in the financial sector and a strong understanding of market dynamics.
“Their credibility and objectivity have only been reinforced as our discussions have progressed. I believe they are also well regarded among our member companies, which provides an excellent foundation for collaboration,” says Yli-Huttula.
The first Financial Sector Annual Report will be published in April 2026.
AI-themed review provides an overview of the financial sector
In early 2026, VALOR Partners will also produce an AI-themed review for Finance Finland, examining how artificial intelligence is being utilised in the financial sector and the level of adoption across different organisations.
The aim is to interview Finance Finland’s members as well as key individuals with insights into the development of AI. In autumn 2025, VALOR Partners carried out a similar review for the Confederation of Finnish Industries, interviewing Finland’s largest listed companies.
“The Financial sector has been a forerunner in digitalisation, and AI has been used in the sector for quite some time. Business models are strongly based on data analysis and utilisation, which is why the potential of AI is particularly pronounced in the financial sector,” says Viljakainen.
Yli-Huttula adds that while companies cannot disclose confidential business information, internal industry interaction is important for maintaining an up-to-date shared situational awareness. As examples, he mentions fraud prevention and risk management, which are growing areas where cooperation is beneficial.
Another key topic raised by Yli-Huttula is regulation related to artificial intelligence.
“We need a comprehensive overview—both within Finance Finland and among our member companies—of the sector’s level of AI utilisation, so that we can carry out advocacy as effectively as possible and influence future regulation.”
The AI review for the financial sector will also include a background analysis of AI’s business implications, prepared by VALOR Partners.
“AI is not a separate element of business, but an integral part of everyday work,” notes Viljakainen. He is responsible for the production of both the Financial Sector Annual Report and the AI-themed review.
VALOR Partners will make the general section of the AI-themed report available to Finance Finland’s members at no cost. More in-depth, sector-specific analyses can be ordered separately from VALOR Partners.
For more information: Juha Viljakainen
Text: Catarina Stewen