NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 12, 2026 -- Ncontracts , the leading provider of integrated compliance, risk, and vendor management solutions to the financial services industry, today released the 2026 State of Third-Party Risk Management Survey — revealing that for the first time, financial institutions rank AI risk on par with cybersecurity as their top third-party concern, even as 72% admit they are only partially aware of which vendors use AI and not a single organization feels extremely confident managing it.
The survey, which drew responses from 173 financial services professionals between November 2025 and January 2026, reveals TPRM programs caught between expanding vendor portfolios, emerging AI risks that outpace current assessment capabilities, and teams that haven't grown to match the load.
"TPRM programs are being asked to do more than ever — more vendors, more risk types, more complexity — with teams that haven't kept pace," said Michael Berman, founder and CEO of Ncontracts. "AI is the clearest example of that pressure, and this survey shows the industry knows it. The organizations that will pull ahead are those investing now in the technology, processes, and metrics that let their programs scale and demonstrate value."