«AI fever» has been chosen as the Finance Word of the Year. The selection was carried out under the auspices of LLB Schweiz and finews.com.

With this choice, the jury honours a term that, more than almost any other, captures the developments shaping the Swiss financial centre in 2025.

The Finance Word of the Year was selected from around 250 submissions sent in by the public. The five-member jury consisted of René Zwicky, CEO of LLB Schweiz; Prof. Dr. Gabriela Nagel, Professor of Financial Management and Head of the Institute for Financial Management at ZHAW; Dr. Martin Hess, Chief Economist at the Swiss Bankers Association; Dr. Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, Music Director of the Swiss Orchestra and Artistic Director of Andermatt Music; and Dominik Buholzer, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of finews.com.

The jury (from left): Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, René Zwicky, Dominik Buholzer, Gabriela Nagel and Martin Hess. (Image: zVg)

The decisive factors for the selection were technical relevance, topicality, linguistic precision and future orientation. «AI fever» convinced the jury because the term captures the prevailing mood in the industry with great accuracy: high expectations, rapid technological progress, but also uncertainties around governance, data security and risk.

Developed Into a Competitive Factor at Record Speed

The term «AI fever» describes the immense momentum that artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered in the financial industry: a mix of euphoria, innovation pressure and profound structural change. Whether portfolio optimisation, lending, compliance, fraud detection or client interaction – AI has evolved from a futuristic trend into an operational competitive factor in record time. At the same time, the technology has sparked intensified societal, ethical and regulatory debates this year, extending far beyond the financial sector.

With this choice, the jury underscores that dealing with artificial intelligence is no longer optional. «AI fever» stands for the transformational pressure felt at all levels: from modernising outdated IT architectures to adapting business models and tackling the question of how far automation in banking can go without eroding customer relationships.

Gold and Tokenisation Also Popular

Suggestions related to gold were also common. Tokenisation and tariff barriers were frequently mentioned as well. However, in the jury’s view, only «AI fever» fulfilled all relevant criteria.

CS Integration Barely an Issue Anymore

Topics such as «too big to fail,» associated capital requirements and the AT1 legal dispute generated very few suggestions from the public, as did the technical requirements of Basel III.