ESET has published research suggesting that cyber incidents could be costing the UK financial services sector as much as £1.01bn a year, with surveyed firms losing an average of £726k each over the last 12 months.

The 2026 ESET UK Financial Services Security Report draws on responses from 500 UK financial services organisations ranging from small to large. Almost all of them (97%) suffered at least one cyberattack during the year, and 62% were targeted more than once. Among firms hit by an incident, restoring critical operations took an average of seven days.

The consequences for customer loyalty look severe: only 11% of consumers said they would keep using their provider normally if a major breach exposed their data. Meanwhile, 58% of respondents admitted their organisation may already have been compromised without anyone noticing.

Insurance offers only partial protection. Some 99% of firms surveyed hold a cyber insurance policy, and 41% bought cover within the past year. Even so, an average of 44% of incident costs went unrecovered through insurance, which ESET estimates could have left the sector carrying up to £456m in uncovered losses over the year.

The report also points to weaknesses that go beyond basic hygiene. Respondents named talent shortages (38%), round-the-clock security operations (33%) and protecting legacy technology (32%) as their biggest challenges. Around 65% lack a 24/7/365 managed detection and response service, 57% have no comprehensive incident response plan and 60% lack comprehensive endpoint security.

Artificial intelligence adds another layer of risk. Securing AI adoption ranks as the leading priority for the coming year (46%), and 86% of firms have raised cybersecurity spending because of AI.

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