Transformation at NovoBanco

NovoBanco is nominated in the Transformative Innovator of the Year category at the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2025. We asked the bank to present its strategy and actions in terms of transformation.



What transformation strategy has your organization led in recent years?

At novobanco, our transformation strategy is anchored on three pillars: enhancing customer experience, simplifying operations, and transforming the employee journey. We are shifting from a product-centric to a journey-led organization, breaking silos and empowering multidisciplinary teams to deliver seamless, personalized experiences. 

We’ve modernized our technology stack with a cloud-first approach, composable architecture, and AI-powered automation. Our operating model has evolved to embed agility, accountability, and customer-centricity across all functions. This transformation is not just digital—it’s cultural. We are building a future-ready bank that is simpler, faster, and more human, enabling us to anticipate trends, reduce time-to-market, and deliver tangible value to customers, employees, and stakeholders.


What prompted this strategic transformation?

Our transformation was driven by the need to remain competitive in a fast-evolving banking landscape. Customers now expect digital-first, hyper-personalized experiences—comparing us not just to other banks, but to the best digital services globally. Internally, legacy systems, siloed processes, and slow decision cycles hindered agility and innovation. Externally, fintech disruption, regulatory complexity, and economic uncertainty demanded a bold shift. We recognized that to thrive, we needed to simplify operations, empower our people, and place customers at the heart of everything we do. This transformation is our response to these challenges—ensuring we stay relevant, resilient, and capable of delivering sustainable growth. We also needed to make sure we were investing exactly where we needed to invest: where the contribution to overall strategy and/or business impact was greatest.

What have been the most significant changes implemented, and how were they led?

We’ve implemented bold changes across technology, operations, and culture. Technologically, we modernized our core systems, adopted a hybrid cloud infrastructure, and deployed over 50 AI use cases—transforming everything from onboarding to fraud detection. Operationally, we launched a journey-led model (JLO- an E2E revolutionary shift, pioneer in the portuguese market , in ways of working and delivery value to our clients), empowering cross-functional teams with end-to-end accountability. Culturally, we embedded agile ways of working, leadership development, and a growth mindset across the organization. These changes were led from the top, with strong executive sponsorship, clear governance, and a relentless focus on value delivery. Our leadership didn’t just support the change—they modelled it, ensuring alignment, momentum, and impact at every level.


What unique or key transformation practices do you follow to ensure success?

Our transformation is powered by a unique blend of practices: a journey-led operating model, agile delivery at scale, and a robust AI and automation strategy. We’ve established a Center of Excellence for Intelligent Automation, enabling rapid deployment of high-impact use cases. Our cloud-first, API-driven architecture ensures scalability and resilience. We use a structured transformation portfolio governance model, linking strategy to execution through OKRs and value tracking. We also foster fintech-style autonomy within teams, supported by DevSecOps, design thinking, and continuous feedback loops. This integrated approach ensures we deliver innovation with discipline, speed, and measurable outcomes.

How has your workforce been engaged and transformed through this journey?

Our people are at the heart of our transformation. We’ve invested in upskilling, agile training, and leadership development for over 4,000 employees. Engagement is driven by empowerment—teams now own customer journeys end-to-end, with clear goals and autonomy. We’ve redesigned roles, introduced new career paths, and enhanced our Employee Value Proposition. Agile squads, internal mobility, and a culture of recognition have boosted motivation and collaboration. Engagement scores have risen to 68%, and internal surveys show increased satisfaction with autonomy and purpose. This cultural shift—from control to trust—is enabling a more innovative, resilient, and future-ready workforce . (Ex. clear communication strategy providing visibility on delivered and ongoing transformations, teaching by example and ensuring adoption of both solutions and ways of working).


What measurable outcomes demonstrate the success of your transformation?

Our transformation  is delivering tangible results. with international recognition (first prizes and highly recommended in awards). Over 70% of customers are now digitally active, and NPS has improved across both retail and corporate segments (Retail CSAT: 86%, Corporate CSAT: 95.1%). We’ve reduced cost-to-income to 33.2% and achieved €28M in simplification savings in 2025 alone. AI and automation saved 43,000+ hours in 2024, while digital personal loan sales grew 1.5x and life insurance sales doubled. Employee engagement rose to 68%, and internal mobility and training hours increased significantly. These outcomes reflect a simpler, more efficient, and customer-centric bank—delivering value across all stakeholders.