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17/08/2026 4:37 pm
TL;DR: Banking identity management fails when access, privilege, and third-party exposure are handled as separate controls, according to Soffid, with IBM cited in the article putting the average incident cost at $6.29 million, 26% above other sectors. The practical conclusion is that continuous verification and auditable governance are now baseline requirements for banking IAM.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Soffid: Identity management in banking: how to protect critical access points in the financial sector
By the numbers:
- The average cost of a banking incident reaches $6.29 million per breach, 26% higher than in other sectors.
- 90% of IT leaders say properly managing NHIs is essential for a successful zero-trust implementation.
- Only 20% have formal processes for offboarding and revoking API keys, and even fewer have procedures for rotating them.
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should banking teams manage access so it stays audit ready?
A: Banking teams should manage access as a continuous control, not a one-time grant.
Q: Why do privileged accounts create outsized risk in banking environments?
A: Privileged accounts can alter configurations, reach sensitive data, and bypass normal operational checks, so any weakness in their governance has immediate impact.
Q: What breaks when third-party access is left open too long?
A: When third-party access is not time-bound, the organisation loses accountability for why the access exists and when it should end.
Practitioner guidance
- Map every access path to an owner and expiry condition Document who approves each access path, what business event ends it, and how revocation is verified in hybrid banking environments.
- Recertify inherited and role-changed permissions first Prioritise accounts that gained access through transfers, promotions, vendor scope changes, or inherited group membership.
- Separate privileged access from standing user entitlements Move high-risk administrative access into governed workflows with full logging, short duration, and explicit purpose.
What's in the full article
Soffid's full article covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- A practical checklist for banking IAM platform selection across visibility, auditability, and lifecycle control.
- Specific handling of privileged accounts, third-party access, and recertification in regulated financial environments.
- How converged IAM, IGA, and PAM are positioned for hybrid banking estates.
- The article’s implementation-oriented view of DORA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and related banking requirements.
👉 Read Soffid's analysis of identity management in banking and critical access control →
Banking identity management: are your access controls audit ready?
Explore further
17/08/2026 4:43 pm
Banking identity governance fails when access is treated as a one-time decision. The article describes a control model that must stay continuous, centralized, and auditable because banking access changes constantly across humans, vendors, privileged accounts, and legacy systems. That is the right framing for the sector, because static provisioning alone cannot keep pace with accumulated permissions and shifting operational responsibility. Practitioners should treat identity as an always-on control plane, not a ticketing event.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 90% of IT leaders say properly managing NHIs is essential for a successful zero-trust implementation, according to Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
- Only 20% have formal processes for offboarding and revoking API keys, and even fewer have procedures for rotating them, according to Ultimate Guide to NHIs , Lifecycle Processes for Managing NHIs.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What frameworks matter most for utility identity governance and compliance?
A: NERC CIP is central for utility compliance, and identity controls should also align with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 for governance, access control, and continuous improvement. The practical test is whether the programme can demonstrate least-privilege access, prompt removal, and auditable decision trails across the full estate.
👉 Read our full editorial: Identity management in banking needs continuous, auditable access control
