Today's banking platforms must cope with continuously changing business environments and a flood of new requirements, while staying sufficiently agile. While some banks have already started to move toward a new banking platform, others still need to do so. Banking platform renewal requires thorough preparation, based on a business foundation and a clear set of IT requirements, if banks are to select the right banking platform vendors for their shortlist and/or describe the target state architecture for renewal. The path to a shortlist is based on requirements for a next-generation banking platform and the concept of the banking backbone.