AI readiness: banks need to invest in technology and people

Major data and analytics investment and staff training is required

There is a strong focus on automation, data and analytics platforms to scale AI across the business. But this will not necessarily lead to headcount reduction. Rather, AI will change the nature of the tasks performed in the workplace. Almost a quarter of bankers (24%) thought that AI will help them take more intelligent actions with assistance from generative AI tools, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot.

However, over half of the banks interviewed (53%) reckon they will need significant support to train staff to use generative AI tools. “The data most companies have gathered wasn't for machine learning or AI,” commented one European banker. “That data may not be useful. Risk and compliance is huge. KYC, credit risk, all of it is data-rich.”

Banks focus on efficiency with AI