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Corporate Ozempic
New York University professor Scott Galloway has called artificial intelligence “corporate Ozempic.” Much like resisting the urge to bulk up on sugary, fatty foods, corporations can enjoy the great taste of growth without adding the calories of people.
I recently returned from a trip to Phoenix for Bank Director’s Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, where much of the talk was not only M&A but artificial intelligence, stablecoins and technology in general. Bankers are trying to figure out how to use AI to gain efficiencies, especially with repetitive and time-consuming manual tasks.
Artificial intelligence creates a meaningful opportunity to free up staff to focus more on taking care of customers, says Ravi Nemalikanti, chief product and technology officer at Abrigo. Too much of the day-to-day of banking is repetitive verification, writing up summaries and searching through manuals and documents. For example, community bankers may get a handful to dozens of anti-money laundering alerts per day. They often spend 15 to 20 minutes documenting each review. AI can draft much of this documentation, as well as other time-intensive work such as credit memos and customer due diligence reports, with human oversight. In lending, an AI agent can quickly identify missing or incorrect documents, reducing the back-and-forth with borrowers and speeding up the process. “Anytime we can free up a minute from routine work and redirect it toward managing a relationship, it’s a win,” he says.
All the talk about AI has been front-and-center in big bank investor calls. Brian Moynihan, CEO and chair of Bank of America Corp., said in an earnings call last July that the bank had 17,000 programmers using AI to generate 10% to 15% savings in coding costs. Bank of America now has 1,400 AI patents. In addition to its customer-facing chatbot Erica, wealth management and other businesses use AI to search and summarize information, prepare personalized planning and pitches to clients, and help with advice to clients.
Moynihan admitted that technology investments have helped to reduce headcount over time. “To make an understanding of how much an impact technology had — 15 years ago, the company had a head count of 300,000. Today, we have 212,000,” he said. To be clear, Bank of America’s assets have grown 50% since 2010. He added that AI promises even more efficiencies in the years ahead. “We continue to invest in that growth, and are beginning to see the impacts of AI, again, aiding our efficiency.”
• Naomi Snyder, editor-in-chief for Bank Director
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