5 takeaways from Economist Impact’s Intelligent Banking report
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Banks are rolling out AI across operations, but are they getting results? Intelligent Banking: The Future Ahead, from Economist Impact and SAS, explores how industry leaders see AI reshaping banking operations.
The survey of 1,700 senior banking leaders identifies key trends and challenges facing global banking over the next decade.
“Generative AI’s promised benefits, like streamlined operations and more personalized customer experiences, also introduce significant operational, ethical and compliance risks,” said Melanie Noronha, principal of policy and insights at Economist Impact. “Banks must balance innovation with vigilance at every turn.”
Here are five takeaways.
1. Almost all executives report some form of generative AI integration, but most see limited returns.
Just over half of executives surveyed reported limited returns from generative AI, with 11% seeing no returns at all. Meanwhile, 19% of executives reported significant returns from limited implementation, suggesting targeted rollouts may deliver a greater payoff.
“We’re nibbling at the edges of generative AI adoption,” Thomas Wallace, chief risk officer of Revolut UK, said in the report, noting that the technology could democratize finance through tailored financial services.
2. The complexity of identity fraud — including AI-driven fraud to create convincing fake credentials and deepfakes — is the biggest challenge, 54% of executives said.
Banks are increasingly looking to AI solutions to fight AI-driven fraud, but the high cost of implementation remains a barrier to adoption.
Diana Rothfuss, global product marketing strategy director for risk, fraud, and compliance at SAS, said the use of AI to fight fraud is expensive for banks today, mainly due to the cost of modernizing outdated systems. But she expects the burden to ease over time.
“I think it’s expensive right now for a lot of organizations, because you’re trying to get your systems to the point where you’re using AI the right way,” she told The FR.
3. A significant proportion of executives highlight the importance of data governance frameworks.
A third of executives said data governance frameworks are the most effective way to ensure data security, compared to 25% who cited data management automation and 20% who pointed to AI-driven cyber threat detection.
4. Most executives see regulation as an opportunity rather than a threat, but the cost of compliance continues to rise.
Despite challenges around a patchwork of financial regulations across jurisdictions, 68% of executives surveyed said they see new regulations on AI, blockchain, and open banking as potential drivers of innovation. At the same time, 75% of respondents said their institutions face rising compliance costs.
“To prepare for change, banks are investing in technology to automate compliance, reporting, and risk monitoring. More than a third of survey respondents see this as the most effective strategy, though it remains the most expensive,” the study found.
5. Many leaders are prioritizing internal innovation through upskilling.
A significant number of respondents consider technology training for all employees (36%) or just leadership (30%) as the best way to prepare the workforce for change.
“As technologies like generative AI cause disruption and democratize innovation through increased access to knowledge, banks must make innovation not only a strategic goal, but a core component of their organisational culture,” the authors noted.
