On Monday 21 October, Deutsche Bank and Kodex AI, a Berlin-based AI startup company, published a whitepaper on the opportunities of generative AI (Gen AI) in the banking sector.
It focuses on concrete ways for the industry to adapt AI to their operations, improving efficiency and innovation. The overview also highlights the challenges involved in implementing AI in the highly regulated financial services sector and recommends ways to facilitate integration.
For example, industry-level accepted practices, AI sandboxes, and streamlined regulations could all smooth the path for an AI-powered future of banking.
The whitepaper argues that AI opportunities are transformative, even for those who have not yet leveraged AI tools into their operations.
To facilitate entry for companies at the start of their AI journey, the whitepaper includes a ‘composable Gen AI’ roadmap and a description of the specific capabilities of AI and how they can fit into firms’ operations.
Some inherent challenges in AI surround ethical and sustainability concerns. In its application in banking, increased regulation and cybersecurity risk pose unique challenges. Overall, however, the outlook is optimistic.
“Gen AI represents a sophisticated human-computer interface that democratises technology for daily users. Such technology-driven growth can flourish when there is room for practical application – with balanced oversight – to enable the industry to advance without stifling the needed breakthroughs”, said Boon Hiong Chan, Deutsche Bank’s Asia Pacific Head of Securities & Technology Advocacy and Industry Applied Innovation Lead.
Kodex AI has been developing ways to incorporate AI into the financial services industry by leveraging Large Language Models to extract and analyse data from financial documents.
“Our mission is to help the financial services industry unlock the full potential of this transformative technology. We are committed to addressing the complexities and challenges associated with adopting Gen AI by providing strategic frameworks and practical insights that can guide the industry forward,” said Thomas Kaiser, Co-Founder of Kodex AI.
Deutsche Bank, which invested in Kodex AI in 2023 through its Corporate Venture Capital group, has been focusing on innovation and incorporating new technologies into its daily operations. This forms part of the bank’s strategy of investing in start-ups that directly impact its activities and increasing productivity to support their activities through expertise and resources—enabling Deutsche to promote industry-leading solutions while being the first to take advantage of new innovations.
