The Banking The Banking Executive Magazine - June 2024 Issue

OpenAI’s ChatGPT acquired one million users five days after its launch in November 2022, igniting a gold rush in the artificial intelli- gence and digital transformation of the workplace. Since then, the as- cendancy of AI has led to public speculation about the impact that the fast-emerging technology will have on jobs. In a chilling, new report by Citi- group, the global investment firm concluded that the banking industry will be the hardest-hit by the deploy- ment of AI, with $54% of roles at risk for AI-led job displacement. Addi- tionally, another 12% of banking jobs could be potentially augmented by AI. “GPTs have the potential to transform entire economies, changing the way we live and work. They create new opportunities for growth and innova- tion, often improving our overall quality of life. They also destroy ex- isting ways of doing things. And as such they also create losers. Espe- cially in the short term,” the report stated. Other high-risk sectors for job dis- placement include insurance (48%), energy (43%) and capital market (40%). According to Citi, automation will play an increasing role in banking and finance and will be the catalyst for changes within the industry, im- pacting market share, employment and client experience. “The pace of adoption and impact of Gen AI across industries has been as- tounding as it becomes clear that it has the potential to revolutionize the banking industry and improve prof- itability,” said David Griffiths, chief technology officer at Citi. The financial firm estimates that the global banking sector’s profit pool could grow 9%—or $170 billion— from the adoption of AI, increasing from around $1.7 trillion to about $2 trillion. HOW CITIGROUP IS DEPLOYING AI The convergence of financial serv- ices and technology continues to be a growing trend, as investment banks are increasingly using automation in their operations. Bloomberg reported last year that Citi planned to rollout generative AI tech- nology to its 40,000 developers. The world’s biggest bank had already harnessed the power of automation to analyze an extensive set of new capital regulations, enabling it to meticulously examine 1,089 pages of these intricate rules. Citi's risk management and compli- ance team were then able evaluate the potential ramifications of the pro- posed regulatory changes. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 44 ISSUE 186 JUNE 2024 Career Chronicle AI COULD DISPLACE MORE THAN 50% OF BANKING JOBS, ACCORDING TO NEW CITIGROUP REPORT