Banking sector leverages Gen AI for enhanced productivity

Banking industry is expected to reap $200 to $340 billion USD largely by using generative AI to increase productivity.

As banks adopt generative AI to unlock billions in productivity gains, senior leadership alignment and talent upskilling emerge as crucial factors in successful integration, according to Violet Chung, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Co.

Chung said that Gen AI requires top-down alignment to ensure success. “Something like this actually requires people at the top to ensure that there’s a strategic vision aligned, a roadmap, clarity in the organization, and commitment behind this change,” she explained.

She added that addressing the talent gap is another significant challenge for banks since the adoption of Gen AI necessitates a new skill set, prompting a shift in the talent mix.

She identified crucial roles such as product managers familiar with Gen AI, prompt engineers, translators, data engineers, and cloud engineers, saying that she advocates for consistent upskilling efforts across the workforce to adapt to these changes effectively.

Regarding specific skills for upskilling, Chung believes it’s not just about technical expertise as familiarity with Gen AI and its applications is essential. 

“This changes the traditional way of working,” she noted, highlighting the need for collaboration between data engineers and various functional experts to leverage Gen AI effectively.

“Change management is super critical when implementing Gen AI. It’s not just about modeling; it involves top-down alignment, role modeling from senior management, cultural change, and agility in the way of working,” she said.

She explained that this approach requires a shift in business processes, with a focus on prioritizing initiatives that have a tangible impact, thereby fostering an adaptive and receptive workforce. The transformation powered by Gen AI is not limited to technological adoption; it extends to a cultural and procedural overhaul within banking institutions.

“A lot of initiative needs to go into making sure that you know, what we prioritize actually gets an impact so that, you know, the workforce is actually much more adaptive and receptive of this change,” she said.