From personalized financial products to risk management, the financial sector is innovating with AI.

Samjong KPMG: “Increase in Investment in AI and ML by Global Top 50 Banks”
Financial Companies Enhancing AI-Based Transaction Monitoring Systems to Counter Financial Fraud Proactively
Concerns about Data Bias and Personal Information Leakage, Response Needed for Responsible AI Usage, ‘Amid the continuous development of artificial intelligence (AI) based on heightened computing power and popularization of big data, trends in AI investments and technology usage in the global financial sector have been presented.’,
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, ‘According to the report ‘AI Boosting Finance’ published by Samjong KPMG on the 27th, investments related to AI by global top 50 banks have increased in terms of transaction volume since 2016. The proportion of AI and machine learning (ML) investments has significantly increased from 0.2% ten years ago to 4.0% in 2023.’,
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, ‘Regional investments in AI companies are concentrated in North America, with a 14.4% increase in Europe’s share in 2023 compared to the previous year. While large deals have decreased, various AI companies, such as the U.S.’s SirionLabs ($110 million), Austria’s GoStudent ($95 million), and Canada’s Certn ($80 million), have successfully raised funds. In terms of investment types, venture capital (VC) investments accounted for 90.6%, with late-stage VC investments in companies with stable revenue models comprising the majority.’,
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, ‘Over the past 5 years (2019–2023), the business models of major AI companies invested in by the global top 50 banks have varied from cloud-based platforms for AI development and management (Databricks) to transportation matching platforms (Frete.com). The countries of the major investee companies also varied, including the U.S., China, France, and Brazil.’,
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, ‘The use of AI in the financial services sector has been expanding from personnel and risk management to marketing. With advancements in natural language processing and generative AI, this trend is expected to accelerate.’,
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, ‘In the front office, flexible responses to customer inquiries are provided using AI chatbots. Personalized services through AI virtual assistants, such as BoA’s Erica and RBC’s NOMI, are also in development. Vanguard and DBS have introduced robo-advisor services that recommend investment plans and portfolio configurations based on customers’ goals and investment preferences, utilizing generative AI and advanced algorithms to differentiate their services.’,
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, ‘In the middle office, AI and ML-based transaction monitoring systems trained on user records and abnormal transaction information are used to provide fraud detection services tailored to customers’ usage patterns. Mastercard and Visa have built AI models to detect fraudulent payments in real time, thereby preventing losses. As global regulatory compliance complexity increases, examples are seen of U.S. banks like Citibank, Valley Bank, and Australia’s Commonwealth Bank collaborating with AI platform companies or solution providers.’,
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, ‘In the back office, the focus is on operational efficiency through AI and speeding up service processes. Companies like Swiss Re, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, and JPMorgan Chase are saving time in medical and legal document review and analysis using AI, while Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays are achieving efficiency by automating tasks such as summarizing financial reports.’,
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, ‘Concerns about data bias, discrimination, personal information leakage, and lack of interpretability related to AI usage have increased the need for ‘Responsible AI’ adoption and the establishment of AI governance systems within organizations.’,
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, “The EU, for the first time in the world, has created AI laws that differentiate regulation levels based on AI risk, while the Biden administration in the U.S. emphasizes the evaluation of AI model stability, setting standards, and personal data protection through executive orders. Korea is in the process of establishing a series of policies aimed at activating AI utilization in the financial sector and enhancing trust, starting with the ‘AI Guidelines for the Financial Sector’ in 2021. A ‘Financial Sector AI Council’ is planned to be launched in March 2024 to discuss policy directions for promoting generative AI utilization and ensuring safety through network separation, ensuring high-quality data, and more.”,
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, ‘Jeong-geun Lee, head of the Samjong KPMG AI Center, forecasted that “Beyond traditional areas such as credit scoring, robo-advisors, chatbots, recommendations, and anomaly detection, the pace of innovation across the entire financial value chain will accelerate through the use of generative AI.” He emphasized, “When Korean financial institutions pursue AI initiatives, it is important to set AI goals for achieving business outcomes and establish AI architecture for financial security regulation and secure and ethical AI governance.”‘,
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