Navigating Challenges for Sustainable Cost Optimization in Banks

In this article from Global Finance Magazine, Andrew Groth (EVP and Financial Services Regional Head of Asia-Pacific), explores the recent Infosys report, Banking on continuous improvement.

As per the report, banks in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific were surveyed on their digital transformation strategies in the context of cost optimization. More than half (52%) of senior technology executives highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as top investment priorities for the next year.

Although cost optimization initiatives offer significant benefits, banks’ efforts in this area have been inconsistent and yielded limited results. When survey respondents were asked about the barriers to sustaining these initiatives at their banks, three key challenges emerged:

• Reluctance to tackle systemic change
• Prioritizing growth over efficiency
• A cultural aversion to change

Groth shares his thoughts on how AI-first in banking is changing the game. Process automation and end-to-end digitization eliminate error-prone manual processes and result in significant efficiency advantages for banks worldwide.