Standard Chartered says smarter AI use beats cutting-edge tech

AI-powered environmental assessments could save 5,000 staff hours annually.

Banks should prioritise practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) over advanced models to improve productivity, according to Standard Chartered PLC.

Alvaro Garrido, the bank’s group chief information officer, said ease of use and integration matter more than marginal improvements in AI performance.

Standard Chartered expects AI-assisted environmental, social, and governance assessments to save 5,000 employee hours annually, whilst automated credit processes support 25,000 cases.

Garrido, who has two decades of technology, cybersecurity, and operations leadership experience at BBVA, Nordea, and other companies and oversees technology decisions affecting 86,000 employees, said generative AI alone would not provide a lasting competitive advantage.

Here is the rest of the interview:

What's the biggest misconception about your bank?
That Standard Chartered is a single country bank. Yes, we are domiciled in the UK, but we operate in 55 of the most dynamic markets of the world. Our strength is our differentiated international network and as the global economy evolves, the value of our network-led business is increasingly clear.

What's one banking tech trend that is overhyped?
I know this is a provocative view, but in my opinion, the most overhyped trend is the belief that Generative AI (GenAI) alone will differentiate banks. Most financial institutions will eventually have access to similar AI capabilities. The real competitive advantage will come from proprietary data, process transformation, governance, and how effectively AI is embedded into client and employee journeys. For us, AI is a catalyst, not a differentiator. It is a tool to help us meet this straightforward objective: Build a simpler, faster, and more efficient bank.

What is underhyped?
Evolving client preferences caused by technological innovation and adoption are accelerating disruption to traditional financial services, including through digital assets, stablecoins, and alternative financing models. But what is underhyped is the power of our bank’s model to innovate responsibly and sustainably, and to use our data, processes, governance, resilience, and intelligence to compete head-to-head with fintechs and other disruptors.

What's the biggest risk in the market?
Geopolitical uncertainty and economic fragmentation are creating complexity, but they are also creating new and diversified opportunities. Trade corridors are shifting and capital flows are moving differently. Wealth is growing in new markets. Technologies are changing what we can do and how we do it.

Where is AI genuinely useful today?
Notably, we have been using traditional machine learning for a number of years to combat cyberthreats and fraud. As for GenAI, we are seeing great value in enhancing employee productivity, hyper-personalisation of our client offering, optimisation of our technology, and operation processes.

AI aside, what technology should banks stop spending money on?
Custom integration around legacy platforms, duplicative data stores, manual reconciliations, tactical reporting solutions, and temporary fixes that become permanent. The future for us is all about strengthening the core by leveraging transversal platforms, specialisation at scale, and enabling client-focused innovation at the edge.

What's the hardest decision you've had to make this year?
Selecting the end-user AI solution for our employees. Advances in technology and digital capabilities, together with changing employee as well as client expectations, continue to transform our workplace.

Can you elaborate more on this? What factors did you take into consideration in selecting the right solution?
Part of why we selected Copilot versus the other potential options for end user AI and productivity suites is that we were already running a substantial amount of our computing power on Microsoft. So it was a very natural transition, from a governance, responsible AI, and risk perspective.

One of the things that people are very fixated on is frontier models, but there are times when at the productivity level, you don't need that extra  5%, 10% [boost]. What you need is the user experience and the integration. We found that by striking the balance between experience, performance, speak-to-market, risk and responsible AI.

Which competitor or industry player do you most admire?
As a nonexecutive director to the board of Hong Kong-based Mox Bank, one of our digital banks alongside Trust Bank in Singapore, I do pay attention to challengers that have invested in disruptive financial technology. I have my eye on Revolut, which is positioning itself not just as a digital bank, but a full-fledged distribution machine. Its product velocity, ‘one customer many products’ model, exceptional discipline to user experience, and its data-driven culture are all admirable qualities.

What will the banking industry look like in five years?
In five years, banking will look broadly the same to regulators, but very different to clients and employees. The market leaders will not be the banks with the best technology, but the banks that combine trusted balance sheets, great data, AI-enabled operations, and ecosystem distribution.

What question do you wish journalists would ask more about the banking industry?
The role that banks play in enabling economic growth. As a super-connector bank, Standard Chartered remains in a good position, while navigating a world that is undergoing some seismic transitions. But these trends actually play to our strengths as we operate at the intersection of trade, investment, and wealth flows, connecting clients across ever-evolving markets, while driving growth that will in turn uplift the communities we call home.