The discussion around artificial intelligence has gained significant momentum in the finance industry. This is driven by the increasing prevalence of generic AI models that generate new content after learning patterns from training data.

For banks and asset managers, the question arises whether AI is still futuristic or already part of everyday business. During a Frankfurt Digital Finance event hosted by Börsen-Zeitung, participants exchanged views on the deployment of artificial intelligence in the credit industry and capital markets.

It quickly became apparent in the over-crowded room at Frankfurt's Palmengarten that consumer interest is a significant driver of this development. "AI will become commonplace in many areas. However, it takes more than just communicating with a chatbot or trying out ChatGPT," said Augustin Danciu, Director at Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe. Yet, the immediate experiences for consumers make the topic so relevant now.

Daniel Kapffer, a member of the Deka Bank Executive Board, pointed out that his institution has long been using AI, for example, to derive investment signals in fund management. The novelty lies in the trend towards generative AI. "As an industry, many use cases are now conceivable. For instance, there is the topic of targeted customer communication, as AI can work very well with texts." Such communications could then be combined with advertising guidelines. Nevertheless, nothing is currently sent out unchecked because it is too risky.

Efficiency enhancement through AI was a central theme of the discussion. "From supporting customer service to software development and streamlining processes," stated Kapffer. Thus, the application in the finance industry is a very broad topic, always raising questions about security. It's essential to carefully consider which documents to feed into AI.

For Thomas Stadje, Chapter Lead Data Scientists at Commerzbank, the current focus of application is primarily on determining in which cases employees can be supported by AI tools. "However, virtual advisory assistants are edging very close to the technical limits." The computational capacities in AI are enormous, added Kapffer.

Many use cases of artificial intelligence in the finance industry are currently not yet in productive use. "The applications are usually for very specific purposes," said Stadje from Commerzbank.

In the credit card business, creativity is less important than efficiency, emphasized Peter Robejsek, Managing Director of Mastercard Germany. AI is specifically used in fraud detection, aiming to identify as many patterns and variations as possible.

When it comes to efficiency, the notion of replacing humans with machines comes into play. "Certainly, it's about saving costs. But it's also about automating mundane tasks like reading 300-page annual reports," noted Kapffer. This would make jobs such as in rating or credit applications more interesting.

Ramin Mirza believes that creativity plays an important role in AI. "It's only a matter of time before the enormous increase in efficiency allows people to have more time, which they can use to become more creative," said the Vice President of Revenue at Aleph Alpha, a German AI startup. Kapffer, on the other hand, argues that AI hasn't yet altered business models and doesn't create fresh content. "AI will not replace the fund manager."