For all the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to transform the financial sector, one of the world's largest multinational banks believes that customers will still want to talk to a human. Standard Chartered, a London-headquartered bank with a strong presence in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, is pursuing a strategy that places the individual — both employees and clients — at the center of its AI transformation.

During a recent fireside chat at the Gitex AI Asia 2026 conference in Singapore, Alvaro Garrido, the bank's chief operating officer for technology and operations and CIO for information security and data, outlined how the financial institution is managing the deployment of AI across its global footprint. He described the technology not as a tool for mass automation and cost-cutting but as an "injection of support" for the workforce. To that end, the company has enrolled some 80,000 employees in internal AI training programmes, of which roughly 33,000 have already completed coursework.

"We always debated whether it's a technology-driven journey, an output-driven journey or a cost-reduction journey," Garrido told Zina Cinker, a condensed matter physicist and exponential technology strategist who moderated the discussion. "For us, we put the individual at the centre, because people are actually driving the transformation in the bank."

The financial sector has long been perceived as traditional and risk-averse, dealing intimately with people's livelihoods. Yet beneath the surface, Standard Chartered is integrating AI and machine learning deep into its operations. Beyond front-end customer service, the bank is also using the technology to power self-healing infrastructure that detects system anomalies and to combat sophisticated financial crime and fraud.

But when it comes to sensitive decisions such as credit assessments, the bank remains cautious. "For every process that we are injecting AI into, we absolutely make sure that all the ethical evaluations for any model [are done] to mitigate bias. We like to believe that there's always a human in the loop," Garrido said.

Paradoxically, he added, applying the technology rigorously could eventually lead to a "much more objective way to deliver credit" by analysing data points that human loan officers might overlook. This reflects a broader tension in the banking industry: while AI can process vast amounts of data and identify patterns, humans are still needed to interpret nuanced situations and ensure fairness.

Standard Chartered operates in highly regulated markets from the UK and the United Arab Emirates to China and Singapore. This presents a patchwork of regulatory frameworks for any global bank. However, Garrido praised the Monetary Authority of Singapore as one of the most progressive and decisive regulators in the world, noting that the agency's speed often challenges the bank to innovate faster just to keep up.

To manage cross-border deployment complexities, Standard Chartered builds its AI capabilities on a centralised, highly standardised technology foundation, leaving localised customisation to regional teams. The bank has also developed safe ways for teams to train AI models using production data, rather than relying on the synthetic or obfuscated data used in the past.

Yet, even with internal safeguards, the rapid adoption of AI brings significant risks. As an executive who also oversees the bank's cyber security operations, Garrido said his primary concern remains the fragility of the financial and technology supply chain. "We do not operate in isolation," he said, pointing to the bank's reliance on software vendors and its supplier relationships with Wall Street counterparties. "That entire ecosystem is only as strong as the weakest link."

This perspective is particularly relevant given the increasing interconnectedness of financial systems. A breach at a third-party vendor could cascade through the network, affecting multiple institutions. Standard Chartered is therefore investing not only in its own defences but also in vetting and monitoring its partners.

Ultimately, Garrido argued that AI will handle the laborious data crunching, such as analysing a client's risk appetite and market performance, so that human relationship managers can spend more time advising their clients. This vision aligns with the bank's broader strategy of using AI to augment, not replace, human expertise.

Looking ahead, Garrido predicts a future where AI becomes so integral to business operations that dedicated executive roles for AI may become obsolete. "There's not going to be a head of AI," he said, adding that just as compute is now embedded in everyday life, AI will soon just be the way business is done. "It's still a little bit of a retrofit, still getting into an existing process, and that's going to go away. Start thinking AI first, rather than as an afterthought."

The bank's approach stands in contrast to some competitors that have rushed to replace human workers with chatbots and automated systems. While such moves may produce short-term efficiency gains, they risk alienating customers who value personal interaction — especially for complex financial products like mortgages, wealth management, and corporate loans.

Standard Chartered's emphasis on training is also noteworthy. With 80,000 employees enrolled in AI programmes, the bank is building a workforce that can work alongside intelligent systems. This upskilling effort covers not only technical skills but also ethical considerations, ensuring that staff understand the limitations and biases inherent in AI models.

The bank's use of AI for fraud detection is particularly advanced. Machine learning models analyze transaction patterns in real time, flagging suspicious activities that might escape human attention. At the same time, self-healing infrastructure uses AI to automatically detect and resolve system anomalies, reducing downtime and improving reliability.

Despite these advances, Garrido emphasized that AI will never replace the human element entirely. "We like to believe that there's always a human in the loop," he said, particularly for decisions that affect customers' financial well-being. This human oversight is crucial for maintaining trust in the banking system.

The regulatory environment in Singapore has been a key enabler of the bank's AI strategy. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued guidelines encouraging responsible AI adoption, including principles of fairness, ethics, accountability, and transparency. This clarity allows banks to innovate with confidence, knowing the regulatory boundaries.

In other markets, the picture is more complex. For instance, in China, the bank must navigate data localization requirements and government oversight. In the UK, post-Brexit regulations add another layer of complexity. Standard Chartered's centralized platform approach helps ensure compliance while allowing regional teams to adapt to local laws.

As AI continues to evolve, the bank is also exploring generative AI applications for internal use, such as drafting reports, summarizing regulatory documents, and generating code. However, these use cases are still in pilot stages, with careful testing to avoid errors or biases.

Garrido's warning about supply chain fragility underscores a broader challenge for the financial industry. Banks are increasingly dependent on a handful of large technology providers and cloud platforms. Concentration risk poses a systemic threat, and regulators are beginning to scrutinize these relationships more closely.

Standard Chartered's strategy of betting on the human touch may seem counterintuitive in an era of rapid automation, but it reflects a deep understanding of customer psychology. People trust people, especially when it comes to their money. By using AI to empower employees rather than replace them, the bank hopes to build stronger relationships and differentiate itself in a crowded market.

The future of banking may be digital, but Standard Chartered believes it will also remain deeply human. As Garrido put it, AI is not an end in itself but a tool to help people do their jobs better. The bank's ongoing investments in training, infrastructure, and ethical governance suggest that this philosophy is more than just rhetoric — it's a core part of its business strategy.

Source: ComputerWeekly.com News