AI IN FINANCIAL SERVICES Summit 2023

The advent of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) has put the potential of AI firmly onto the boardroom agenda of all financial services companies. 

This third edition of this conference series explored how AI is currently being deployed in the financial services industry and considered potential future applications as the technology matures. The use cases that will be discussed included: the potential for combining AI and blockchain in fund management, integrating Chat GPT safely into an FS company, improving customer service through AI, harnessing AI to fight fraud and financial crime, and using AI in underwriting risk for insurers.

The programme also examined the latest relevant policy developments at the Department of Science and Technology, DRCF, the Bank of England, the FCA, the ICO, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Alan Turing Institute. In addition, delegates heard directly from leading financial institutions about their AI deployment.

While the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to society, including the business community, are enormous, there has been a great deal of focus recently on how best AI models should be regulated to avoid any potential adverse consequences.

City & Financial Global’s timely global summit on this subject brought together some of the foremost experts to consider the various regulatory approaches that are being adopted internationally, the key legal issues involved in AI and how regulation can be coordinated at a supranational level to avoid regulatory arbitrage.

The confluence of Big Data, Cloud Computing and AI has revolutionised the opportunities and threats that data presents to data-intensive industries such as financial services. The industry’s experience of crisis response has shown the potential risks of data sharing to the firms and their customers. As the regulatory landscape evolves, it is becoming increasingly important to understand a) what is driving data risks in your organisation and b) how to stay alert to far greater scrutiny from regulators, who want financial services firms to build a strong data culture to ensure responsible, transparent and ethical use of machine learning and data analytics. Of course, the opportunities are also huge: AI-driven data analytics can massively increase personalisation of financial products and the granularity of risk assessment.

For fintech founders and entrepreneurs, one of the big questions is which financial centre provides the best ecosystem in which to scale up and deliver on their business plans? The UK is arguably still the leading centre. It was the first country to launch a regulatory sandbox (now in its second phase) to catapult exciting and innovative new products to market. It has pioneered Open Banking, a concept that is now being widely copied around the world. It also launched the Global Innovation Network to bring the international regulatory community together in order to test innovative fintech solutions. However, no financial centre can afford to rest on its laurels in this fiercely contested area. The UK is moving swiftly to implement the Kalifa Review’s recommendations to make it even more attractive. At the same time, other international centres are rapidly improving their offerings.

City and Financial Global was pleased to announce the next edition of the Regulation and Risk Management of AI in Financial Services Summit, which took place in Central London on the 9th of November. This high-profile conference built on the success of our well-established Digital, Technology and Data events portfolio, which have become “must attend” gatherings for senior decision-makers in the UK financial services industry and beyond.

Building on the work of the Artificial Intelligence Public Private Forum, convened by the Bank of England and the FCA, the Regulation and Risk Management of AI in Financial Services Summit focused on how best to adapt regulation and best practice risk management to facilitate increased use of AI in financial services, with specific reference to model risk management, data protection and standards, strategic  boardroom issues, governance, ethics and the role of senior management.

We were delighted that Chris Philp MP, Minister for Digital Infrastructure,  Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, had agreed to give the opening keynote address at the summit.

Financial services companies have been investing heavily for more than a decade in data collection and processing technologies in order to realise the potential competitive advantage inherent in the enormous data sets that they have accumulated and to improve their offerings to customers. They have developed sophisticated tools such as customer analytics, real-time analytics and predictive analytics to assist them in reaping these benefits.