Metrics Monthly | October 2019 | UK Edition

Will robots take over the finance industry? One of the big talking points in the finance industry this month is around automation and the question: “will machines replace people in the finance industry?”

But this doesn’t mean that people will be outright replaced by AI. According to currency conversion company Oanda, “AI is not expected to be able to take over the jobs of finance professionals in which a complex myriad of roles must be carried out. Rather, it is likely that it will help such professionals perform better, with richer data-driven takea- ways, more efficient processes, and automation of certain tasks.” This could result in management seeing a greater gain in employment power. Looking back at the past changes in the industry, the financial crisis and increased enforcement from financial crime regulators - such as the FCA - saw an increase in finance personnel across the world. Now, as we return to business as usual, resources are begin- ning to be optimised. One of the key ways that firms can do this is by using new technology to automate their pro- cesses. By automating stages in the lending process, such as underwriting, businesses are seeing huge savings as well as less errors and faster turn- around times.

We at LendingMetrics know that manual underwriting has a limited shelf-life and will eventually become a practice followed by only the very low volume lenders. Those looking to grow will need auto- mation to orchestrate as well as make sense of all the new, valuable and pre- dictive data being offered by CCR and Open Banking. What’s more, automa- tion cuts costs for businesses with fewer underwriting staff, lower credit search bills, more compliant lending and a better performing loan book. With the future of lending lying in auto- mated credit decisioning, our Auto Decision Platform (ADP) has proven to be the way forward for many lenders. Whilst the question of to what extent will robots replace people in the finance industry is still being heavily debated, the undeniable benefits of automation are clear: manual underwriting will soon become a thing of the past, as we move towards a technology-driven future.

In an interview with LinkedIn, James Athey from Aberdeen Standard Invest- ments states that one of two things will happen in the future: either, machines will replace people in certain jobs, or they will work alongside people to assist them, and we are already seeing a huge increase in the latter. In a recent article, the International Compliance Association argues that although automation may affect jobs at the more manual level, people will con- tinue to be needed, however the types of jobs that they do will change. Machines, more specifically artificial intelligence, are seen to be becom- ing more readily used in the finance industry, particularly regarding regula- tion. Repetitive positions in finance are being replaced with algorithms, thus lowering overhead costs and boosting productivity.

The only thing stranger than The Upside Down is manually processing your credit decisions. This Halloween, find out how ADP can automate your decisions by clicking the button below!

Auto Decision Platform

+44 (0) 2394 211010 | www.lendingmetrics.com

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