Standard Chartered turns to AI in push to meet financial targets, cut legacy systems

Standard Chartered is utilizing AI to streamline operations, retiring dozens of software applications in the process. Diego De Giorgi, the CFO, states that the process consolidated 55 separate IT incident-tracking systems into one.

The bank also merged 40 programs into a single super app, managing everything from employee contracts to pension administration. Standard Chartered’s AI revamp is part of a broader digital transformation effort that the bank has undertaken across its global operations.

The lender has been quick to implement a shift to cloud-based infrastructure, expand partnerships with fintech firms, and modernize its core banking systems in recent years, aiming to reduce operational fragmentation in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Executives argue that the goal of aggressively consolidating legacy applications is not solely about cutting costs, but rather about building a leaner, more resilient stack of technologies to facilitate, for instance, real-time analytics, faster transaction processing, and more sophisticated risk modeling.

Through the deep embedding of artificial intelligence into workflows, Standard Chartered strives to offer faster services and eliminate operational bottlenecks, leading to better decision-making as competition intensifies across global markets.

De Giorgi further remarked, “As a CFO, you live with a lot of numbers and a lot of paper — you used to have to look at those numbers and that paper. Today, we almost talk to our numbers. We talk to our numbers and our numbers talk back to us. That’s one of the great powers of AI.”

Standard Chartered unveiled its ‘Fit for Growth’ program

Standard Chartered, following in HSBC’s footsteps, is rolling out its “Fit for Growth,” a bank-wide program with hundreds of cost-saving projects. Now in its second year, the three-year program is on track to achieve most of its savings between this year and the next.

Nonetheless, executives say the bank is already hitting its financial targets ahead of earlier projections. CEO Bill Winters also noted that artificial intelligence is already reshaping the bank’s approach to monitoring high volumes of transactions for security.

Last month, Samuel Mathew, Global Head of Documentary Trade at the bank, noted that leveraging artificial intelligence’s support capabilities would be the best way to realize its full potential.

He stated, “AI’s most impactful application in the short-term lies not in eliminating paper, but in intelligently enhancing companies’ abilities to process documents more efficiently and helping teams perform generic tasks better. The goal should not be blind automation, but intelligent augmentation.”

At the time, the bank noted that artificial intelligence tools can evaluate credit risk more precisely, anticipate potential defaults, and identify fraud patterns promptly. Additionally, the agents could automate workflows such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) checks. 

Moreover, it said AI tools are showing stronger performance in extracting and verifying trade document information.

25% of banks were utilizing AI for customer service and loan processing

Globally, more banks are experimenting with artificial intelligence and upskilling staff so they can apply it in their everyday roles. PwC found that institutions that fully embrace artificial intelligence could see their efficiency ratios improve by as much as 15 percentage points.

A May report from Boston Consulting Group found that 25% of financial institutions were using AI for customer engagement, loan processing, fraud monitoring, and compliance checks. Still, most economic authorities in emerging and developing economies are only beginning to use AI for core supervision, with some just starting tests and pilot projects.

Financial regulators that are already using artificial intelligence mostly rely on it to detect fraud, review complaints, and assess risk and compliance. Approximately one-quarter of authorities have formal AI guidelines, with only one-fifth of African regulators having them. Most others aim to set up an AI strategy or policy by July 2026.

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