2024 is set to be a busy year for the UK, with Donald Trump being re-elected as President of the United States, interest rates slightly declining, and geopolitical tensions intensifying. As the new year approaches, Bloomberg News has interviewed several CEOs in the UK to discuss their outlook for 2025. These CEOs come from various industries, including finance, construction, and energy, sharing their insights on key themes for the coming years. Image source note: The image is AI-generated, with licensing provided by Midjourney.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the work practices in the banking and accounting sectors are undergoing significant transformation, raising the risk of layoffs. Multiple unions have issued warnings urging the industry to prepare for the impending wave of layoffs. The application of AI technology is gradually replacing traditional positions, such as financial analysis and data entry, tasks that previously required human effort are now being quickly and efficiently resolved by AI. This not only affects the job stability of existing employees but may also reduce new employment opportunities. Unions emphasize that businesses should pay attention to employee rights while promoting technological innovation.

Generation Z in Singapore exhibits remarkable awareness and optimism towards generative artificial intelligence, with 84% of respondents familiar with the technology and 80% optimistic about its potential in the banking industry. Over 60% of Gen Z consumers show strong interest in the diversity of AI applications in banking services, particularly in fraud detection and answering inquiries about banking products. Nearly 70% of consumers hope to use AI for retirement planning, bill payment updates, and expense tracking analysis. Gen Z's interest in AI personal shopping assistants is especially notable, with 43% having already experienced AI in online shopping.

Citi's Chief Analytics Technology and Innovation Officer explores the impact of generative AI on the bank. Citi leverages generative AI to assist customer service, automate tasks, and enhance internal search processes. The bank is cautious about the risks posed by external chatbots and has not yet launched them, emphasizing a careful approach. Generative AI is driving internal transformation at Citi, ensuring responsible execution.

The European Central Bank is leveraging generative artificial intelligence technology to enhance banking regulation. Gen AI technology facilitates regulatory staff in managing their oversight tasks more efficiently. The ECB has developed multiple applications and platform services for over 3,500 users. Gen AI is beginning to flourish in the European financial services sector.

The AI Artificial Intelligence Platform Banking Copilot, developed by Sifang Jingchuang in collaboration with Microsoft, has preliminarily completed the POC (Proof of Concept) testing with banks.

According to McKinsey's latest article, generative AI could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion in value to various industries globally each year. The banking sector is expected to achieve potential annual profits of $200 billion to $340 billion, equivalent to 9% to 15% of operating profits. To adopt generative AI, banks need to implement change management in areas such as leadership alignment, accountability in business units, and value-centered use cases. To ensure success, the article outlines seven key dimensions, including strategic planning, talent, technology, data, and risk control.

Moody's provides employees with Google Cloud's large language models to quickly sift through public information and corporate databases, assisting them in writing analytical reports with the goal of increasing employee participation in such tasks. The software leaves an electronic trail showing the sources of cited information to prevent hallucinations produced by technology. It helps banking employees rapidly assess whether to accept small business clients by searching for risks in the clients' financial disclosures. Employees can make quick judgments based on research provided by the software, saving significant amounts of time compared to the past. The software also enables employees unfamiliar with the language of the field to engage with the information.