As artificial intelligence continues to advance, the Hong Kong central bank is actively working on…
As artificial intelligence continues to advance, the Hong Kong central bank is actively evaluating its potential impact on those working in the banking sector.
On May 23, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the central bank of the SAR, urged financial institutions to plan workforce development and training strategies, as the effects of artificial intelligence is starting to emerge in the banking space.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen said some financial institutions had already reskilled their staff for new roles in anticipation of technological advances.
He said some banks see 2% of their employees moving to new roles after training programs. Yuen wrote:
“These success stories include retraining frontline staff in bank branches and redeploying them to other functional areas such as wealth management, risk management, compliance, etc.”
As this happened in 2022, the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urged banks to respond similarly to the rise of AI. Yuen believes the industry needs to proactively plan for workforce development.
The head of the central bank believes that improving the knowledge and skills of employees could allow them to “coexist with technology in the era of artificial intelligence”.
For this reason, Yuen said the central bank had also updated its supervisory policy manual on capacity building. In its update, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said banks must set a clear future direction on workforce development.
Additionally, the executive said banks must develop strategies to meet their talent needs, including allocating resources to train employees.
To support the sector, Yuen also announced that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority would conduct a study on the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs within the banking sector. The executive said this would provide a benchmark for the industry and enable it to better support affected employees in their possible progression to other roles.
about: Near plans AI agent to help users program decentralized applications
At the same time, Yuen believes that talents are needed for the development of the banking sector to be sustainable. Currently, the “full impact” of generative AI on traditional human jobs has not been seen, the executive said.
Despite this, the executive hopes that through collaborative efforts, the region’s banking sector can be “well placed to maximize the benefits of technology while minimizing its impact on the job market.”
review: Binance responds to WSJ, Hong Kong crypto ETFs take the equivalent of $50 billion: Asia Express
