The financial services industry is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence technologies, though the path to monetization remains unclear despite significant productivity improvements.
Current state of AI adoption: Major financial institutions are implementing AI across multiple business functions, with a primary focus on operational efficiency and internal processes.
- Goldman Sachs reports potential coding productivity improvements of 20-30% among their 11,000 engineers through AI implementation
- BNY Mellon has democratized AI access, enabling thousands of employees to build and deploy AI agents for daily tasks
- Banks are successfully using AI for virtual client assistants and supporting functions in human resources, risk management, compliance, and finance
Productivity gains vs revenue generation: While AI is delivering measurable efficiency improvements, financial institutions are still struggling to translate these advances into direct revenue growth.
- Equity research teams have seen report production time cut from over 4 hours to less than 1 hour per day
- BMO Financial Group’s Chief AI Officer Kristin Milchanowski acknowledges that revenue-generating AI applications remain elusive
- The technology has proven most valuable in streamlining internal operations and reducing time-intensive manual tasks
Implementation challenges: Financial institutions are navigating the complexities of integrating AI while managing expectations and identifying practical applications.
- Banks are actively seeking specific use cases that can demonstrate clear return on investment
- Future applications being explored include trade optimization and client generation systems
- The initial enthusiasm around AI’s potential impact on revenue and cost reduction has been tempered by implementation realities
Looking ahead: The banking sector’s experience with AI highlights the gap between technological potential and practical business application, suggesting that monetization strategies may require longer-term perspective and more targeted approaches.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...