Paul Thwaite, the CEO of Natwest has admitted that artificial intelligence (AI) AI will take over some jobs in the banking industry.
The bank boss, who already employs increasing numbers of people in software and AI-related roles, said he did not know for certain if the company’s 60,000-strong workforce would shrink over the next decade but admitted it is ‘is definitely going to change’.
Speaking at a business summit hosted by The Times newspaper he said: ‘In effect there will be roles that currently exist that absolutely to all intents and purposes [will be] delivered by AI.’
Thwaite’s comments come after other banking bosses sounded alarm bells about AI deployment and its impact on the jobs market.
Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters came under heavy fire last month and was forced to apologise after describing staff facing job cuts as ‘lower value human capital’ – as the bank announced 8,000 roles would be replaced with AI.
But Patrick Sullivan, CEO of the Parliament Street think tank hit out at the comments. He said: “Another day, another city chief scaremongering the workforce without due consideration for the consequences. What we need from finance chiefs is a clear action plan for how tools like AI will reshape the jobs market and turbocharge the economy.”
Kenny MacAulay, CEO of accounting platform Acting Office said: "AI will undoubtedly replace jobs, but what's never talked about is the new roles it will help create. The banking and finance industry is notorious for mismanaging tech deployments, creating expensive and ineffective IT estates. AI will indeed sweep away crumbling systems and streamline a new wave of productivity. But these systems will still need to be reviewed, fine-tuned and modelled, leading to an eventual net gain in job creation."
Security expert Charlotte Wilson, Head of Enterprise at Check Point Software said: "Every AI job replacement opens up organisations to a potential new cyber risk. As financial services institutions race to roll out agentic functions, few are giving due care and consideration to the consequences in terms of security.
“AI is information, not wisdom, it can be compromised and manipulated in the wrong hands. Each programme must be carefully considered in terms of cyber defences and privacy concerns and where possible a human should be in the loop"
