The UBS Group AG is training their employees to be artificial intelligence experts.
With the fast rise of AI development, there is increasing pressure on investment banks to use new technologies to maintain their competitive edge. As a result, UBS recruiters are testing candidates’ ability to use AI to their advantage. By automating laborious tasks, UBS believes that it can improve its operational effectiveness.
New employees at the bank are expected to prompt precisely, translate solutions into real actions, create structured data, interpret and analyze results and understand the regulations that govern AI in finance.
UBS has been using AI learning programs such as AI Citizen, AI Enabler Learning Journeys, Global Learning Weeks and AI Power Hour to expand employees’ skill sets since 2024.
At least 49,000 employees, more than half of the bank’s total workforce, are enrolled in an AI-related learning course.
Although AI has accelerated fears that investment bankers could one day be replaced, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co., a UBS competitor, said, “We’re going to be prepared to say, ’Okay, we love these people, they’re great, we’re going to take care of them. We’re going to give them re-skilling, new skills, better jobs, move them somewhere else, maybe early retirement.”
With more innovative tools on the way, the Red AI assistant and STAAT tool have been helping employees decrease the amount of time spent researching client opportunities and preparing client meetings.
Around 100,000 employees use Red, with 80 minutes per week being saved. By automating small tasks such as drafting and refining emails, the email open rates have increased by 16%. As stated on the official UBS website, by using AI powered tools, employees can “free up time for more meaningful client interactions and deeper engagement with clients’ individual needs.”
The exponential growth of AI development raises concerns about the risks of its use in the investment banking industry.
With the goal of controlled development, UBS joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Mind Forge AI Risk Management initiative in November 2024. Recently, the AI Operating & Risk Committee started making efforts to create new tests and measurements for AI.
As UBS gets more involved in AI, questions about AI’s role in the fundamentals of banking have become more prominent. Although UBS claims not to be using AI to replace workers, they are using AI to speed up existing, largely entry-level work.
“We aim to become an AI enabled financial institution where all our stakeholders such as clients, employees, and shareholders benefit from AI-powered tools, and where we build AI-driven capabilities to maximize our impact in a responsible and sustainable way,” UBS said in a statement
