Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Artificial intelligence is set to transform banking by enabling more personalised services, anticipating customers’ financial needs and improving operational efficiency, but human judgement, trust and data protection must remain central to its adoption, banking executives and technology experts told a summit in Limassol on Tuesday.
Representatives of the Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank and UBS, alongside a University of Cyprus professor, discussed how AI could reshape the relationship between banks and their customers, while raising concerns about the growing autonomy of AI systems and the responsibilities of financial institutions.
The discussion, titled AI and the Reinvention of Mainstream Banking, formed part of the Forbes Cyprus Next Gen Banking & Fintech Summit, organised by Phileleftheros Media Group in cooperation with Capital S.A. at the Four Seasons Hotel. It was moderated by KPMG board member Christophoros P. Anayiotos.
Eurobank: From selling products to understanding customers
Andreas Assiotis, General Manager of Retail Banking at Eurobank, said artificial intelligence could help banks move from responding to customer requests towards anticipating their financial needs.
He argued that customers were ultimately interested in achieving personal financial goals rather than purchasing individual banking products.
“A customer doesn’t wake up and wants a mortgage. They want a home,” Assiotis said.
AI could help banks identify such needs earlier and offer relevant solutions, provided customers gave their consent and their information was used responsibly.
Assiotis said banking must remain centred on trust and human relationships, even as technology changes how services are delivered.
He also highlighted the potential for AI to accelerate lending procedures, while stressing that technology should support rather than replace professional judgement.
“We don’t want the technology to think for us,” he said.
Bank of Cyprus: AI will change how banks operate
Demetris Nicolaou, Chief Digital Officer at the Bank of Cyprus, said artificial intelligence would bring more fundamental changes than simply improving existing digital services.
Banks would increasingly be able to redesign entire processes rather than automate individual tasks, with AI systems helping them identify customers’ needs and offer assistance proactively.
“The real difference is what you do with the technology and how you apply it,” Nicolaou said.
He noted that Cyprus’s relatively small market could offer opportunities to test new approaches across a wider proportion of the population.
However, Nicolaou warned that AI-driven personalisation must benefit customers rather than primarily serve banks’ commercial interests.
If customers believed their data was being used disproportionately for the bank’s benefit, trust could be undermined, he said.
He referred to the Bank of Cyprus’s personal financial management tools, introduced in 2022, as an example of helping customers better understand their finances before recommending additional products.
UBS: Human judgement, accountability and trust remain vital
Laurent Rosfelder, Managing Director and Head of AI Adoption and Partnerships in Global Wealth Management at UBS, said the bank regarded artificial intelligence as a means of strengthening financial advisers’ capabilities rather than replacing them.
“There are three things that remain fundamentally human,” he said, identifying judgement, accountability and trust.
According to Rosfelder, AI can handle routine administrative work, analyse information and identify issues that advisers might otherwise overlook, allowing employees to spend more time with clients.
“We don’t look at AI as a way to reduce our number of client advisors,” he said.
He nevertheless acknowledged challenges surrounding autonomous AI agents, particularly the burden placed on employees responsible for reviewing their actions.
UBS was investing in training programmes to help staff and management adapt to the technology, he added.
Dovrolis: Caution over autonomous AI
Constantine Dovrolis, Professor of Computer Science and holder of the XM Chair in AI at the University of Cyprus, distinguished between established machine-learning applications, generative AI and the emerging generation of autonomous AI agents.
He said the latter could independently break down complex objectives into tasks, conduct research and propose strategies, creating considerable opportunities for businesses.
However, he cautioned against allowing such systems to implement decisions without human approval.
“Autonomy is a very dangerous thing these days when it comes to AI agents,” Dovrolis said.
He warned that AI systems might misinterpret instructions or pursue unintended methods of achieving their objectives, potentially creating serious risks in financial services.
The professor said banks should invest in helping employees work alongside AI rather than treating it simply as a replacement for human labour.
The panel highlighted both the potential of AI to transform banking and the importance of maintaining customer trust, professional responsibility and effective safeguards as the technology becomes more widely adopted.
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