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OCBC the first bank in Singapore to set up its own artificial intelligence unit

OCBC the first bank in Singapore to set up its own artificial intelligence unit

OCBC Bank recently announced
that it will adopt an AI-first strategy in developing digital capabilities. With an initial
investment of S$10 million over three years, the pioneering team of three data
scientists will drive the adoption of AI across banking services such as wealth
advisory and loans financing.

The goal is to deliver greater value to customers by giving
them access to banking services through natural user interfaces that are seamless
and convenient, as well as targeted and tailored products and services that are
contextually relevant, driven by machine learning.

The AI unit sits within the Open Vault at OCBC (TOV), OCBC
Bank’s Fintech and Innovation Group, and is named AI Lab@TOV. The AI unit will
serve as a test bed for all new AI technologies and will demonstrate the
feasibility of new technology before it is integrated into the bank’s existing
systems.

Leveraging OCBC Bank’s data sandbox and application
programme interfaces (APIs) to experiment with real-life anonymous customer
data in a secure environment, the unit will generate proofs-of-concept that can
be rapidly tested.

AI Lab@TOV aims to double its headcount within a year to
manage the surge in AI technologies that the bank plans to implement.

“With the set-up of our very own AI lab, we are able to
experiment for the first time with deep learning neural networks and graphics
processing units, which are heavily used in the gaming industry and hardly used
in banking. This is an exciting new space to be in, especially for banking, and
we welcome talent who have the passion to develop something new and fresh for
the industry,” said Head of AI Lab@TOV Mr Ken Wong.

According to Mr Pranav Seth, Head of E-Business, Business
Transformation and Fintech and Innovation Group, AI is going to redefine all
aspects of banking – from the way bank interacts with customers digitally, to
the way it helps them make faster and better financial decisions.

Since 2016, OCBC Bank has been leveraging AI to increase
operational efficiency and derive new revenue streams. It launched the
AI-powered chatbot Emma which was developed with Fintech startup Cognicor to
respond to customers’ queries on home and renovation loans. Last year, it also
partnered a fintech firm to use its AI solution to identify potential
suspicious transactions. The solution has reduced the volume of transactions
reviewed by anti-money laundering compliance analysts by 35% and increased the
accuracy rate of identifying suspicious transactions by more than four times.

Leveraging new AI technologies

AI Lab@TOV is experimenting with natural language and speech
processing technologies. Leveraging on research and technology from the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), AI Lab@TOV is developing AI
technology that can recognise and understand local accents accurately, such as
the Singaporean accent.

If successful, the technology could be used to create
chatbot services that can respond to customers using voice messaging. This solution
could also enable customers to fill in banking forms digitally simply by having
a phone conversation with their relationship manager.

AI Lab@TOV will also work with Amazon Web Services (AWS)
DeepLens, the world’s first deep learning video camera for developers. Deep
learning is a machine learning technique that uses neural networks to learn and
make predictions. Supported by AWS Professional Services consulting and
training, this AI technology will provide a more personalised experience to
OCBC customers by leveraging facial recognition technology, and could be
deployed at OCBC Bank branches or ATMs.

Developing AI talent

In addition to hiring data science talents with AI
expertise, the AI Lab@TOV will serve as a specialised training centre to
further develop the data science skills of data analysts and technologists
within the bank.

Through specialised workshops run by AI Lab@TOV, OCBC Bank
data analysts and technologists will learn AI modelling and predictive machine
learning, which are core skills in employing AI.

Internal hackathons will also be organised to extract new
ideas from OCBC Bank employees across different banking divisions on the use of
AI for various aspects of banking. This will propagate the use of AI in even
more banking products and services outside this AI unit.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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