APB hosts evening program on “Gen AI – A paradigm shift in banking?”

The Association of Professional Banks hosted an evening program for its members and non-members on Generative AI under the timely topic “Gen AI – A paradigm shift in banking?”

APB organised the evening forum in collaboration with the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) India, inviting two diverse speakers from BCG Anshuman Upadhyaya and Dipayan Chakraborty, to share their insights and hands-on experiences on the subject topic. 

Out of the two speakers, Anshuman is a Partner at the Boston Consulting Group and specialises in business led digital transformations. He is a person who is deeply passionate in using the power of digital and AI to create a stepping change in business trajectories through disruptive customer journeys, hyper personalisation and scaling up digital acquisitions. Similarly, Dipayan, is a Data Science and AI professional with 22 years of experience. He has led large data teams at Myntra, Flipkart and HSBC in the past, and currently serves as a Vice President at BCG’s AI practice and is driving Gen AI projects for the Indian clientele.

The event took place on 18 June 2024, at the Bank of Ceylon Auditorium from 5.30 p.m. onwards. The venue was filled to maximum capacity with around 240 enthusiastic participants, including distinguished participants from the banking sector represented by APB President Halin Hettigoda, the Senior Vice President Anton Arumugam and council members of the APB. 

Hettigoda, welcoming the gathering, highlighted the fact that AI is now playing a pivotal role in banking, and is a game-changer for the banking industry. He mentioned that banks would be able to evaluate client databases in a more personalised and efficient manner enabling sound decision making and providing a dynamic banking service to their customers.  

The program was an engaging 2-hour session on AI and GEN AI, where the speakers explained what AI means for the banking business, the changing landscape of the banking arena due to Gen AI and the challenges, which would have to be faced due to this paradigm shift. The presentations of the speakers were followed by a panel discussion. The panel discussion included the two BCG speakers and was moderated by Seylan Bank PLC Chief Information Officer Harsha Wanigatunga Chief Information Officer, adding more flavour to the topic with his expertise and experience in the technology field.     

The evening program was an initiative of the Continuous Professional Development Committee (CPDC) of the APB, chaired by Ramonez Perera and a dynamic team. This program, being the first CPDC event for the calendar year, turned out to be an overwhelming success, endorsing the much-needed insight for the banking fraternity on the subject topic.   

The program ended with tokens of appreciation being awarded to the panelists by the dignitaries of the APB.