Days after report claims HSBC to use AI to cut costs and improve performance, British bank appoints first chief AI officer

HSBC has appointed David Rice as its first-ever chief AI officer. Rice, previously the chief operating officer for HSBC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking business, will take office on April 1. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, this move comes as the British bank reportedly seeks to cut costs and improve performance by increasing the use of generative AI across its businesses worldwide.This comes after the bank’s CEO, Georges Elhedery, identified AI as a key part of the bank’s broader strategy to raise its return on tangible equity to above 17% between 2026 and 2028. This can be done with the support of savings from automating and streamlining processes.Earlier this month, Bloomberg News also reported that HSBC could ultimately cut 20,000 roles, adding that the plans were at an early stage and that no decisions had been taken. Moreover, HSBC has not disclosed how many jobs it may cut as a result of AI improvements.Along with David’s appointment, HSBC said it is also expanding Mario Shamtani's role as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to support the wider use of AI. His work will include updating core systems, building a central AI platform for employees to use different models, and managing key partnerships.In a blog post, the British bank wrote, “This new role provides clear enterprise leadership for AI adoption within HSBC in support of its ambition to build a bank designed for the future by embedding AI solutions that benefit colleagues and customers.The appointment comes as part of a wider focus on deploying AI at scale across HSBC by making generative AI tools available to all staff to simplify processes, procedures and policies, and equip customer-facing colleagues with the AI tools they need to deliver more personalised services.” Commencing on the appointment, Elhedery said, “Our customers increasingly expect their bank to deliver services uniquely aligned to their specific needs, and fast. That’s why we’re building a bank that is designed for the future. AI plays a key role in how we get there.Our ambition here is simple – we will empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalised experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core. David will be instrumental in helping us realise our ambition in this area.”“AI is going to play an ever-increasing role in HSBC’s future plans, so I am thrilled to take on this new role to help us drive forward our transformation agenda,” Rice noted.This comes as banks around the world are using AI to improve tasks such as coding, fraud detection, and credit apps. Yet, having a dedicated head of AI is uncommon in large global banks, the Reuters report notes. Many other banks include AI responsibilities under the broader role of their chief technology officer.During a conference call with investors, Elhedery said (as reviewed by Reuters), "If you ask me where is the biggest investment going into new technology today, it is definitely going into generative Al.”