„Artificial intelligence is and will continue growing in significance as one of the main driving forces for us in the banking sector transformation process. Regardless of that the human factor in traditional banking networks does not lose, but on the contrary - is more and more gaining ground. In today’s environment, where people are exposed to so many fake news, cyber risks and uncertainty, customers are increasingly seeking human contact, to verify the information that is flooding them “, stated Christof De Mil, Chief Executive Officer of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) and Country Manager of KBC Group in Bulgaria, during the MoneyGrowth forum.

In the opinion of the leader of the biggest banking and insurance group in this country, banks have the scale and trust which represent the foundation of their competitiveness. That is why investments in digitalization and innovations (even beyond the banking sector) should be made in a manner which would simultaneously strengthen this competitive advantage and facilitate customers’ daily routine. „We should essentially remain of significance to the customer; we should be efficient and use the power of the human factor in our consultations. This is the foundation of the banking sector’s successful development in the future “.

„One thing is certain – we do not implement artificial intelligence for its own sake, nor adopt technologies for technologies’ sake“, he emphasized, and added: „We always look for the benefits, which artificial intelligence and the AI-based solutions can bring. There are three domains where we already apply it – improvement of customer experience, increase in employees’ productivity and enhancing the efficiency in a smart way and the full automation of transactions “. As an example of the use of AI the Country Manager of KBC Group in Bulgaria stated its integration in programming and in the IT domain through Github, as well as the use of Copilot in the daily work of employees.

As regards the customer-oriented processes driven by artificial intelligence he emphasized on the successful products from the car insurance segment of DZI. Through them a customer can file a claim electronically and literally within seconds to receive a reply, indicating whether the claim has been approved, the approximate amount and info as to where the car can be repaired. All this automated process is being run by artificial intelligence.

According to Mr. De Mil the AI potential and future applications are enormous, however for the time being the human factor remains an important part of the process, to avoid errors on the part of AI models, that could result in loss of trust.

He also commented on the topic of Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone and the present economic and geopolitical situation. „We do not observe any change in the risk appetite of banks after joining the eurozone, despite the additional liquidity, due to the release of the minimum required reserves. Interest rates are stable and the growth of lending is at levels, similar to those a year ago “, shared Christof De Mil. „As I have always pointed out, the euro and the very well capitalized and liquid banking sector can be factors supporting economic growth, however the main driver for it is still stable socio-economic policies. Implementation of such policies will be one of the main challenges to the new government. In addition to that it starts working in an unstable geopolitical environment, which exerts potential tension on the growth potential, further intensified by the inflationary pressure. This renders the task before the government even more complicated. “, he added.