Updated 23 March 2026 at 20:32 IST
HSBC Appoints First Chief AI Officer As It Seeks Cost Cuts
Having a formal head of AI is relatively unusual for big global banks. Many rivals make AI responsibilities part of a chief technology officer's wider remit.
HSBC has appointed David Rice as its first chief AI officer, the British bank said on Monday, as it seeks to cut costs and improve performance by increasing the use of generative AI technology across its businesses worldwide.
HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery has highlighted AI as the key to the bank's wider strategic goal of increasing its return on tangible equity to above 17 per cent for 2026-2028, via savings from automating and streamlining its processes.
Rice was previously the chief operating officer for HSBC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking business.
Banks worldwide are trying to harness AI to improve tasks such as coding, fraud detection, and credit applications.
"If you ask me where is the biggest investment going into new technology today, it is definitely going into generative AI," Elhedery told investors on a conference call on February 25.
Having a formal head of AI is relatively unusual for big global banks. Many rivals make AI responsibilities part of a chief technology officer's wider remit.
HSBC has not disclosed how many jobs it may cut as a result of AI improvements. Bloomberg News reported earlier this month the bank could ultimately shed 20,000 roles, saying the plans were at an early stage and no decisions had been taken.
Published By : Shubham Verma
Published On: 23 March 2026 at 20:32 IST