Shizuoka Bank conducts AI tests to enhance corporate lending services
The experiment, which will run until the end of June, will use data about financial transactions provided by the bank.
Japan’s financial services industry continues to be at the forefront of adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Earlier today, Shizuoka Bank Ltd (TYO:8355) announced that it will conduct an experiment using AI technology in an effort to enhance its corporate lending services.
The experiment will run from April 16, 2018 to June 30, 2018 and will use the “SX Score”, developed by SecondXight Inc, an expert in financial data analysis. The bank will analyze various data, including information about financial transactions. The “SX Score” is a credit risk assessment model, which takes into account certain characteristics of the clients and partners of the bank. During the experiment, the model will also assess the data about financial transactions and economic indicators.
Based on the AI technology, the bank will be able to better target its services and to consider more carefully the size and types of loans it offers to its clients, such as medium and small businesses.
This is not the first time Shizuoka Bank dives into the world of AI. In January 2018, the bank announced the launch of a “virtual staff” service. In its essence, the service represents a chatbot which is set to help the bank’s existing and potential customers get the information they need. The focus is on the FAQ section of the website and online banking.
The company underlines that the new service will be available outside of the bank’s business hours and during holidays too, in a move set to increase convenience for customers.
In November last year, Monex-Saison-Vanguard Investment Partners, Inc., a subsidiary of Monex Group, Inc. (TYO:8698), reported about an agreement with The Shizuoka Bank, Ltd. on the introduction of a robo-advisory service. Monex, Inc. has been offering the service above for a while, and Shizuoka Bank Group has agreed on a plan to introduce the service, with the launch originally scheduled for April 2018.
The robo-advisory service with discretional investment management will include asset management and asset control services, as the robo-advisors will be making investment decisions, executing transactions and consulting based on customers’ selection of investment purposes, risk tolerance, capital amount, target amount, etc. In addition, the robots will regularly conduct a follow-up of the investment plan and will reconsider it if necessary.
