As the artificial intelligence (AI) industry advances, more Korean banks are visiting CES (Consumer Electronics Show), the world's largest electronics and information technology (IT) trade show in the United States. With AI-driven services increasing, working-level staff in charge of related tasks are going to check the latest technology trends. Another goal is to help startups backed by the banks enter the U.S. market.
According to the banking sector on Jan. 7, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, and KakaoBank participated in this year's CES. Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is running an exhibition booth this year as it did last year. Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) operates the startup support platform "ChangGong," and since last year it has been attending CES with startups supported by ChangGong.
An Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) official said, "We are attending CES so that startup officials supported by ChangGong can connect with peers in the industry and investors." This year, 15 startups participated, including Wrtn Technologies, an AI platform company, and Duseul, a bio corporation.
Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is also demonstrating at CES a "new technology evaluation system" to be used in selecting corporations to receive ChangGong support. The system breaks away from the traditional framework of corporate evaluation centered on financial statements and analyzes and evaluates a corporation's future growth potential based on multiple indicators such as social impact and consumer preference.
Shinhan Bank, which previously participated in CES and ran a booth, has advanced the AI service "Digital Desk" it showcased at CES and is now operating it at about 100 branches nationwide. Digital Desk is a service that allows customers to handle tasks such as deposits, savings, and loans non-face-to-face using a device installed alongside ATMs even after banking hours.
As banks formed CES delegations, they minimized executives and maximized working-level staff. Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) sent 18 employees to this year's CES, and aside from the group head of the Innovation Finance Department, which oversees IT, the team was composed entirely of young working-level staff. Shinhan Bank last year formed a team of 33 working-level staff only and operated a booth.
A banking sector official said, "AI is emerging as new infrastructure in finance. There is a trend of sending young employees to CES to avoid falling behind the curve."