Strategic Alliance Between FAB And Microsoft Sets To Innovate Global Financial Services

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE's largest bank, has entered into a strategic business partnership with Microsoft, a global technology leader, to develop new AI-based banking capabilities. This collaboration marks the launch of an 'AI Innovation Hub' dedicated to financial services, aiming to foster innovation, sustainability, and enhance customer experience. The hub is set to focus on three main areas: AI-driven innovation, global growth, and shaping the future of financial market ecosystems.

The AI Innovation Hub is poised to accelerate the integration of innovations and AI technology into financial services. This includes product enhancement, personalisation, unique AI risk models, new solutions, and other technological advances. This initiative builds on FAB’s ongoing efforts in AI and its partnership with G42. Recently, FAB teamed up with Core42, a G42 company, to expedite the migration of FAB’s data centre and workload to Microsoft Azure. This move grants FAB access to Azure's leading cloud and AI solutions.

FAB has been at the forefront of technological innovation within the banking sector. It has successfully integrated its suite of products and services into a digitally driven service model. The bank is incorporating AI and blockchain technologies into its platform, offering customers a seamless digital banking experience from account opening to everyday service requests.

This initiative aligns with the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, which aims to position the UAE as a global leader in AI. The strategy focuses on creating an AI-friendly ecosystem, promoting advanced research in the sector, and fostering collaboration to speed up AI adoption.

Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer at FAB, commented on the partnership, stating that the AI Innovation Hub signifies another milestone in the bank's innovative agenda. "In partnering with Microsoft, we are demonstrating our ambition to accelerate advances in generative AI, intelligent automation, and machine learning," she said.

Naim Yazbeck, UAE General Manager at Microsoft Gulf, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration. "This strategic initiative is a testimonial of FAB’s aspiration to leverage the power of generative AI as a platform for innovation and industry disruption," he remarked.

The collaboration between FAB and Microsoft through the AI Innovation Hub is expected to enhance FAB’s competitive leadership as an innovative, AI-enabled bank. It will enable FAB to utilize Microsoft’s Azure AI services, including Azure Generative AI capabilities. This collaboration could revolutionize operations across the FAB Group with potential areas of collaboration including Banking-as-a-Service and Risk-as-a-Service across digital services, lending, and payments within consumer, corporate, and investment banking sectors.

With inputs from WAM