Artificial intelligence is transforming the banking industry - but not every part of the bank will feel the change equally.
According to Sopnendu Mohanty, a 20-year banking veteran and cofounder of the Singapore FinTech Festival, the back office is where the disruption will hit hardest, while front-office and middle-office roles are set to evolve and even expand.
“The front is for the customer, the middle is for the bank, and the back is for processing,” Mohanty explained. “AI changes the value of each layer — enhancing some, replacing others.”
A Career View from Inside the System
At 53, Mohanty brings rare perspective. He spent nearly two decades at Citigroup, later serving as the chief fintech officer at Singapore’s central bank, and now leads the global advisory and investment firm GFTN.
Having watched digital transformation sweep through banking, he says AI marks a new phase — one that redefines work, not just tools.
“We’ve digitized processes before. This time, we’re digitizing judgment,” Mohanty said.
The Front Office: AI as a Performance Multiplier
Roles that directly generate revenue — in investment banking, sales and trading, and corporate banking — will, he predicts, grow stronger under AI.
Large language models and generative tools are already being used to prepare pitch decks, model deals, and execute faster trades. In this space, AI is an amplifier rather than a replacement.
“AI doesn’t take away the banker’s job,” Mohanty noted. “It makes the banker faster, smarter, and better with clients.”
