Samil PwC: "In the Age of AI Agents... Financial Institutions Need Data Integration and Governance Capabilities"

"Responding with Data Governance and API Strategy"

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) evolves into autonomous "AI agents" capable of planning and executing tasks independently, there are growing expectations that the role of financial institutions will shift toward providing data and products to these AI agents.

On October 20, Samil PwC (CEO Yoon Hoonsoo) announced the publication of its report, "AI Transforming the Financial Frontline: The Future of AI Agent Finance." The report was prepared to outline the changes AI will bring to the financial industry and to present strategic directions for the future of finance shaped by AI agents.

First, the report introduces the concept of the "A2A (Agent to Agent) economy" as a new order brought about by the evolution of AI agents. In an A2A economy, AI agents autonomously collaborate, transact, make decisions, and execute actions without human intervention. As the A2A economy becomes mainstream, the control over customer touchpoints is expected to shift from financial institutions to AI agents, and financial institutions will increasingly serve as infrastructure providers of data and products. Accordingly, the report analyzes that financial institutions will need to redesign their product, channel, and data strategies to minimize platform dependency.

The report predicts that as AI agent-based finance expands, the trend of assembling customized financial functions according to specific purposes will become more widespread. This will require proactive responses from financial institutions. For example, when a customer asks an AI agent to recommend financial products, the agent will use APIs (application programming interfaces) to retrieve product information from various financial institutions, compare and analyze them, and present a shortlist of options.

The report also highlights the growing importance of data governance. As financial institutions take on the role of core infrastructure providers of data and products, establishing an integrated management system that encompasses both data and risk will become a key competitive advantage. In terms of talent strategy, while AI is expected to accelerate the replacement of simple and repetitive jobs, the importance of personnel capable of critically interpreting AI outputs and making ethical and strategic decisions will become more pronounced.

Finally, the report anticipates that if AI agents become the primary channel for financial transactions, regulatory approaches will shift from post-hoc reviews to real-time monitoring of AI behavior. Compliance by financial institutions is also expected to move away from traditional work areas and institution-based oversight, toward managing and verifying the decisions and actions of AI itself.

Kim Kyunggu, Financial Industry Leader (Partner) at Samil PwC, stated, "The rise of AI agents is not merely a technological shift, but a movement that redefines the entire structure of the financial industry. Every area, from data strategy and API design to talent structure and regulatory response, will require redesign. If financial institutions fail to respond to the transition to the A2A economy, the initiative in finance could shift to AI agents and the new entities that control them." The full report is available on the Samil PwC website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.