Metro Bank has announced the deployment of a new agentic AI tool designed to enhance its corporate and commercial credit businesses. This advanced technology, provided by Covecta, represents a significant step forward from traditional generative AI. Unlike generative AI, which processes information based on single interactions, agentic AI is capable of problem-solving that requires a more complex, multi-step approach, including reasoning and iterative planning. This allows the technology to make autonomous decisions.
The newly implemented agentic AI platform automates tasks throughout the entire loan lifecycle, from initial lead acquisition to final servicing. Metro Bank believes this capability dramatically reduces the time required for these processes. The application of the AI tool is expected to compress tasks that previously required hours of manual effort into mere minutes.
According to the partnership’s findings, each task completed with the AI tool shows a substantial time reduction ranging from 60 to 80 percent, which the bank expects to result in “significant improvements in team efficiency, decision-making, and risk analysis.”
“Metro Bank is experiencing rapid growth in lending to corporate and commercial businesses; new loan originations increased by 71 percent last year, and we are aiming for even more this year,” stated Andy Veares, Managing Director of Corporate and Commercial at Metro Bank. “This AI solution frees up our corporate and commercial banking experts to devote more time to their customers, which aligns with our relationship banking ethos.”
Veares emphasized that the new technology is designed to help the bank “continue to grow in the most efficient way.”
While agentic AI technology is still in its early stages of development, its potential appears to be vast. Experts anticipate the industry will progressively adopt the technology for various applications, including customer interactions, fraud detection, risk management, and compliance.
Rohit Dhawan, Director of AI and Advanced Analytics at Lloyds Banking Group, recently told FStech that the bank is currently developing a range of agentic AI solutions for both its employees and customers, with further details to be disclosed at a later date.
Metro Bank’s recent AI rollout follows a partnership with Infosys announced last year. The bank stated at the time that this collaboration aimed to strengthen its IT support services and digitally transform its business operations, specifically by integrating AI-powered technology, including generative AI features. The goal was to improve the customer experience for its finance advisory network (FAN).
