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Business News of Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Source: thenationonlineng.net

More bank jobs at risk with tech deployment

Staff members have reduced from 104,364 workers in 2019 to 95,888 in September 2020 Staff members have reduced from 104,364 workers in 2019 to 95,888 in September 2020

Banks are cutting their workforce following massive deployment of technology and process automation that meant less reliance on humans for their operations, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data has shown.

According to NBS, banks’ staff members have reduced from 104,364 workers in 2019 to 95,888 in September 2020, representing 8,476 job cut.

Banks have gone from investing in bank branches or other brick and mortar establishments to greater investments in financial technology (FinTech) and the relevant specialised human capital, The Nation investigation has shown.

Investment in specialised human capital is particularly significant given the domination of technological solutions which are taking over human jobs.

Banks are also reviewing their business model in line with new technological changes that could lead to the scrapping of teller jobs.

Findings showed that mergers and acquisitions have led to bank branches closures, as seen in Access Bank acquisition of Diamond Bank, which has led the bank to close some of its branches.

Ecobank Nigerian has also closed some of its branches in Matori, and Ikeja. Some branches of Fidelity Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, among others, were also set ablaze and closed during the #EndSARS protest, with many staff in those branches laid off.

According to the NBS, as of the end of last September, 23 banks in Nigeria employed a total of 95,888 workers. Of this number, 40,382, representing 42.11 per cent of the workers were on contract. Institutions covered in the employment statistics include commercial banks, merchant banks and non-interest banks.

Further breakdown of the industry statistics showed that members of staff of banks stood at104,364 at the end of 2019.  Junior members of staff were the highest with 36,202  (47 per cent), senior members of staff (20,483 or 27 per cent), contract  staff (20,237 or 26 per cent) and the executive members of staff with 174 or less than one per cent.

Findings showed that many of the banks, believe that branchless operations remains the future of financial services and have deployed technology and closed many of their branches to reduce cost of operation.

Managing Director/CEO, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, said that financial institutions are faced with growing technological changes and have had to respond through the adoption of and adaptation to potentially disruptive technologies in their business models and in their broad corporate strategies.

This is all in a bid to remain relevant, increase convenience and productivity and make banking simple for individuals and businesses alike.

In a report: Repositioning for Relevance in a Competitive Environment, presented at Chartered Institute of Bankers’ of Nigeria (CIBN) forum, he said the banking sector has undergone some changes,  will undergo added disruption.

“Yesterday, we had nothing like the digital apps in use today, tomorrow we are certain of further disruption underlined by artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, big data analytics among others,” he said.

Also, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are changing the game in customer relationships and front office operations.

Jobs previously reserved for officers such as tellers may become obsolete in the next two to three years, as machines will be capable of performing approximately 30 per cent of the work currently done at banks.

The immediate past President, CIBN, Uche Olowu said that any bank staff who wishes to survive and thrive within the industry over the next 10 to 20 years must adapt and become relevant to the future of banking.

“Indeed professionals and would-be banking professionals must reposition themselves for relevance in the changing environment. Such statistics as stated above confirm that in the future workplace, we may not be competing for jobs with other humans but with robots,” he said at one of the institute’s graduate induction awards.

Continuing, he said that in the age of digitisation it is important to stay relevant regardless of the cadre of employment you fall under.

“Banking professionals must consistently keep in touch with current trends in their field of expertise and the impact such trends would have on your job role. Aspiring bankers are also expected to gain a full understanding of the emerging technical skills sought after in the industry. Constantly keeping tabs on trends and required skills would increase your value professionally and in turn your relevance,” he added.

According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, 60 per cent of all occupations have at least 30 per cent of activities that are technically automated. Furthermore, the report states that roughly one-fifth of the global workforce will be impacted by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation and by 2030 it is estimated that robots will replace 800 million workers across the world. The World Economic Forum, further projects that by 2055, nearly half of all work in all occupations would be automated. Additionally, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) states that the effects of automation would not only alter the jobs available to humans but also the perceived value of these jobs

It is also pertinent to mention that the increasing competition in the digitised banking environment would no longer be between banks but with non-banking institutions. FinTech and big tech firms such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are now capturing more of the banking value chain.  Furthermore, payment service banking is set to further disrupt the banking industry.