Hamish Monk - Community Author: Finextra Research

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is predictive analysis?

Predictive analytics is a method of data analysis used within the financial services industry – and beyond – to forecast business-related outcomes. It sits on a spectrum, beginning with descriptive analytics, the most basic form of data analysis, then moving to diagnostic analytics, predictive analytics, and finally prescriptive analytics – the mo...

01 July 2025 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is natural language processing?

The term natural language processing, or NLP, describes a computer’s ability to understand, interpret, or generate human language. It is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) which uses algorithm-backed machine learning (ML) to recognise both the written and spoken word. Testament to its utility, in 2023 the market size of NLP in finance was valu...

10 June 2025 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is AI bias?

The term ‘AI bias’ refers to situations whereby an artificial intelligence (AI) system produces prejudiced results, as a consequence of flaws in its machine learning process. Often, AI bias mirrors society’s inequalities, be they around race, gender, class, nationality, and so on. In this instalment of Finextra’s Explainer series, we ask where bia...

03 June 2025 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is deep learning?

Artificial intelligence (AI), a concept once confined to the realms of science fiction, has in the last several years entered the mainstream – with the release of OpenAI’s inaugural ChatGPT model, and other competitor engines subsequently, transforming innumerable industries. Often uttered in conjunction with ‘AI’ is the term ‘deep learning’, thou...

20 May 2025 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Generative AI: A new age of banking

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword – it is essential to financial services’ development. The keys to unlocking this nascent technology’s full potential are relevant applications and concrete use cases. To identify what these use cases are, we must look beyond the hype. To find out more, Finextra spoke with Temenos’ chief pro...

11 February 2025 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How can banks automate effectively?

Automation in financial services encapsulates a range of tools and techniques which have the effect of reducing human intervention in business and information technology (IT) processes. On the business side are repetitive tasks that hobble workflows. It is estimated that companies lose 20-30% of their revenue to such inefficiencies every year. Au...

28 January 2025 /ai

How AI can be embraced by financial services

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How AI can be embraced by financial services

While artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept, having been first explored by a research group in the 1950s, its widespread industrial application has only just begun. This is an excerpt from The Future of AI in Financial Services 2025 report, which was a special edition for the inaugural Finextra event, NextGen AI. Click here to read th...

10 December 2024 /ai

What is automation in financial services?

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is automation in financial services?

In the context of financial services, automation is achieved by the deployment of numerous technologies, in various contexts, by all kinds of entities. Whether it's smart automation by start-ups for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered enterprise resource planning (ERP) tagging systems, generative AI automation for risk detection by large banks,...

12 November 2024 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Understanding AI for personalisation

The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined in an August 1955 study proposal, by a group of academics and technology developers. The workshop on the subject took place one year later. In December 1955, Herbert Simon and Allen Newell developed ‘Logic Theorist’, which is today considered the first ever artificial intelligence (AI) program. Since t...

29 October 2024 /ai

How to use AI to provide personalised services

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How to use AI to provide personalised services

Today’s discourse on the nature, consequences and regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) can often obfuscate the technology’s immediate, on-the-ground applications. In this article, Finextra considers 5 distinct ways in which AI may be used by financial institutions to better serve their customers. Five use cases The proverbial secret sauce in...

09 July 2024 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How to prepare for the EU AI Act

The European Union’s AI Act has formally been signed by the presidents of its parliament and Council. Imminently, the regulation will be published in the EU’s Official Journal – 20 days after which, the law will be put into force. For financial institutions, there will be just two years’ implementation period. So, how should banks prepare for the...

24 May 2024 /ai

Long reads