Dubai, UAE: Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region has announced a transformation focused on harnessing the power of generative AI to change Emirates NBD’s operations and enhance productivity across various business functions supported by Microsoft. This collaboration aims to unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and customer experience within the banking industry.

The transformation encompasses three key initiatives that will drive significant advancements in software development, collaboration, and customer engagement.

1. Enabling IT teams at Emirates NBD with Github Copilot X: Emirates NBD recognises the critical role its IT teams play in efficiently delivering robust software solutions to drive business innovation. Supported by Microsoft, the bank’s IT teams are leveraging the cutting-edge capabilities of Github Copilot X, an advanced generative AI tool developed by Microsoft, with more than a thousand developers now empowered with this state-of-the-art coding assistant. With the help of this tool, Emirates NBD expects to see a remarkable boost in coding proficiency, software development speed, and quality. This advancement will be another steppingstone in transforming Emirates NBD’s technological capabilities, enabling the bank to meet customer needs with enhanced agility and efficiency.

2. Piloting usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot across the organisation: As part of its commitment to driving digital transformation, Emirates NBD will be one of the first companies to access the preview of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This collaborative tool, powered by generative AI, will enable Emirates NBD employees to enhance their productivity by automating repetitive tasks, generating content, and assisting with complex decision-making processes. By piloting the usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot across the organisation, Emirates NBD aims to create a more agile and intelligent workplace, driving innovation and optimising productivity.

3. Launching ChatGPT use cases across all business and support functions at Emirates NBD:  Understanding the criticality of customer experience and streamlined business operations, Emirates NBD will be deploying ChatGPT, a state-of-the-art conversational AI model, across all business and support functions, including its Contact Centers and Marketing, Legal, Compliance, and Risk departments. The bank recently hosted a successful ‘Generative AI Hackathon’, where blended teams from business and IT collaborated with experts from Microsoft, McKinsey, and Quantum Black. During the hackathon, Emirates NBD gained valuable insights into the capabilities of ChatGPT, prompt engineering, dataset preparation, and model fine-tuning techniques. The adoption of ChatGPT will enable the bank to deliver personalized customer experiences, improve operational efficiency, and foster innovation throughout the organisation.

Commenting on this collaboration, Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer, Emirates NBD, stated, "We are thrilled to join forces with our long-term partner Microsoft for this initiative. By leveraging the power of generative AI, we aim to transform our business operations, elevate our customer experience, and stay at the forefront of technological innovation, further reinforcing our position as a leader in digital innovation. This collaboration is a testament to Emirates NBD’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and pushing boundaries to deliver excellence."

Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate VP and President - Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA), Microsoft, said, "The era of AI has arrived, and we are pleased to support Emirates NBD in unleashing its transformative power. AI is a defining technology of our time, acting as the ultimate amplifier that revolutionizes how we work and unlocks our creative potential. At Microsoft, we have leveraged advancements in supercomputing and machine learning to train powerful AI models capable of revolutionizing various tasks using natural language. We take pride in bringing these cutting-edge generative AI tools to Emirates NBD and empowering their teams to innovate, collaborate, and achieve new levels of productivity.”

The collaboration between Emirates NBD and Microsoft represents a significant milestone in the banking industry, setting new standards for innovation, efficiency, and customer-centricity. By harnessing the potential of generative AI, Emirates NBD is poised to unlock new growth opportunities, redefine customer engagement, and shape the future of banking.

About Emirates NBD 

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 17 million customers. As at 31st March 2023, total assets were AED 782 billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 213 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 874 branches and 4,144 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 3.89 billion.  

Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv., the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region.

Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is committed to supporting the UAE’s Year of Sustainability and is an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.

For further information on Emirates NBD, please contact: 
Ibrahim Sowaidan
Senior Vice President
Head - Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
Telephone: +971 4 609 4113
e-mail: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com

Tricia Kaul 
asda’a bcw; Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600; Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: Tricia.Kaul@bcw-global.com