Chiba Bank: Transforming decision-making in financial services with AI upskilling
Successfully rolled out training of employees
Integrates AI technology in its operations to upskill the bank’s workforce
Enables to fast-track bank’s products and services for its customers
Unlocks faster insights from financial data with machine learning
Chiba Bank partners with Google Cloud Consulting’s Advanced Solutions Lab to upskill Chiba Bank’s workforce in AI and ML.
Chiba Bank partners with Google Cloud Consulting’s Advanced Solutions Lab to upskill Chiba Bank’s workforce in AI and ML.
In an era defined by data, AI is the buzzword that you cannot escape. With the potential to revolutionize business operations and outcomes, it’s no surprise that business leaders all over the world are eager to be part of this adventure.
However, stepping into uncharted territory is not always straightforward. In some industries, there are significant hurdles to adopting new technology. Executives in the financial services industry, for example, take a cautious approach to adopting AI and machine learning (ML), recognizing the critical nature of their workloads and the sensitivity of the data involved. They understand that the wrong product or the wrong provider could jeopardize highly confidential information and put their reputation at risk.
Consequently, many financial institutions find themselves stuck in the exploratory phase—deeply interested in embracing powerful technologies, and also determined to thoroughly consider their options before taking any steps forward.
Leveraging ML and AI to understand Chiba Bank’s customers
Chiba Bank, a leading financial company based in Chiba Prefecture, is one such institution. Committed to creating “a local community better suited to bringing each person’s hope to life,” they offer financial services and other related solutions (like applications and consultations) to support the growth of their customers.
In keeping with this mission, Chiba Bank aims to enhance and sustain customer satisfaction by offering high-quality products and services, improving their operational efficiency through digital transformation, strengthening their cyber risk management, and demonstrating agility in solving the diversifying needs of customers in their region.
However, while Chiba Bank possessed a wealth of text data from their Connect Center and many surveys over the years, they lacked the expertise and methodology to leverage it effectively. The bank's workforce, primarily composed of marketing, business, and systems professionals, didn't have the skill set necessary to utilize data science, AI, or machine learning. This gap in data literacy hindered their ability to translate valuable customer and community insights into informed business decisions.
To achieve their digital transformation goals, Chiba Bank's leadership recognized the need to partner with a reputable brand specializing in AI, machine learning, and data. This strategic partnership would enable them to upskill their workforce and effectively integrate these technologies into their operations.
Partnering with Google Cloud Consulting’s Advanced Solutions Lab to upskill Chiba Bank’s workforce
Generative AI is essential—but difficult to learn on your own—and it was a great experience to be able to learn basic theory from Google engineers (Office environment is also great).
Tomoaki Kamijima
Digital Strategy Division, Chiba Bank
Google Cloud’s comprehensive solutions allowed Chiba Bank to fast-track its development. In January 2024, Chiba Bank launched a joint business plan (JBP) with Google Cloud to leverage Google's cutting-edge AI and ML technology and world-class expertise in the field. In particular, Chiba Bank worked with the Advanced Solutions Lab—one of Google Cloud’s premium solutions for businesses—to gain practical machine learning experience and cultivate a widespread, basic understanding of machine learning amongst its employees.
First, the Advanced Solutions Lab put together a curriculum, aimed at building foundational ML knowledge for participants with no prior machine learning and AI experience. The curriculum and lectures were entirely delivered by Google engineers on the theories behind ML for text analysis, computer vision, generative AI, and more. The Advanced Solutions Lab also hosted TechTalks inviting Google ML experts to discuss various topics, including best practices for ML projects, demonstrating its power through real-life examples. Chiba Bank employees were also able to request specific lectures based on their individual areas of interest.
Next, the Chiba Bank and the Advanced Solutions Lab worked together on actual use cases relevant to Chiba Bank’s business. Guided by Google engineers, the participants created a number of AI system prototypes. For example, they developed a Gemini Pro-based chat function that could answer questions about internal administrative standards. Other innovations included an advertising creatives generation system, supported by text-to-text and text-to-image gen AI. Throughout the training, participants were advised on best practice methodology for AI projects, such as how to improve response accuracy, how to evaluate AI model performance and the importance of understanding precautions around the data sources.
Widespread foundational awareness of AI builds Chiba Bank’s confidence to implement cutting-edge solutions
Chiba Bank’s employees emerged from the ASL training inspired and excited to work with AI and ML in their banking business. Many of them took their experience to their departments and generated further interest in the technology within their teams. Their first-hand practical experience with AI programming and increased awareness of the field enabled many participants to make more confident decisions about how to use ML and whether or not it should be applied to various areas of their business.
They took away valuable insight into the process of implementing ML/AI solutions, with an appreciation of the timelines and workflows for incorporating them into projects.
This knowledge empowers Chiba Bank to drive future AI innovation within their organization.
Exploring a growing partnership with Google Cloud Consulting
Chiba Bank is exploring further collaboration opportunities with Google Cloud Consulting across a wide range of areas, looking to build more AI- and ML-based services with Google Cloud’s world-leading technology, expertise, and leading practices.
The Chiba Bank, Ltd. is a regional bank based in Chiba Prefecture. The bank offers general banking services, including deposits, loans, and foreign exchange transactions. The Chiba Bank also develops software and provides financial services, such as leasing, securities brokerage, letter of credit, and credit cards.
Industries: Financial Services
Location: Japan
Products: Google Cloud, Advanced Solutions Lab, Text-to-image AI, Gemini, Google AI
