The reputation of an investment bank relies on how well many elements work together to meet clients’ expectations. Flaws in any part of a ‘client service system’ can significantly damage the relationship and, consequently, the firm’s reputation.
At first glance, this seems like a perfect opportunity for AI. Prioritizing AI, however, can be risky because the hype around it threatens to overshadow the key asset of investment banks: high-caliber employees.
The reputation of banks can be enhanced in several ways (see my other posts on this topic), and AI definitely isn’t the silver bullet. In a multi-year study, an overwhelming majority of leaders from Fortune Global 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies told me they don’t believe AI will ever replace highly skilled investment bankers — and, as a client, I fully agree.
To excel in investment banking, you need [1] the engineer’s precision, [2] the architect’s holistic view, and [3] the salesperson’s client focus, three human capabilities that together produce sound judgment — the essence of outstanding client work. AI cannot replace this ‘human triad’ in professional services businesses such as investment banking. Judgment by itself is the ultimate human skill.
I believe that the potential for improvement in investment banking is more of a ‘design challenge’ than a ‘technology (AI) challenge’. With careful, detailed, data-driven, genuine attention to clients’ expectations, firms can ‘design’ greater excellence into their services. ‘Genuine attention’ is the work of outstanding people, not AI. The key to ‘better’ work is to fuel ‘genuine attention’ with the right — especially human — ingredients.
Does this mean you should overlook AI? No, of course not. But AI is never a substitute for highly skilled people working in a high-stakes environment where client cases are often unique. Setting the right ‘high-touch, high-tech’ priorities is crucial, as I see AI as too dominant a focus in many banks’ agendas (even the C-suite can’t escape the SOS aka ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’).
In professional services businesses, clients value reliability above all. Reliability becomes trust through proximity — cognitive, emotional, and relational; qualities uniquely human. At its best, AI is a superb ‘servant’. It can handle the cognitive data, but it fails at the emotional and relational proximity required for (for example) high-stakes M&A. When the going gets tough, a client doesn’t look for an algorithm; they look for a human being who has skin in the game. Walt Disney once said, “You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world — but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
Investment banking is the ultimate ‘contact sport’. AI thrives on explicit knowledge (data), investment banking on tacit knowledge (judgment). Deals are won in rooms, not in servers.
More details are available at www.pieterklaasjagersma.com/reports.
— published on LinkedIn | 02.10.26