Artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest financial institution, by reducing the decision-making times for smaller corporate loans from weeks to minutes. This has prompted the bank to increase its technology investments to enhance productivity and address emerging cybersecurity risks.
The project, which went live during the summer, has also shortened the time required to make certain lending decisions for multinational corporations from months to weeks, Deutsche Bank’s technology chief Marie-Jeanne Deverdun told Reuters.
“For smaller corporates, which are less complicated in their setup and their legal structure, we’re talking weeks to minutes,” Deverdun said in an interview.
Deverdun, who joined Deutsche Bank’s management board this year, is currently overseeing the lender’s technology strategy as financial institutions increasingly adopt AI to streamline operations, reduce costs, and accelerate services.
While the bank prepares for a future in which AI agents will be interacting directly with those operated by its clients, Deverdun took note of the growing concerns about accountability, data protection, and cyber risk management.
“We are watching that debate carefully. These are very valid concerns, and, obviously, the management of cyber risk is my number one priority,” Deverdun said.
She added that Deutsche Bank was committing significant resources and budget to protecting its operations against emerging technologies and threats.
Deutsche Bank plans to spend more than 2.5 billion euro (USD 2.80 billion) on technology between 2026 and 2028, reflecting its push to modernise systems and expand the use of AI across its business.
The investment comes as major lenders seek to capture productivity gains from automation while managing the financial and security implications of deploying increasingly sophisticated AI tools.
JPMorgan, meanwhile, has budgeted USD 20 billion for technology spending in 2026.
Other banks are also reshaping their operations around AI.
United Kingdom-based Barclays said last week it was cutting around 5,000 jobs, equivalent to approximately 5% of its workforce, this year as it adopts the technology.
Citigroup has said AI is helping it develop products at lower cost and up to 40% faster.
However, the rapid adoption of AI has prompted concerns among regulators and financial institutions about the potential risks posed by autonomous systems operating in sensitive financial environments.
Major US banks have begun blocking third-party AI agents from accessing customer accounts and conducting transactions amid concerns that such tools could threaten banking systems and the institutions responsible for safeguarding customers’ money.
“Deutsche Bank has developed an internal AI platform called ADA, named after computing pioneer Ada Lovelace, to develop, monitor, and control AI agents,” Deverdun said.
The platform allows the bank to oversee agent activity, manage risks, and switch between AI models as the technology evolves.
The initiative forms part of a wider effort to modernise the lender’s technology infrastructure.
Chief Executive Christian Sewing has said he wants to make Deutsche Bank “a truly AI-powered bank.”
The bank has also faced longstanding challenges with its technology systems.
In 2015, Sewing’s predecessor described them as “disjointed, cumbersome, and far too often just plain incompatible.”
Following the start of the Ukraine war, Deutsche Bank also had to relocate technology staff from Russia.
The lender continues to streamline its collection of platforms, although it has reported progress in its modernisation efforts.
“We’re already preparing for an agentic economy where our agents interact with the agents of our clients with clear accountability and the right controls,” Deverdun remarked.