AIC Collaborates with SBI Sumishin Net Bank to Hold FinTech Event

On February 6, 2025, AIC and SBI Sumishin Net Bank collaborated to hold an event titled “Finance x Technology: Contest on Business Plans Leveraging Generative AI.”

15 participants comprising first-year students to master’s students from a wide range of faculties, including the Faculty of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Business and Commerce, and the Faculty of Letters, formed 4 teams to participate in the ideathon.

During the event

★First half of the session

Takeshi Sakai, executive officer of Human Resources at SBI Sumishin Net Bank, kickstarted the session with an overview of the bank’s various initiatives. He supplemented his explanations of the bank’s business activities such as digital banking, mortgages, BaaS, and THEMIX, with real-life case studies. He also shed light on how getting innovation on track at the bank has led to improved business performance. In addition, he also touched on the bank’s “-less” cost reduction strategy which leverages AI, as well as their vision for future growth.

After that, a representative from the Data Science department gave a presentation on the utilization of cutting-edge technology. On top of introducing mortgage systems and chatbots that utilize generative AI, and explaining the Data Science department’s work, the speaker also provided real-life examples of programming and model development based on financial data. Through these presentations, participants were able to deepen their understanding of SBI Sumishin Net Bank’s corporate philosophy, one which aspires to become more than just a bank, but a tech company that aims to address social issues.

★Second half of the session

Participants were divided into 4 teams for a one-hour group discussion on the theme of “Leveraging Generative AI in SBI Sumishin Net Bank’s Business Activities.” Each team was also joined by an employee from the bank who provided support in generating ideas.

Students incorporated their Gen Z perspectives in the discussion which centered on the context of everyday life and social issues to explore ideas for the utilization of generative AI. Each team prepared presentation slides while receiving feedback from the bank employees. They were then given 5 minutes per team to showcase the business plan they had devised.

Although the allotted time for discussion was relatively short, each team was able to summarize their ideas into easy-to-understand materials, leading to presentations which were highly original and creative. SBI Sumishin Net Bank Chairman Yasunaga Matsumoto and other bank employees provided evaluation and feedback for each team after their respective presentations. The session proved to be a great learning opportunity for students as they were able to receive direct and valuable feedback, such as on the difficulty of establishing scoring indicators in actual modelling, and achieving balance between addressing social issues versus maximizing profits.

At the post-event reception, the results for the presentations were announced and the winning team was presented with attractive prizes. Through exchange with SBI Sumishin Net Bank employees, students were able to better grasp the concepts of job satisfaction and corporate culture.

Results of Presentation Contest

– First place: Team C—“Real Estate Valuation Service Based on Images of Homes”

– Second place: Team A—“Anyone Can Become a Private Banker”

– Third place: Team B—“Housing Services for Designing Future Lifestyles”

Team C delivering their presentation

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Takeshi Sakai, Naohiro Oishi, and many others at SBI Sumishin Net Bank for their tremendous support.

Keio AIC representatives
　　- Steering Committee: Takahiro Yakoh, Mari Kobayashi
　　- AIC Office: Fumio Kawano, Yuki Hamanaka
　　- Student Administrators: Kotaro Seki, Reiko Takagi, Kana Kobayashi