By Sarvjeet Virk, Co-founder and MD, Finvasia
The ability to manage ‘Risk’ is a crucial element that separates successful ventures from potential pitfalls. Capital markets, known for their volatility and unpredictability, demand astute decision-making and strategic planning to thrive. The intricate interplay of various factors, such as market conditions, financial instruments, and individual risk tolerance, underscores the significance of risk management. This pivotal discipline empowers market participants to safeguard their investments, optimize returns, and navigate the ever-changing landscape with resilience. In this fast-paced financial ecosystem, understanding and effectively implementing risk management practices become imperative for investors and traders seeking to unlock the full potential of their ventures.
From market volatility to diverse financial instruments and individual risk tolerance, traders face a myriad of challenges – be it sudden fluctuations in stock prices or risky nature of diverse asset classes. The art of risk management requires making rational decisions, devoid of emotions, and adapting unique rules to suit each trader’s style, whether in stocks, options, futures, or forex. To navigate this dynamic landscape, leveraging cutting-edge tech-based tools, such as AI-powered risk management and fraud detection, is proving to be a game-changer. There are such tools which enable swift data processing, detecting and preventing fraudulent activities, ensuring a secure trading environment. Furthermore, the influence of Artificial Intelligence has led to a paradigm shift, empowering traders with advanced tools and data analysis for making informed decisions, optimizing returns, and managing risks like never before.
Let’s take an example to visualize AI’s capability in lending.
Anita is an aspiring entrepreneur seeking a loan to turn her business dream into reality. Unbeknownst to her, the financial institution she approaches has embraced AI-algorithms for credit assessment. As she provides her information, AI instantly analyzes her online activities, creating a comprehensive credit profile beyond the traditional credit score. Simultaneously, ML diligently reviews her documents, matching them with loan requirements. The outcome? AI-powered lending benefits both, individuals like Anita and the financial ecosystem. For Anita, it means faster loan approvals and a streamlined application process. AI’s ability to analyze vast data accurately drastically reduces pressures from the financial system, speeds up the decision making process and highly improves the potential to scale. It is possible by enabling efficient disbursement of credit lines to borrowers, be it retail or MSMEs, where the requirement is on the rise. This drives economic growth and prosperity while empowering entrepreneurs like Anita to realize their dreams without unnecessary delays.
AI’s Transformative Power: Mitigating Risks and Accelerating Processes in Banking and Finance
Institutional lenders are leveraging the power of real-time GST data to customize loans based on cash flows, effectively reducing defaults and significantly expediting approval processes. This trend has been warmly embraced by specialized lenders, including NBFCs and FinTech companies, who now offer competitive interest rates and remarkably fast processing times.
Picture the extraordinary speed at which AI-driven tools can effectively screen, scrutinize, and summarize countless loan applications. With the borrower’s consent, AI analyzes their GST history, providing lenders with an instant snapshot of creditworthiness and overall financial standing. This transformative capability leads to faster turnaround times for borrowers, revolutionizing the loan application process and propelling industry productivity to new heights.
This technology driven process innovation can have many more use cases here, such as the loan application process which is facilitated via various kinds of Account Aggregators (AGs). With the borrower consent, an AI capable system can rapidly screen and assess financial history of hundreds or even thousands of borrowers, based on multiple financial documents that AGs submit to the institutions, thus enhancing risk evaluation and expediting decision-making in a big way. This innovative approach promotes financial inclusivity and aligns with the government’s vision of widespread access to credit facilities. Embracing AI in this context revolutionizes lending, making it more efficient and customer-centric.
And the numbers speak volumes, with India’s digital lending market surging to a worth of $270 billion in 2022, experiencing a remarkable 11% growth in disbursements. AI’s role in lending, particularly in supporting India’s MSME sector, holds immense potential for shaping the future of the industry. As the financial landscape continues to evolve, AI’s application promises to be a game-changer in risk mitigation and process acceleration for banking and finance.
Second Use Case: AI’s role in Risk Management in Trading
While trading on the stock market, there is a significant risk management involved. Understanding market dynamics, stock selection, and risk factors are crucial in a fast-paced environment. Emotions often cloud judgment, and navigating market volatility, business risks, and regulatory changes can be challenging.
However, there are AI-powered tools that can screen vast historic data and run globally recognized algorithms to help anticipate the market movements and signals, hence helping traders manage their risks and exposures. We pioneered this for Shoonya’s trading platform and such tools have emerged as a game-changer, revolutionizing the way traders research and strategize portfolios. Its ability to analyze massive data sets at high speed enhances efficiency, back-testing, and risk assessment. AI models track market volatility, liquidity, and correlations, optimizing risk-reward ratios for robust strategies. They identify abnormal trading patterns, generating alerts that allow traders to mitigate risks effectively and comply with regulatory requirements.
Beyond risk management, AI empowers traders with algorithmic trading for automated decisions and market analysis for hidden trends. Sentiment analysis gauges’ public sentiments about companies and markets, while AI-driven portfolio management tailors’ investment opportunities based on individual factors.
In the Indian trading market, AI has transformed risk management, enabling traders to navigate volatility, maximize returns, and safeguard their interests. With continuous advancements in AI and predictive analytics, trading platforms will evolve to understand consumer behavior, identify emerging risks, and provide personalized risk management solutions. The potential of AI in risk management is scalable, promising a brighter future for the capital market and financial services.
AI’s transformative power in banking and trading is undeniable. By embracing AI’s capabilities, the industry can achieve unparalleled efficiency, mitigate risks, and deliver enhanced services to customers. Moreover, with a keen focus on financial inclusion and lending, India can harness AI’s potential to create a more inclusive and prosperous future for all. As we forge ahead into an AI-driven era, the synergy between technology and financial expertise will shape a dynamic and resilient financial landscape, driving innovation and economic progress for years to come.
