HSBC Risk and Compliance Team secures two wins at Asian Innovation Excellence Awards 2025

The company’s Risk and Compliance function integrates AI innovation and learning to enhance efficiency, data quality, and excellence in risk management.

HSBC received two awards at the Asian Innovation Excellence Awards 2025: one for Learning & Development Innovation and another for Risk Management Innovation in Financial Services. These awards were for their AI For Everyone Program in Risk & Compliance and the Risk Management Co-pilot (RMC).

Empowering an AI-ready workforce

The AI For Everyone Program in Risk & Compliance aims to transform the way HSBC’s Global Risk and Compliance function works by equipping its 13,000 employees with essential AI skills and an AI-ready mindset.

Led by HSBC’s Group R&C Innovation & Generative AI Team, the programme focuses on providing learners with user-friendly AI learning resources, interactive workshops, collaborative use case development, and masterclasses from AI specialists.

Effective adoption of AI requires a deliberate, outcome-orientated approach, a clear vision, and engagement from across the Group – from the top of house driving strategic objectives, to dedicated AI teams building transformational solutions, through to end-user colleagues with their hands on the tools.

The programme’s self-paced and hands-on approach enables busy employees to learn about AI regardless of their technical background, whilst encouraging teamwork and real-world application of AI tools tailored to risk and compliance needs. Successful participants earn certificates, gain priority access to HSBC’s Generative AI Playground, and join peer-learning sessions to continuously adapt in the fast-changing AI landscape.

HSBC has been using AI for over a decade across the Group – fraud, transaction monitoring, customer servicing – to name a few. The technology has tremendous potential to transform how HSBC does business, but recognises there are risks and limitations and the bank continues to approach adoption safely and responsibly.

The initiative earned HSBC the Hong Kong Learning & Development Innovation of the Year - Financial Services award, recognising its commitment to advancing AI-driven learning and innovation.

Transforming risk management with AI

HSBC's Risk Management Copilot is a Generative AI-driven solution designed to transform non-financial risk (NFR) management experience. Effective risk management is crucial at HSBC’s operations, ensuring the stability and integrity of its global business whilst safeguarding clients and stakeholders. The bank’s Global Risk and Compliance function, comprising approximately 13,000 professionals across key areas such as financial crime, regulatory compliance, climate risk, and enterprise risk, plays a central role in this objective.

The Risk Management Copilot was developed to address inefficiencies arising from manual processes, which often led to data inconsistencies and lengthy turnaround times. The RMC leverages GenAI to streamline and enhance these processes by improving issue descriptions, structuring them around the established framework and suggesting contextual enhancements. Accessible via the Group's governance, risk, and compliance platform, it empowers risk owners to produce higher-quality, clearer issue records in significantly less time.

HSBC designed the initiative with a strong emphasis on AI governance, following established Group Risk Management framework that gives the bank the structure, taxonomies, and tools to mitigate these risks effectively.

The solution delivers measurable benefits across operational efficiency, capacity creation, and employee satisfaction. It accelerates both issue creation and review, reduces rejection rounds, and enables staff to focus on higher-value risk management activities. Feedback from users has been highly positive, highlighting improved workflow, data quality, and overall experience.

With its AI-driven advancement in efficiency and data excellence within risk management, the solution won HSBC the Hong Kong Risk Management Innovation of the Year - Financial Services category.

The Asian Innovation Excellence Awards honours companies that achieve measurable outcomes and address key challenges through innovation and operational improvement, recognising initiatives that drive meaningful progress across diverse industries in the region.

The Asian Innovation Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review. To view the full list of winners, click here. For more information on the awards programme, you may contact Julie Anne Nuñez-Difuntorum at (+65) 3158 1386 ext 242 or at [email protected].