Portfolio’s Future of Finance 2026 conference on September 23 will focus on how artificial intelligence — especially agent-based and generative AI — is changing banks, insurers and other financial institutions. In the event’s 2.A session, Hungarian and international experts will present practical use cases, return-on-investment examples and strategic challenges.
Who will speak and what topics will be covered?
Confirmed speakers include:
- Vadócz Zsolt (K&H Bank), Digital Lead
- Léder Tamás (MBH Bank), Director of Digital Business Competencies
- Kurtisz Krisztián (UNIQA Biztosító), CEO
- Jendrolovics Péter (Gránit Bank), Deputy CEO
- Stadler Gellért (TC2), Data & AI Team Lead
- Kuruc Péter (EY) and others
Discussion points include which AI projects have already delivered measurable benefits at Hungarian financial institutions, which initiatives are still pending, and how data assets and AI maturity can be converted into business impact. The program will also cover the capabilities of in-app virtual bankers and AI implementations in areas like customer service, credit decisions and wealth management.
Industry analyses: rapid change and growing AI budgets
Analyses by McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identify two developments that are reshaping competition among banks: agent-based AI systems and the rapid spread of generative AI. BCG notes that generative AI adoption can grow extremely fast—for example, about half of the working-age population in the U.S. began actively using these tools within a short period.
BCG argues that the financial sector faces structural change because AI-based operating models can fundamentally rewrite processes, productivity and cost structures. According to the consultancy, banks plan to spend about 2% of revenues on AI in 2026, approaching levels typical of the technology sector. The key question is not only how much is spent, but whether funds are allocated to genuinely transformative projects.
Concrete outcomes from real deployments
BCG highlights implemented cases with measurable results:
- An Asian bank using an agent-based AI architecture freed up over 30% of wealth advisors’ capacity, resulting in a 30% increase in fee income and a threefold rise in client activity.
- In a European institution, AI agents transformed credit underwriting: staff productivity rose by 50%, decision times shortened to about 24 hours, and fraud detection improved by more than 30%.
- A large U.S. bank that deployed AI software development assistants increased average developer productivity by 30%, with top teams seeing around 60% gains.
These examples illustrate how capacity can be expanded, decision-making accelerated and fraud detection strengthened.
Business model impacts and risks
Agent-based AI can monitor accounts in real time, compare available yields, optimize deposit rates and automatically steer savings toward higher-yield products. In practice, this capability could shift a portion of banks’ previously realized interest margin directly to customers and weaken traditional customer-retention dynamics.
BCG identifies four trends to watch:
- Synthetic voices may soon compete with human interaction in empathy and consistency.
- AI agents with long-term memory and contextual understanding will be able to execute complex workflows autonomously.
- Personal AI assistants will spread, driving transparency in clients’ financial decisions and putting pressure on bank margins.
- AI-enabled fraud and cybercrime will proliferate, necessitating AI-based defenses.
The Hungarian context and the hybrid model
Digital banks and brokers already operate on a fraction of the costs of traditional players because they have automated large parts of customer service and collections. Human staff can therefore focus on genuinely sensitive cases, such as supporting customers in severe financial distress or resolving complex disputes. That hybrid model is both more efficient and changes pricing across certain business lines.
Conference presenters include practitioners who will discuss the current state of AI projects in Hungary and their returns, giving attendees insight into how local institutions are moving beyond pilot phases.
What attendees can expect
Future of Finance 2026 will feature four in-depth presentations and a panel discussion that together map how AI is applied across the financial sector. Speakers will address practical metrics such as ROI, operational efficiency gains, and defenses against fraud and cyber threats. The event aims to provide actionable perspectives based on real-world examples and international experience to help firms understand how AI can become a strategic core of financial services.
Registration and further information are available on Portfolio’s event page.
