Bank executive's artificial intelligence remarks spark calls for a concrete workforce plan
NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite (pictured right) has come under fire after acknowledging that artificial intelligence (AI) will displace certain roles within the banking sector, with critics calling for finance leaders to produce concrete plans for managing the transition.
Speaking at a business summit hosted by The Times, Thwaite said: "In effect, there will be roles that currently exist that absolutely to all intents and purposes [will be] delivered by AI."
He declined to confirm whether NatWest's workforce of around 60,000 would shrink over the next decade, but conceded it "is definitely going to change".
Patrick Sullivan (pictured right), chief executive of think tank Parliament Street, was among those to challenge the remarks. "Another day, another city chief scaremongering the workforce without due consideration for the consequences," he said.
"What we need from finance chiefs is a clear action plan for how tools like AI will reshape the jobs market and turbocharge the economy."
Thwaite's comments arrive in the wake of a separate controversy at Standard Chartered, where chief executive Bill Winters was forced to apologise last month after describing staff facing redundancy as "lower value human capital". The bank had announced that 8,000 roles would be replaced by AI.
NatWest boss Paul Thwaite becomes latest bank chief to admit that some jobs in the industry will be taken by AI https://t.co/6XeXlFjXQH
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) June 18, 2026
Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise at Check Point Software, warned that the industry's focus on headcount was obscuring a more immediate risk. "Every AI job replacement opens up organisations to a potential new cyber risk," she said.
"As financial services institutions race to roll out agentic functions, few are giving due care and consideration to the consequences in terms of security. AI is information, not wisdom, it can be compromised and manipulated in the wrong hands. Each programme must be carefully considered in terms of cyber defences and privacy concerns and where possible a human should be in the loop."
Kenny MacAulay, chief executive of practice management software platform Acting Office, argued that the jobs debate was missing a broader point. "AI will undoubtedly replace jobs, but what's never talked about is the new roles it will help create," he said.
"The banking and finance industry is notorious for mismanaging tech deployments, creating expensive and ineffective IT estates. AI will indeed sweep away crumbling systems and streamline a new wave of productivity. But these systems will still need to be reviewed, fine-tuned and modelled, leading to an eventual net gain in job creation."
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