FORMER CITI CEO: 30% of banking jobs will be wiped out in 5 years
In an interview on Bloomberg Television, the 60-year-old Indian-American said threats from artificial intelligence and robots will "change the back office."
"I see a banking world going from large financial institutions to one that's a little bit more decentralized," he told Bloomberg's Haslinda Amin.
Pandit's prediction is roughly in line with his former employer's estimates. A report by Citigroup in March of last year estimated the same number - 30% - of job losses, but over a decade as opposed to just five years. The firm is already staffing up a new center to unleash robotics throughout the the bank.
Pandit helmed Citigroup for just under five years, beginning in 2007. Having led the bank through the financial crisis, and resigned in 2012. He has since founded a private equity firm called Orogen Group, where he today serves as CEO.
Many other former and current finance executives have voiced similar concerns about jobs being made redundant thanks to artificial intelligence. Last month, Axel Lehmann, COO of Swiss bank UBS, said AI would "fundamentally change the banking business."
"I don't want to get blindsided. It's less the technology, as such, providing a transformative element in the banking industry," he said in an interview with Business Insider. "It's really alternative business models that has the potential to shake up everything and eat into our cake.