IBM欲借人工智能發力金融諮詢

IBM is set to acquire Promontory Financial, a Washington-based financial consulting firm, as part of a broader effort to use artificial intelligence to analyse regulations and provide advice to financial institutions.

IBM將收購總部駐華盛頓的金融諮詢公司鵬睿金融集團(Promontory Financial Group)，以實現用人工智能(AI)技術分析監管規定、併爲金融機構提供諮詢意見的更大目標。

The computer maker said it was launching a new unit, Watson Financial Services, that would seek to harness the power of Watson, its artificial intelligence computer system, to advise clients on risk and compliance.

這家計算機制造商表示正成立一個名爲沃森金融服務(Watson Financial Services)的新部門，該部門會試圖利用其人工智能計算機系統沃森(Watson)的巨大威力，爲客戶提供風險與合規方面的諮詢意見。

IBM has suffered from falling revenues over the past four years as its core computer business declines, and Ginni Rometty, its chief executive, has tried to counteract this by focusing on new business areas such as analytics and cloud services.

過去四年，隨着其核心計算機業務的下滑，IBM飽受營收下滑之苦。該公司首席執行官羅睿蘭(Ginni Rometty)曾試圖通過將注意力集中於分析和雲計算服務等新的商業領域，對抗這一趨勢。

The company has been spending aggressively to invest in these areas, making $5bn worth of acquisitions in the first six months of this year, although it did not disclose the price tag for the Promontory deal.

在這些領域，該公司一直在以激進的開銷開展投資，今年上半年實施了價值50億美元的收購交易。不過，該公司並未披露其在鵬睿併購交易中的價碼。

Promontory is a consulting firm founded and led by Eugene Ludwig, who was a top banking official during the Clinton administration.

鵬睿是由尤金•路德維格(Eugene Ludwig)創辦並領導的一家諮詢公司，後者在克林頓執政期間是一位頂級的銀行業官員。

It has more than 600 employees globally, many of who are former regulators who provide consulting services to the banks they once regulated.

該公司在全球擁有逾600名員工，其中許多人都曾在監管機構任職，現在則在爲他們曾監管過的銀行提供諮詢服務。

Through this tie-up IBM hopes to tap into the market for helping banks manage a fast-changing regulatory environment, a niche that it estimates is worth some $270bn a year.

IBM希望通過這一結盟，開發這一幫助銀行管理快速變化的監管環境的市場。據IBM估計，這一小衆市場每年的規模約爲2700億美元。

After the deal with Promontory closes, its employees will help train Watson so that the artificial intelligence system can better understand risk and compliance.

在與鵬睿的交易完成後，鵬睿員工將幫助訓練沃森系統，從而令該系統能夠更好地理解風險與合規問題。

This is a workload ideally suited for Watson’s cognitive capabilities intended to allow financial institutions to absorb the regulatory changes, understand their obligations, and . . . address compliance requirements more quickly, the company said in a statement.

該公司在一份聲明中表示：這是一種完美適合沃森認知能力的工作，意在令金融機構吸收監管條例的變化，理解它們的義務，並且……更迅速地應對合規要求。

The tasks that Watson could perform include tracking changing regulations, financial risk modelling, surveillance, and anti-money laundering work, the company said.

IBM表示，沃森可能會執行的任務包括跟蹤研究不斷變化的監管條例、金融風險建模、監督工作及反洗錢工作。

Watson, which became famous for beating human contestants on the game show Jeopardy!, has previously been used for big-data processing work including cancer research, but has yet to have any blockbuster commercial applications.

沃森系統曾在智力比賽綜藝節目《危險邊緣》(Jeopardy!)中打敗人類參賽者，從而讓其名聲大噪。此前，該系統一直被用於包括癌症研究在內的大數據處理，不過迄今仍未有過任何一鳴驚人的商業應用。

We believe the future of business and regulation will be driven by the need for advanced technology alongside deep subject-matter expertise, said Mr Ludwig.

路德維格表示：我們相信，驅動商業和監管未來的，除了對目標領域深厚專業技能的需要以外，還包括對先進技術的需要。

Last year Promontory faced a lawsuit from the Department of Financial Services related to services provided to Standard Chartered involving its business with Iran.

去年，鵬睿曾由於爲渣打銀行(Standard Chartered)提供的服務捲入了該行與伊朗的業務，面臨紐約州金融服務管理局(Department of Financial Services)的法律訴訟。

Promontory settled the charges for $15m and admitted that it did not comply with regulations for consultants.

通過繳納1500萬美元罰金並承認未能遵守諮詢公司監管規定，鵬睿就相關指控達成了和解。

IBM’s share price, which has risen 14 per cent this year, was flat on Thursday on news of the acquisition.

併購消息傳出之後，IBM股價在週四保持平穩。此前，該公司股價在今年已上漲14%。