Dutch bank ING is eliminating tedious manual processes in mortgage applications by increasing its use of modern artificial intelligence (AI) agents.
The bank is expanding its use of AI for mortgages after successfully piloting it, saying it will take over document collection and checking and move cases between different systems, enabling faster mortgage decisions.
The AI agent examines and understands the application, explaining possible outcomes and how to move forward, before a human employee makes the final assessment and decision. The AI agent for mortgage processing was piloted in March this year and the bank is now preparing to deploy it in a live environment.
About 12 months ago, ING chief operating officer Marnix van Stifffort spoke to Computer Weekly about the work being done around the use of AI in mortgage origination.
“We’re looking at agent AI for products like mortgages and rethinking how we work with customers to get mortgage financing,” he said at the time. “They no longer need to talk to a human in terms of getting all their data and doing credit checks, they need to talk to a digital agent.”
ING says, “Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions people make, and waiting for a mortgage decision can be one of the most uncertain moments along the way. Much of that waiting happens behind the scenes, like gathering and reviewing documents and moving cases between systems and experts.”
Tom Degen, head of mortgage lending at ING Netherlands, said the use of AI agents will allow people to “focus on complex applications and personal contact with brokers.”…With Agent Mortgage Assistant, we are taking the next step in supporting mortgage applications, providing faster decision-making and clearer outcomes for customers and brokers. ”
AI agents in mortgages are a sign of things to come for banks, with ING saying it is “testing ideas in real-world environments and expanding on what adds value for customers.”
In an interview with Computer Weekly last year, Stichout said he expected AI to reduce the number of people working on specific operational tasks by 25%, but that 25% could be used for growth or more complex tasks.
In an interview with Computer Weekly last year, ING Chief Technology Officer Daniele Tonella said the bank was enabling AI-focused developments in five areas: These are inside technology for know your customer (KYC), call centers, wholesale banking to improve customer due diligence, retail for advanced product personalization, and engineering.
A recent study by Zopa and Juniper Research found that generative AI (GenAI) could save 187 million labor hours, primarily in back-office roles, and eliminate 27,000 jobs by 2030.
For example, Commerzbank recently announced that it would cut 3,000 jobs, or about 8% of its workforce, as it ramps up its AI investments, set at €600 million over the next four years. The bank expects to generate added value of EUR 500 million annually from 2030 onwards through AI investments.
Banks today are benefiting greatly from AI with services from Lloyds Banking Group. Financial institution sentiment survey towards 2025 They found that 59% of companies surveyed reported productivity gains from AI in the past 12 months, compared to 32% in 2024.
