{
  "id": 17768305,
  "title": "30pc of financial firms now employ agentic AI: survey",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/30pc-of-financial-firms-now-employ-agentic-ai-survey-17768305",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-02T08:05:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTHK News - Finance",
    "slug": "rthk-news-finance",
    "url": "https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876240-20261102.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has unveiled its inaugural AI readiness survey, revealing that a majority of Hong Kong's significant financial institutions have already integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into their day-to-day operations. Conducted in July and August, the survey examined 20 major financial firms and their 78 affiliated licensed corporations, collectively handling more than 75 percent of securities transactions reported by licensed corporations in the preceding six months.\n\nThe survey results indicate a surge in AI adoption, with 95 percent of the surveyed firms anticipating this trend to continue accelerating over the next year. Moreover, 90 percent of these firms are already integrating AI tools into their internal systems, with AI use now spanning across various business areas, including front-, middle-, and back-office functions.\n\nJulia Leung, the SFC's chief executive officer, highlighted the rapid growth in AI adoption within the capital market during the recent Hong Kong Fintech Week. Notably, agentic AI – a form of AI capable of autonomously determining and executing steps to accomplish a goal – is gaining momentum, the survey suggests. Thirty percent of the firms surveyed currently employ agentic AI in their business operations, while an additional 25 percent are piloting its use with varying degrees of autonomy and human involvement.\n\nHowever, Leung cautioned against underestimating the potential risks associated with agentic AI. Comparing it to children at home, she explained, \"They define the boundaries we set for them. They can go rogue, they can collude with their siblings, and disrupt your neighbour.\" Acknowledging that the rapid development of frontier AI models and agents has outpaced governments and regulators' ability to establish comprehensive rules, Leung emphasized the SFC's commitment to supervising AI usage.\n\nThe SFC plans to incorporate the survey findings into its supervisory approach to AI, focusing on investor protection, enhancing cybersecurity and operational resilience, and ensuring effective AI governance.",
  "summary": "The Securities and Futures Commission has released its first-ever AI readiness survey, showing that most large financial firms in Hong Kong already use artificial intelligence across their operations, with adoption expected to accelerate over the coming year. The survey, conducted between July and August this year, covered 20 large financial firms with 78 affiliated licensed corporations in Hong…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}