Japan's Mega Banks Shift: Thousands of Administrative Staff to Become AI Developers at Mizuho

Mizuho Financial Group, one of Japan's top three mega-banks, has decided to transition thousands of sales and administrative employees into artificial intelligence (AI) development roles.

The Nikkei reported today (October 15) that Mizuho Financial Group has decided to transition sales and administrative staff into AI development talent, planning to streamline existing sectors and establish a system focused on the competitive AI field.

Beginning next month, Mizuho plans to sequentially start this transition for employees across its group banks and securities firms, aiming to expand the number of converted employees to a scale of several thousand over the next decade.

The transition targets all 50,000 employees across the company, with priority given to volunteers.

Employees of all generations, including mid-career staff with management experience, will be able to switch their duties to AI development roles.

Employees transitioned to AI development roles will receive three months of specialized training and will be tasked with developing AI to be utilized in internal operations or customer-facing services.

Unlike in the past, Mizuho expects that with the assistance of generative AI, employees will be able to handle AI development tasks even with a short period of training.

The Nikkei emphasized, "Employees at financial institutions such as banks have been a symbol of white-collar workers," adding, "As generative AI becomes more sophisticated, even administrative staff can develop AI systems, which will serve as a turning point in changing how Japanese companies work."

The newspaper also explained, "Mizuho has a plan to reduce administrative workloads equivalent to up to 5,000 workers over the next 10 years through the use of AI," noting that "as the volume of administrative work decreases, the barriers between administrative and technical roles will collapse, making the redefinition of job descriptions essential."

Behind Mizuho's decision is the difficulty in securing relevant talent despite the growing importance of AI.

According to the human resources service firm Levtech, the job-to-applicant ratio for career transitions in this field exceeded 10 at the end of 2025.

This means that the number of personnel needed by companies is more than 10 times the number of job seekers.

With AI having significant room for application across various financial sectors such as payments, loans, and asset management, Japanese banks are actively pursuing attempts to utilize AI in their operations.

Another mega-bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has put "AI bankers" into practical use to handle tasks alongside regular bank clerks.

The Nikkei also reported that software developer Dynatrace plans to provide data analysis services utilizing AI targeting regional banks and credit associations starting in December.

This service involves AI analyzing customer company information—such as withdrawal and consultation histories, and financial statements—along with deposit and loan-related data to discover and propose investment demand.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.