In conversation with Nina Ihl

Read time: 1:30 Minutes

Nina, here at FIBE, you were a speaker on the panel titled “AI as a hero saving banks from future fraud?” Do you think, AI is that hero?

Nina Ihl: From my perspective, yes, it is. We are deeply involved in AI, and AI is part of our DNA. We trust that AI will make banking faster, more convenient, and especially safer. Safety is the key topic for me.

In which areas do you see AI having the most impact in fraud?

Ihl: It’s about detection and therefore speed. We still need human gut feeling when it comes to fraud. We still need humans to see things AI will never see. Especially when something feels unusual but doesn’t match a known pattern or rule yet. These are often the early signals of new fraud schemes, where experience and intuition still play a critical role.

You mentioned the human gut feeling. Can you elaborate on how AI works together with humans?

Ihl: We need this gut feeling because AI will never have that. AI is fast. A human will never be able to screen millions of data points. Together, thex complement each other. What a human can’t see, AI may detect, and the other way around.

You said AI becomes more powerful with more data. What’s currently holding the industry back from reaching that level of data exchange?

Ihl: Good quality data and the exchange of it is the basis here. We’ve already made progress with AI, and we are in a good position, especially at Commerzbank. But we are still operating within our own data environments. AI becomes much more effective when it has access to broader datasets, across institutions and markets, because fraud patterns don’t stop at organizational boundaries.

Fraudsters don’t act within one company or one country. For me, setting standards, ensuring good quality data, and enabling information sharing is key.