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NEC's Agentic AI Joint Research Group

In a significant move towards transforming the finance industry, NEC has recently established the "Agentic AI Joint Research Group" with 20 regional and system financial institutions. The inaugural meeting took place on July 30, 2025, with the primary aim of addressing challenges in the effective and secure use of generative AI across the financial sector. This initiative builds on the success of last year’s "Regional Financial Institutions Generative AI Joint Research Group," emphasizing case-sharing between participating organizations and exploring the optimization of operations through state-of-the-art technologies such as Agentic AI.

Background and Purpose

Since the introduction of ChatGPT, the adoption of generative AI has rapidly expanded, moving from general corporate applications to industry-specific uses. However, the implementation of generative AI presents numerous challenges, including the need for timely and accurate information, security measures, and governance frameworks. The Joint Research Group is established to collaboratively address these issues and explore the appropriate utilization of generative AI in the finance sector.

In the previous year, the focus was on sharing experiences from participating financial institutions and verifying specific use cases. This year, alongside returning entities, new participants will aim at tangible implementations and demonstrable effects of generative AI in financial operations. The initiative aims to enhance the overall application of autonomous agents, including generative AI, throughout the workflows of financial activities.

Key Activities

1. Joint Verification: Explore specific use cases in financial services by utilizing autonomous agent technologies, including Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and NEC’s proprietary generative AI, "cotomi."

2. Utilization Enhancement: Conduct assessments to evaluate the maturity of AI utilization at participating financial organizations, leading to tailored recommendations for effective AI application strategies.

3. Knowledge Sharing: Facilitate the sharing of generative AI use cases and experiences among participating financial institutions.

Annual Schedule

The currently anticipated schedule for the research group includes monthly meetings from the end of July 2025 until late February 2026.

Participating Institutions

Operating Entity:
NEC Corporation

Participating Financial Institutions:

• - Ehime Bank
• - Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank
• - Okinawa Bank
• - Kiyo Bank
• - Gunma Bank
• - Shimizu Bank
• - Shinkin Central Bank
• - Yokohama Bank
• - Nagoya Bank
• - Hiroshima Bank
• - Yokohama Shinkin Bank
• - Other 3 financial institutions (total: 20 institutions)

Through this initiative, NEC aims not only to advance the application of generative AI among regional financial institutions but also to contribute to solving societal issues through these financial channels.

Previous Year Activities

In the previous fiscal year, 15 local financial institutions participated to promote knowledge sharing and talent development related to generative AI. They collectively verified use cases for generative AI in loan applications and asset management, presenting the results in a white paper.

For further information, please refer to NEC's press release regarding the white paper on the joint research group.

Note: "cotomi" is the name assigned to NEC’s generative AI, embodying the intention of guiding the future through words and striving to be a partner for customers.

For inquiries, please contact:
NEC Digital Finance Group / Email: [email protected]

Relevant Links: NEC Digital Finance