South Africa, In-person

Bankers Dialogue Series 2026: Johannesburg

Growth without the rebuild: Agentic AI for South Africa’s advanced banks.

Join us at the Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg, on 15 September for the next edition of the Bankers Dialogue Series. We have curated this private, invitation-only roundtable for a select group of senior banking executives to tackle the industry’s most pressing architectural and operational blockers in a candid, peer-led environment.

This session bridges the gap between the pilot phase and true production value. We are stripping away the buzzwords to focus on the tangible: how to modernise your foundation, satisfy risk and compliance mandates, and deploy agentic banking at scale without needing to dismantle the core systems you already have.

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Scaling AI without the core rebuild

The challenge today is not a lack of AI capability, but the difficulty of deploying it within a complex, regulated environment. Many institutions have identified high-impact use cases, yet they struggle to bridge the gap between a successful prototype and a scalable production reality. The goal is to build intelligent, agentic banking that creates measurable growth without the risk of a complete core-system overhaul.

This session cuts through the theory to focus on the technical and operational blockers that actually matter. We are bringing together a small group of leaders to debate how to modernise banking systems in a way that satisfies risk and compliance requirements while maintaining the speed necessary for true innovation.

Reasons why AI pilots fail to translate into production value
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Data and workflow foundations essential for safe scaling
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Defining clear accountability between human teams and AI agents
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‍Strategies for delivering near-term value through conversational and agentic tools
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Selective modernisation as a faster alternative to core replacement
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Assessing ROI across productivity, customer experience, and risk management
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The agenda

15 Sept 2026

08:00 - 09:00
Arrival, networking & breakfast

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09:00 - 09:30
Welcome & opening keynote

Growth without the rebuild:Β  the production reality of agentic AI

09:30 - 10:00
Partner fireside

From capability to control: what it takes to run agentic AI at enterprise scale

10:00 - 10:30
Banker fireside

Beyond the pilot: a bank’s journey to production AI

10:30 - 11:30
Executive roundtable (Chatham House rules)

Where AI gets stuck, and what it takes to scale

11:30 - 11:45
Q&A, key takeaways & close

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Who should attend

For the architects of change

This session is curated for C-suite and senior banking leaders bridging the gap between AI hypothesis and tangible business reality. We invite leaders responsible for:

  • Retail, business and digital banking
  • Technology, architecture and platform strategy
  • Transformation, operations and innovation
  • Data, AI and customer experience
  • Risk, governance and enterprise strategy

Request an invitation

This roundtable is invitation-only. We limit attendance to ensure a focused, peer-led environment. If you are interested in joining the conversation on scaling AI at your institution, please submit a request below. We will confirm your seat upon review.

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