$24.5B by 2030: The do-it-for-me Agentic AI loan revolution in APAC

Why Agentic AI is lending’s next big shift

Southeast Asia’s banking and financial sector is at a turning point. Institutions face a dual challenge - scaling digital services and sharpening decision-making, while keeping costs and risks under control.

In the last two years, loan processing times across APAC have collapsed from weeks to hours. Yet for many established players, launching a new loan product still takes 12–18 months on legacy systems. Modern platforms can do it in three to six.

Traditional automation and chatbots are good at repetitive tasks, but they often stumble when decisions require deeper context or coordination across multiple systems. That’s where Agentic AI steps in, bringing autonomous, goal-driven AI agents that can run end-to-end workflows without human hand-offs

Why “more automation” isn’t enough

Rule-based automation can handle routine tasks. However, when decisions depend on multiple data sources, complex risk profiles, or regulatory nuance, it falls short.

Agentic AI offers a more agile approach - capable of managing end-to-end workflows with both speed and intelligence.

What are AI agents and why banking and financial institutions need them

Think of Agentic AI as a smart, always-on teammate that:

• Executes end-to-end processes from KYC to credit decisions to disbursement without hand-offs.
• Acts on goals autonomously, such as “Approve loans ≤ $50K if risk score < 0.3.”
• Learns continuously from fresh data and adapts to new fraud patterns.

Difference between Agentic AI and Generative AI in lending

*bps = basis points *NIM = net interest margin

Agentic AI doesn’t just generate insights - it makes and executes decisions, coordinates entire workflows, and improves itself without manual intervention. The results are faster approvals, sharper risk control, and smoother compliance, freeing teams to focus on innovation and customer relationships.

Why the shift is happening now

The market opportunity

The global Agentic AI market is expected to grow from US$2.6B in 2024 to US$24.5B by 2030, with BFSI alone reaching US$5.5B by 2025. In Southeast Asia, financial institutions are squeezed between outdated infrastructure and customers demanding real-time, frictionless service.

• Faster launches – New products in months, not years.
• Sharper risk control – Dynamic scoring that adapts to changing behavior.
• Seamless compliance – Audit-ready logs without extra headcount.

At AND Solutions, we help financial institutions lay the foundation for AI-ready lending — from data intelligence to decision automation.
Our goal: prepare today’s systems for tomorrow’s Agentic AI.

Where the ROI is highest

Not all AI deployments deliver the same return. Agentic AI creates the most impact in workflows that are high-value, high-friction, and benefit from continuous learning.

Customer service and support – ROI 3.7×

• 30% faster responses with intelligent triage.
• 25% higher CSAT through context-aware, multi-turn chats.
• End-to-end ownership that reduces repeat tickets.

Fraud detection and risk management – ROI 2.5×

• 80% fewer false positives through adaptive threat modeling.
• 4× more screenings without extra headcount.
• Real-time pattern recognition to counter evolving threats.

Loan processing and enhanced due diligence – ROI 2.2×

• Approvals in minutes instead of days via end-to-end workflows.
• 40–60% less manual due diligence work.
• Dynamic scoring integrating real-time behavioral data.

KYC and compliance operations – ROI 2.0×

• 50% less manual enhanced due diligence.
• Audit-ready logs generated automatically.
• Self-updating compliance guardrails.

Order-to-cash and financial close – ROI 1.8×

•  50–60% faster reconciliations.
• Shorter reporting cycles.

Below is a breakdown of the processes where lending institutions see the most dramatic efficiency and effectiveness gains, along with their average ROI multipliers:

Sources: Microsoft, A Framework for Calculating ROI for Agentic AI Apps, CBI insights‍

By combining loan processing and order-to-cash & financial close, banks can see as much as a 4× ROI, compounding both operational efficiency and cost savings.

How to scale from pilot to competitive edge

Pilots prove feasibility. True transformation happens when AI becomes part of core operations.

Start where ROI is highest

Begin with functions that bring measurable value and fit into existing systems with minimal disruption. For most banks, this means:

• Loan processing – Compressing credit decisions from days to minutes, cutting underwriting effort by 60%, and boosting margins.
• Order-to-cash – Automating reconciliations and period-end closes to accelerate working capital cycles.

Build for full-stack execution

McKinsey’s research points to three success factors steps:

1. Deploy AI lending systems with orchestration, decisioning, and secure APIs.
2. Empower cross-functional teams for deployment and governance.
3. Define clear agent roles, KPIs, and risk guardrails.

Banks applying these steps have achieved:

• 10–30% faster time to market
• 2–3× growth in digital channel adoption
• Lower compliance breaches

Why early movers will win

Agentic AI is not a passing trend. In high-stakes areas like fraud resolution, lending, and onboarding, autonomous execution can be the difference between leading and lagging.

Be part of the shift

At AND Solutions, we bring modular, regulatory-aligned AI agents into live banking operations, from document intelligence and credit scoring to fully automated loan processing.

Ready to assess your AI readiness?

Schedule a 30-minute session with our team to identify where automation can unlock the most value for your lending workflows.

Disclaimer: This report is based on publicly available market data and is provided for informational purposes only.