At CeFPro’s Risk Evolve conference, Citi’s Mauricio Masondo laid out a compelling case for the human-AI partnership in modern credit management. Reflecting on his experience in building Citi’s ESG credit function and portfolio management team, Masondo emphasized that while AI offers unparalleled data processing power, it’s humans who make the outputs useful. The crux of his argument is clear: AI models are necessary but insufficient without human interpreters who understand both data and credit.

Masondo stressed the growing importance of professionals who can act as translators—those who not only understand credit language but can also work with data scientists to decode complex models into client-facing narratives. Without this crucial bridge, AI insights remain numbers in a vacuum, failing to influence real-world decisions.

The shift from traditional credit analysis to early warning systems, powered by AI, is already underway. But the future belongs to those who combine deep domain expertise with technical literacy. Masondo illustrated this with a timely comparison: just as Excel revolutionized finance in the ‘90s and became indispensable, AI will follow a similar trajectory. Those who embrace it will thrive; those who don’t risk obsolescence.

Ultimately, he calls on the credit industry to embed these new tools into training programs and elevate the skill set of the current workforce. It’s not about man vs. machine—it’s about man and machine, together.