Banking’s Crisis of Meaning: When Purpose Disappears

Why It Matters

Purpose‑driven branding is the only lever that can keep banking talent engaged as AI takes over routine functions, protecting both employee morale and customer trust.

Key Takeaways

• AI automates core banking tasks, eroding employee purpose
• Strong brand purpose provides meaning beyond AI-driven processes
• Banks must redefine roles around values, not just efficiency
• Employee identity shifts from job titles to mission stewardship
• Without purpose, reskilling cannot prevent disengagement crisis

Pulse Analysis

The banking sector is accelerating its AI adoption, from credit underwriting to real‑time risk monitoring. While these technologies boost speed and accuracy, they also compress the human element that traditionally gave employees a sense of contribution. As algorithms handle more decision‑making, workers risk becoming custodians of machines rather than creators of value, a shift that can erode engagement and increase turnover if left unchecked.

Purpose‑centric branding offers a remedy by anchoring every employee’s daily actions to a broader mission. Banks that articulate goals such as "building financial confidence for families" or "democratizing capital for underserved communities" give staff a narrative that transcends task automation. This narrative not only differentiates the institution in a crowded market but also aligns human judgment with ethical considerations that AI alone cannot address, fostering trust among customers and regulators alike.

Leaders can operationalize this insight by redefining job descriptions around stewardship of values, not merely execution of processes. Frameworks that map AI outputs to the bank’s stated purpose, coupled with regular purpose‑alignment workshops, help staff see their role in the larger story. Metrics such as purpose‑engagement scores and ethical decision audits can track progress. By embedding purpose into the organizational DNA, banks can retain talent, enhance brand equity, and navigate the inevitable AI‑driven transformation with a resilient workforce.

Banking’s crisis of meaning: When purpose disappears

Dharmesh Mistry, Editorial Contributor, FinTech Futures · February 20, 2026 · 4 Min Read

When you automate someone's purpose and not just their tasks, you create a crisis no amount of training can solve.

In my previous two articles, I've explored Charles Handy's concept of the empty raincoat and how AI could make the remaining human work at banks harder.

This week, I want to tackle what I think could be the deepest issue: what might happen to identity and purpose when your role remains but the meaning disappears?

What worries most people about AI shouldn’t just be about unemployment, it should be about being employed without purpose. You'll still have a role, but not a reason for being there.

The “meaning crisis” I see coming

When I first started in banking, your local branch typically knew the names of their regular customers. Back then, banking used to offer clear meaning. People genuinely helped families buy homes and enabled businesses to grow. There was purpose beyond the paycheque.

What happens when that meaning moves entirely into the system? When AI approves mortgages, assesses credit, monitors savings, flags risks? The human role becomes simply pressing buttons, explaining AI decisions, and handling complaints when AI gets it wrong.

You can train someone to do these tasks. But you cannot train them to find meaning in doing them.

Why brand and purpose matter more than ever

It’s thanks to my good friend Dave Wallace that I have a much better understanding of brand now, and boy is it more important than I ignorantly considered before to be simply colours and logos.

So, I've written previously that banks need vision deeper than “making banking better” (for me, that’s a product goal, not a purpose). When AI makes products better by default, “better banking” becomes meaningless as a rallying cry for your bank, in my opinion.

This is where brand becomes critical – not brand as marketing, but as genuine organisational purpose. Strong brand gives employees something to align with that transcends their specific role. It answers the question, “What are we here for?”, in a way that survives technological disruption.

Consider the difference: a bank whose purpose is “providing excellent financial services” has a problem when AI provides those services more excellently. But a bank whose purpose is “enabling financial confidence for families navigating life's complexity” – that’s something humans and AI can pursue together, with different but complementary contributions.

Brand becomes the north star: you're not here to process mortgages (AI does that). You're here to ensure our purpose is fulfilled in ways technology alone cannot. Brand becomes the container for meaning that persists even as tasks change.

Moving forward, banks with weak brands will struggle the most. Their employees won’t be able to answer the question, “Why am I here?”, beyond simply, “I’m handling what AI can't.” That’s not real, meaningful work.

The identity crisis nobody's preparing for

Handy talked about how people derive identity from work. “I’m an underwriter.” These aren't just job titles – it’s the purpose they fulfil when they arrive at their desk. What happens when the credit risk is fully automated? You might still have the title. But the identity could disappear.

Going forward, I think we'll start to see impostor syndrome in reverse. Not feeling unqualified, but feeling your job doesn’t need you. You’re competent, but you’re pretending your role matters when AI does the actual work.

Here’s where brand matters: employees at banks with strong purpose can shift identity from “I’m a credit risk officer” to “I’m someone who ensures customers are lent money responsibly and fairly.” With increasing technology capability and automation, banking tasks will change, but identity anchored in purpose will remain.

Without purposeful brand, you’re just “the person who explains AI decisions.” That’s not an identity anyone wants.

The questions people will ask

Banks will soon face employees asking: “If AI makes better decisions than me, what value do I add?” or “If customers prefer the AI, why do they need me?”

These aren’t skills questions. These are questions about purpose. “You’re here to handle exceptions,” isn’t a satisfying answer.

However: “You’re here to ensure our decisions reflect our values, not just optimise metrics.” That has meaning. If the bank has articulated those values through its brand, employees have something to hold onto.

The question banks must answer

If AI does the meaningful work, what gives human employees meaning? The answer must be existential, not tactical. This is why purposeful brand matters. It’s the answer to “Why do we exist beyond making money?” When you have that answer, employees can find their place even as tasks change.

A bank that exists “to democratise access to capital for underserved communities” can tell employees: you ensure that purpose is fulfilled in every AI decision. The AI makes transactions efficient. You make them purposeful.

Until banks articulate purpose transcending tasks, they could have perfectly functioning AI operations full of people who don’t know why they show up. Empty raincoats everywhere.

In my next article, I’ll explore some frameworks to help banks forge a path forward. But the foundation is clear: without purposeful brand and vision deeper than “better banking,” no reskilling will solve the meaning crisis coming.

This week, I’m just saying… when you automate someone’s purpose and not just their tasks, you create a crisis training cannot solve. Brand isn’t marketing when it gives employees reason to exist beyond executing AI instructions. It’s the difference between empty raincoats and purposeful people.

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About the Author

Dharmesh Mistry – Editorial Contributor, FinTech Futures

Dharmesh Mistry has been in banking for more than 30 years, both in senior positions at Tier 1 banks and as a serial entrepreneur. He has been at the forefront of banking technology and innovation, from the very first internet and mobile banking apps to artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR). He has been on both sides of the fence and isn’t afraid to share his opinions. He founded proptech start‑up AskHomey (sold to a private investor in spring 2023) and is an investor and mentor in proptech and fintech. He also co‑hosts the Demystify Podcast. All opinions are his own.