BofA Enhances The Spreadsheet With APIs, Artificial Intelligence

In corporate finance, “Excel spreadsheets” is nothing short of a taboo. But a new solution from Bank of America Merrill Lynch is looking to make better use of the notoriously manual tool.

The financial institution (FI) announced news on Tuesday (Oct. 17) that it is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and API technology to integrate its solutions directly with Microsoft Excel. Its new tool, CashPro Assistant, includes analytics and forecasting solutions, which rely on AI and predictive analytics to help corporate customers manage and analyze their banking and financial data.

The solution can automatically collect data from CashPro Online and display it into configurable spreadsheets, Bank of America said.

“Companies are looking to their banks to not just execute financial transactions, but to provide information they can use in a hands-on fashion to inform their decision-making,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch Head of Financing and Channels for Global Transaction Services, Hubert J.P. Jolly, in a statement. “We’re launching CashPro Assistant in recognition that the services we’ve created can be valuable to our clients without the need to pick and choose among them. Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for clients to do business.”

In addition to the integration with Microsoft Excel, the FI is looking to use APIs to deploy additional tools under the CashPro brand. Hubert J.P. Jolly said that these upcoming solutions will recognize corporates’ need for an advisor and partner from their financial service providers.

“Our clients manage an increasingly complex ecosystem,” the executive continued. “Treasurers are challenged with maintaining oversight and managing daily operations using fragmented tools, leaving them with less time to focus on capital allocation and oversight. We view this as an opportunity to help them gain efficiencies, enhance governance and control and drive strategic growth.”