Dec 1 (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBC ) said on Monday it had signed a multi-year deal with French start-up Mistral AI to integrate generative artificial intelligence tools across the bank, aiming to speed up automation, lift productivity, and enhance client services.

Under the pact, HSBC ( HSBC ) will deploy Mistral's commercial models and future upgrades on a self-hosted basis, combining its internal tech muscle with Mistral's model building.

Both firms will collaborate to build AI solutions for tasks ranging from financial analysis and multilingual translation to risk assessment and personalised client communication.

The London-listed bank said the tools could dramatically slash the time employees spend on routine tasks, for example, credit and financing teams will be able to parse complex, document-heavy deals far more quickly.

HSBC ( HSBC ), already running hundreds of AI use cases globally across fraud detection, transaction monitoring, compliance, and customer service, expects the partnership to accelerate innovation cycles, helping launch new AI-powered features more rapidly.

The push comes as lenders globally race to embed generative AI despite lingering data-privacy concerns. HSBC ( HSBC ) said it will deploy Mistral's tools under its existing responsible-AI governance framework, aiming to preserve transparency and data protection.