We have a huge appetite for India talent, says FICO CEO Will Lansing

The firm is not only scaling up its operations in country by hiring talent and building innovations but is also betting big to tap the India market by providing its technology to some of largest banks

India is expected to be one of the top markets in terms of revenue in the next few years for Fair Isaac Corporation, the US-based data and analytics company better known as FICO, said Will Lansing, chief executive officer (CEO) of FICO. In a video interview with Peerzada Abrar, Lansing, who is based in California, said that the company is not only scaling up its operations in the country by hiring talent and building innovations but is also betting big to tap the India market by providing its technology to some of the largest banks. The firm is also collaborating with tech companies, including TCS, to focus on other sectors where it cannot reach directly. Edited excerpts:

 

India is among the fastest-growing FinTech markets in the world, and market size is expected to grow from $584 billion in 2022 to $1.5 trillion by 2025. What opportunities do you see in the India market?

 

We are very excited about the Indian market because of the growth. We've been involved in India for a long time, since the early 2000s, with our technology centre in Bengaluru. We have offices all over the world. We have 3,700 employees, but a third of those employees are in Bengaluru. We build our software there. We have some of the most innovative and interesting things in our company coming out of there and serving the rest of the world. Initially, it was more of a base for talent and access to technology. Over the last 20 years, India has exploded as an economy and a market, and the growth has really taken off. There are very interesting changes in the financial and personal financial services space. India has become a very interesting market for FICO. We now sell our software in India. We believe that we are helping lenders expand the economy by providing access to credit to people who never had it before. India is a booming market for us. A big part of it is the availability of data. You have a very innovative government in terms of regulation, finding ways to share data that can be useful for building the consumer credit economy. Our software is tailormade to take advantage of that. Our platform is designed to ingest that data and make it easy to make credit decisions.

 

What partnerships are you forming with Indian banks and institutions?

 

One example would be AU Small Finance Bank. They've automated 30 per cent of their vehicle loan credit decisions using the FICO platform. The loan delivery is faster, and accuracy is higher. AU Bank is very focused on financial inclusion and has innovative ways to assess rural customers and farmers who do not have traditional credit histories. They use the FICO platform to gain a better understanding of their customers.

 

For instance, a rural farmer may not afford to buy seeds. But if you give him credit, he can buy seeds, plant them, and harvest. He sells the grain at a profit, repays the loan, and has money left over for his family. The economy is bigger and better as a result. AU Small Finance Bank is doing exactly that in the rural markets.

 

Another example would be Axis Bank, which is integrating the FICO platform to enhance credit card customer experience. They are adopting real-time decisioning for over-limit approvals. The FICO platform excels at processing large amounts of data, applying analytics, and making real-time decisions.

 

We have worked with government banks and extensively with private banks. We are very attuned to the mindset of the Indian regulator and consistently strive to work with our customers to ensure a sound system while extending credit to as many people as possible.

 

Do you have any collaborations with technology companies in the country?

 

TCS is a great example of a successful partnership. We have a tremendous amount of intellectual property and the best software for what we do, but we have a small sales force. So, we value partnering with others to bring our solutions to markets we otherwise would not reach. TCS helps us install and implement our software for customers and develops unique solutions for the marketplace. They have used the FICO platform to create solutions for sectors like transportation and logistics, which FICO does not serve directly.

 

What are your expansion and investment plans in India?

 

We intend to continue growing our Bengaluru office, our fastest-growing office. We do not see the same level of talent elsewhere in the world. We have invested $235 million into our Bengaluru operations and plan to continue. We are hiring over 100 people a year and remain committed to making our environment desirable for employees.

 

What kind of contribution do you expect from the Indian market towards your global revenue?

 

India was not one of our biggest markets initially. However, the transformation came in 2023 when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified guidelines on using cloud-based software platforms for lenders. This opened up the market for us, and we are seeing tremendous adoption of our platform. I anticipate that India will be a top-five market for FICO in the coming years.

 

Do you see any challenges in the India market?

 

We are impressed with the regulators, who focus on the protection and expansion of credit. The availability of digital data on consumers, with appropriate protections, allows for credit expansion in a way that is more constrained elsewhere. Clarity in banking rules, as seen with cloud guidelines, can further help. However, we must also embrace innovations from other parts of the world to avoid limiting growth.

 

What is your strategy related to AI?

 

We are an analytics company, so AI is a natural fit for us. We have been involved with neural networks, machine learning, and various AI applications for years. In banking, we emphasise explainable and ethical AI. AI decisions must be auditable, especially in lending. We have developed technology to provide audit trails and explainability for AI decisions, incorporating blockchain for added transparency.

 

FICO was set up in 1956. How did it become a key player in credit scoring?

 

FICO started as a consulting firm founded by a mathematician and an engineer. They believed that using more data and analytics could lead to better decisions. The focus shifted to banking because of the high stakes involved. Over the decades, we moved from building analytics scorecards to developing comprehensive software solutions for banks. We standardised the credit scorecard, leading to the creation of the FICO score, which jump-started the consumer credit economy in the US. Our software now incorporates data from various sources and helps lenders make sophisticated credit decisions.