Novobanco has become one of the most concrete examples of how Artificial Intelligence is changing banking in Portugal. The institution, led by Mark Bourke, already has close to 600 AI agents operating within its internal processes — built by the staff themselves — and the results are particularly relevant for those working in the mortgage sector: the document analysis of an application has gone from over an hour to around twenty minutes. For credit intermediaries, this acceleration is not merely a technology headline — it is a clear signal of where the model of engagement with banks is heading.
What is happening at Novobanco
The bank has been transforming its internal operations through an Artificial Intelligence programme involving more than 1,500 employees trained in generative AI tools. Rather than purchasing off-the-shelf software, Novobanco opted for a strategy that is rare in the Portuguese banking sector: giving its professionals the tools to build their own automated assistants.
The result is a network of nearly 600 agents, each specialised in a specific task. Some handle document verification, others support branch service, and others still accelerate responses to regulatory requests. Around 60 use cases are already in live operation and the numbers speak for themselves:
- Task execution time reduced by approximately 75%
- Mortgage document analysis: from over an hour to around 20 minutes
- Response to regulatory requests up to 80% faster
- Client satisfaction improved by 30 percentage points
- 96% adoption of AI licences made available to staff
During an initiative called Agentathon, held at Microsoft’s headquarters in Lisbon, 200 Novobanco employees created several hundred agents in just 48 hours. For 2026, plans include the launch of an internal marketplace, where each employee can share and improve the agents developed by colleagues.
Why this matters to credit intermediaries
When a bank manages to cut two-thirds of its document analysis time, the change does not stay confined to its offices. It ends up being felt across the entire chain — and credit intermediaries are on the front line of that chain.
1. Shorter response times. A mortgage application that takes the bank 20 minutes to analyse instead of an hour frees up analysts to handle more applications on the same day. In practice, those who submit well-prepared applications can expect a faster response.
2. Less room for documentation errors. If the bank uses AI agents to automatically validate incoming documentation, incomplete or poorly classified files will begin to be identified almost instantly. An intermediary who sends everything correctly the first time gains a clear advantage over those who submit disorganised folders.
3. Greater pressure on CRM quality. Intermediaries who work with organised tools — where documentation is centralised, categorised and ready to export — will see this leap as an opportunity. Those still working with loose folders on their computer or lost emails will feel the opposite.
4. A new standard in the relationship with banks. Novobanco is the first, but it will not be the last. Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Santander Totta, BPI and Millennium BCP all have similar initiatives under way. Within two years, this will very likely be the market standard, not the exception.
The impact for families buying a home
From the end client’s perspective, time savings translate into something concrete: faster decisions at a moment when speed is synonymous with securing (or not) the home one wants. In a competitive property market, where a well-located property can receive multiple offers on the same day, the speed of the banking process is often the decisive factor between closing the deal and watching it slip away.
There is also a dimension of trust. When the bank responds within short timeframes, the client feels well supported. When the process drags on, even if the final outcome is positive, it leaves a negative impression that is often unfairly attributed to the intermediary.
This is why Novobanco’s technological leap is, indirectly, an opportunity for differentiation for intermediaries who manage to align their own pace of work with that of the bank.
What to do next
To take advantage of this ongoing shift, there are three practical steps that any credit intermediary can begin implementing straight away:
Review the quality of submitted applications. Well-defined checklists, categorised documentation and correctly completed fields now carry even more weight. What was once tolerated by human analysts, AI agents identify in seconds.
Centralise information in a CRM. Having every client, every document and every step of the process in a single place is no longer an organisational luxury — it is a direct competitive advantage. Those still managing processes via email and local folders lose speed compared to the competition.
Train the team for this new reality. AI is going to change how banks work with intermediaries. Understanding at least the basics of how these tools work helps to anticipate requests, better prepare applications and engage on an equal footing with banking analysts.
Conclusion
The Novobanco case is not merely a technology story. It is a clear signal of how the relationship between banks and credit intermediaries is changing, and of how the speed and quality of processes will become, even more so than today, the criterion that separates good professionals from average ones. Those who are prepared for this new pace — with the right tools and organised processes — will clearly come out on top.
CRM Crédito was designed precisely for this scenario: centralising all documentation, accelerating application submission and giving the intermediary the organisation that is now demanded by banks working with AI.
Related reading
- Credit Intermediary in Portugal: The Complete Guide — the single reference on credit intermediation in Portugal.
- AI and Credit CRM: The New Digital Revolution in Credit Intermediation — how the AI banks already use is arriving on the intermediary’s side.
- The FinTech Revolution in Credit Intermediation — the broader technological shift that cases like Novobanco’s confirm.
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