IBM buying firm whose advisers will tutor Watson

IBM is acquiring Promontory Financial Group, an influential Washington, D.C., bank advisory firm.

The computing giant says it wants to apply the expertise of Promontory’s 600-odd consultants to its Watson system of artificial intelligence, “teaching” the company’s computer to operate better in the complex and evolving arts of financial and regulatory analysis.

Watson is a cognitive computing system developed by IBM which made headlines when it bested a champion on the television quiz show “Jeopardy.” Its chief innovation is in the way its complex algorithms absorb lessons from decisions made by human beings and become more sophisticated.

IBM, which did not disclose the purchase price, is hoping to automate the expertise of Promontory’s experts and apply it to complex analysis of unwieldy financial data.

“Automating and scaling is a great thing even with traditional technology, but it’s an awesome step function with a cognitive learning capability,” said Promontory chief executive Gene Ludwig.

“There’s a potential for one and one makes three, or maybe 15.”

Promontory, with 19 offices around the globe, has been troubleshooting for banks and financial services firms worldwide for more than a decade.

Under the terms of the deal, Promontory will operate as a wholly owned private subsidiary of IBM.