Commercial
In an interview at Money20/20, Piermont Bank CEO Wendy Cai-Lee discussed the challenges newly chartered fintechs face in achieving good CAMELS ratings and the need for disciplined risk management in bank-fintech partnerships. She highlighted Piermont's focus on deepening existing client relationships, its consent order with the FDIC, and the bank's recent fintech partnerships with BlxckPay and MassPay. Cai-Lee also noted the potential impact of AI on fintechs' value propositions.
Wells Fargo announced Thursday that Kleber Santos will become the sole chief executive of its consumer banking and lending business, while former co-CEO Saul Van Beurden will focus full-time on scaling artificial intelligence across the enterprise. The appointments are effective immediately. CEO Charlie Scharf said the move will help accelerate progress in both areas, citing significant opportunities to grow consumer businesses and use AI to transform operations and customer service. The bank has been expanding its AI capabilities, including using autonomous agents and improving customer experience, and recently ranked No. 5 globally and No. 3 in the U.S. on the Evident AI index.
At Money20/20, Citi's global head of AI, digital and data platforms, Naveed Anwar, said the bank is not rushing to let external AI agents connect to its systems. Citi has blocked agentic access beyond open banking read-only access, and Anwar emphasized the need for a 'know your agent' process to meet regulatory demands. Other banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, and Fifth Third have also restricted AI agent access. Citi is focusing on enhancing client experience through AI in document processing and chat features, with 15 AI use cases live and about 60 more rolling out.
Barclays is cutting roughly 5,000 full-time employees, or 5% of its workforce, this year, with heavy impact expected in support functions such as developers as artificial intelligence boosts productivity, CFO Anna Cross said Thursday. The bank reduced its workforce by about 1,000 in the first half, so the remaining 4,000 cuts are expected by December. CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the bank intends to employ AI at scale but called AI 'the icing on the cake, not the cake.' The announcement came as Barclays reported third-quarter earnings, including a 19% year-over-year drop in fixed income and currency trading revenue, though overall profit rose 12% to $3.1 billion and equities trading revenue jumped 47%.
At an Axios event in Las Vegas, FDIC Chair Travis Hill said AI agents moving deposits on behalf of customers is a major concern for banks and regulators, with questions about how many depositors will delegate decision-making and the impact on the deposit landscape. He noted that big banks like Citi, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase have blocked external AI agents, and that accountability questions remain. Hill also said revised model risk management guidance doesn't work well for agentic and generative AI, and the FDIC is considering seeking public input. The agency is using AI for efficiency in supervision and failed bank resolutions but wants to move faster.
TabaPay's 2024 near-acquisition of Synapse Financial fell through due to messy books, but CEO Rodney Robinson says the experience led the company to pursue a bank instead. TabaPay plans to buy Denver-based Transact Bank, rename it TabaBank, and operate it under TabaHoldings, a new bank holding company. The deal, expected to close in Q4 pending regulatory approval, will give TabaPay a fintech-focused bank with branches in Denver and Palo Alto. Robinson says TabaPay will continue working with its partner banks while growing TabaBank.
Evercore has named Nigel Dawn, global head of private capital advisory, and Naveen Nataraj, co-head of U.S. investment banking, as co-presidents effective Jan. 1. The move appears to establish a CEO succession line, though Chairman and CEO John Weinberg has agreed to remain in his roles for at least three more years. Daniel Mendelow will become sole head of U.S. investment banking, and Jason Sobol will become chair of the unit. Founder Roger Altman said no ultimate succession decision has been made.
Huntington Bank has launched 1866 Studio, an AI-powered platform designed to help small businesses manage and grow. Named after the bank's founding year, the platform uses Google Gemini and eight trained AI agents to simplify workflows, provide business launch support, marketing strategy, and financing guidance. Available to all small-business owners, not just Huntington customers, it aims to be a customer acquisition tool and will evolve to support the full business lifecycle.
SEB and its New York branch will pay $33 million to resolve a NYDFS investigation into its AML program, which stemmed from the Panama Papers leak. The regulator found deficiencies in customer due diligence, risk assessment, and transaction monitoring in the Baltics between 2015 and 2019. SEB is the fourth bank fined by NYDFS in connection with the scandal. The bank said the penalty will have limited financial impact and concludes historic AML issues with U.S. authorities.
Truist announced that Dontá Wilson, chief consumer and small business banking officer, will leave the bank effective Dec. 31. Shimna Sameer, who joined Truist in July to lead wealth management, will succeed Wilson. Jeff Warner, a 25-year PNC veteran, joins as chief small-business banking officer. D. Steve Boland was named vice chair. All report to CEO Mike Lyons, who is reshaping the leadership team. Truist also agreed to sell $7.7 billion of LightStream loans to Carlyle for estimated net proceeds of $7.2 billion, as part of a strategic review.