As AI adoption in financial services takes off, financial institutions are approaching its deployment in myriad ways.
Cincinnati-based Fifth Third’s tech strategy, for example, takes into account potential costs savings and operational efficiencies, Jude Schramm, chief information officer at the $214.3 billion bank, said at the recent Bank Automation Summit in Nashville, Tenn.
“We look at direct productivity, the idea of this human to superhuman,” he said. “Are we able to have the same people take on more capacity because the technology is allowing them to do more as we make the processes more efficient?”
Fifth Third, in its Jan. 21 fourth-quarter earnings presentation, attributed its noninterest expenses of $1.2 billion in 2024, up 1% from 2023, to its tech and communications spend as it looks to modernize its legacy platforms.
Some FIs choose slower pace
Is don’t necessarily need to replace their legacy tech stacks to implement AI, Koren Picariello, managing director and head of generative AI strategy and execution at $6.2 trillion wealth management firm Morgan Stanley, said during a fireside chat at the conference.
There’s not a definitive answer when it comes to AI strategy, as long as there is a plan in place, Picariello said.
For example, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based ConnectOne Bank is focused on mitigating risk, Sharif Alexandre, chief technology officer and executive vice president at the $9.8 billion bank, said during another panel at Bank Automation Summit 2025.
“As [a] community bank, we’re very early on in the AI journey, making sure that we do it safely and responsibly and internally ourselves and getting comfortable with how to use it and use it effectively,” Alexandre said, adding that the bank is exploring the use of large language models and AI to synthesize data already culled for easier access and understanding.
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