Ally Bank

What's an industry challenger to do when it gets a lot of competitors of its own? Ally's Diane Morais has a plan. Heather Cox has inserted technologists into USAA's business lines, and outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen has achieved rock star status.

With millions of Alexa and Google Home devices now in use, first-mover banks are rapidly developing services to let customers control their finances using only their voice — even if there are still many kinks to work out.

Only a few banks have so far integrated with Amazon’s personal voice assistant service.

Execs from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BBVA, Ally Bank and others outlined their AI strategies, progress to date and lessons learned at BankAI this week.

Under Diane Morais, Ally Bank is growing deposits at a rate four times faster than the industry average.

The commitments were the residue of restrictions that were placed on Ally in the wake of government bailouts in 2008 and 2009.

At a time when many banks struggle to win over millennials, Ally Bank appears to be bringing them in: more than 60% of new customers are millennials. President Diane Morais explains how the bank is getting the attention of a younger generation. One popular product: debit controls.

The Detroit company is capitalizing on other banks' retreat from the auto sector.

The weakening car-loan market poses a big challenge for the Detroit-based lender, but it also could also present an opportunity, since other big banks are sharply reducing their exposure.

Traditional banks may need to think twice about putting off higher rates on CDs and other deposit products. That’s because freer-spending online banks are adding deposits faster than they are, and more Fed rate hikes are expected to fuel that trend.