American Banker Magazine - April 2021

The Ghosts of AI.

The technology excels at spotting money laundering and suspicious transactions, but it still can't be trusted to help bank customers make big decisions, such as what to do with retirement savings.

Small, often intangible quality-of-life perks are a big part of what makes some fintechs the best ones to work for.

Top executives from the 49 companies that earned a spot in this year's ranking of the Best Fintechs to Work For cite the need for nimble shifts in business strategy, leadership style and recruiting tactics among the lessons they took away from the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.

Banks ditched radio ads, direct mail and sports sponsorships and instead produced spots for social media, video games and streaming services, all while adjusting their messages to feel more relevant to the times. Now, with coronavirus cases declining, will they return to the old normal?

Two decades ago, before Jamie Dimon & Co. towered over the industry, the sale of JPMorgan to Chase Manhattan was seen by some as the downfall of the most prestigious U.S. bank. In a new book, Nicholas P. Sargen, a former economist there, offers a cautionary tale of a management team that did many things right yet failed to avoid a takeover.

Variables unique to the past year, such as the effect of government stimulus, are not fully considered in typical credit scores. For a more complete picture, the industry should accelerate a digital transformation in scoring models.

Without the application of tested safeguards, using such data can run the risk of worsening the very problems of credit access that we seek to solve.