Automation

Millennium Bank in Tennessee has quickened approval times on loan applications by using software that frees lenders from repetitive, manual tasks. The result: Loan balances have increased by more than 50% in less than two years.

Key efforts for banks include developing AI applications, adding fintech allies and strengthening cyberdefenses.

Ditching paper and digitizing tasks help community banks operate more efficiently and write more profitable commercial loans.

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.

New technologies are poised to sweep through investment banks, relieving many rank-and-file employees of roughly a third of their current workload, according to McKinsey & Co.

Whether it is a bank branch or an automated fast-food kiosk, talented and engaged employees will remain integral to future success.

The image of traditional custody banks is as stodgy as it gets, but some are using machine learning to help their clients and their own research teams glean insights from massive amounts of data.

Digital banking services should solve consumers' problems and offer them advice, and they must rely on artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology, bankers from TD, RBC and Bank of the West said.

The megabank is looking to robotics and machine learning to save time and money.

Rent is one of the few payment types where automation has made very little headway, still relying heavily on mailed checks that the landlord deposits in person at a bank. One strategy to change that is to borrow a concept from the gig economy, in which the payment rides along with other services.