# Arvest Bank: AI strategy

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/arvest
Last updated: Oct 13, 2026

*The Walton family's private bank is several years into a core and cloud modernisation, hired a Synovus technology chief with an AI-strategy certification as CIO, and was named one of Fortune's most innovative companies, while its customer-facing AI content is about scams.*

## How is Arvest using AI?

Arvest Bank, the Fayetteville, Arkansas bank owned by the Walton family with about $28 billion of assets and more than 200 locations across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, is a private company that has said more about its technology stack than about AI. It announced in September 2021 that it would adopt Thought Machine's cloud-native core, with Accenture, and with Google Cloud in 2022 for a five-year migration of its data centres and access to Google's AI and machine-learning tools, and it launched its first product on the new core, an equipment-finance loan, in October 2022. The Google Cloud agreement named specific AI tools: Contact Center AI Insights for the contact centre, Document AI to advance commercial lending decisions, and AI to help meet regulatory requirements; American Banker reported in September 2024 that Arvest was two and a half years into the migration, due to finish in 2027, with a cloud centre of excellence and a FinOps practice already in place. The AI-adjacent signal is a hire: on 3 December 2025 Arvest named Jennifer Baker chief information officer, a newly designed executive role with cross-functional leadership of all technology teams; Baker spent five years as chief technology officer of Synovus, holds a Cornell certification in AI strategy and was recognised by Rotary International among the top women of impact in AI and technology. Her brief is to continue 'a multi-year technology modernization strategy' that matures 'data accessibility and tools' alongside customer experience and associate enablement. In February 2026 Arvest upgraded its Baker Hill small-business lending platform to UN/FY, which digitises applications, underwriting and workflows and integrates with the bank's Fiserv Signature core and Salesforce. In March 2026 Fortune and Statista named Arvest one of America's Most Innovative Companies, judged on product innovation, process innovation and innovation culture; chief product and innovation officer Amy Morbeck said innovation 'is more than just using new technology'. In April 2026 Forbes ranked it 20th among US banks on its World's Best Banks list, a customer-survey ranking, under president and CEO Matt Machen. Customer-facing AI content is defensive, covering deepfake and AI-powered scams (a December 2025 article on 'How AI is powering scams' explains AI phishing, voice clones and synthetic identities), authorized push payment scams and the fraud value of good data quality. Inside the security team, principal security engineer Justus Post endorsed Trent AI's agentic-AI security maturity model in May 2026, saying it shows 'where our traditional security program simply doesn’t see agentic AI risk yet'. Arvest is an Arkansas state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve; as a private company it publishes no 10-K, so its AI governance and spending are undisclosed.

*Thin public record: Privately held with no SEC filings or earnings calls; beyond the Google Cloud AI and machine-learning tooling announced in 2022 it has disclosed no AI deployment, AI leader or AI budget, and its own AI content is customer scam education.*

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lead bank | Arvest Bank |
| Ticker | private (Arvest Bank Group) |
| Headquarters | Fayetteville, AR |
| Consolidated assets | $28,053 million |
| Federal Reserve rank | 71 |
| Charter | Arkansas state member bank (Federal Reserve); Walton family-owned |

## What AI partnerships and patents does Arvest Bank have?

Arvest's public AI partner record is thin. Google Cloud is the one named AI partner: the 2022 five-year agreement lists Contact Center AI Insights and Document AI, and in April 2025 the bank said it was exploring Google's AI Code Assist and Gemini for Workspace. Trent AI's security maturity model was endorsed by a principal security engineer in May 2026. Arvest has not disclosed an AI lab, GPU or data-science vendor. A Google Patents assignee search on 14 October 2026 under Arvest Bank and Arvest Bank Group returned no patents or published applications. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud), [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/), [Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era))

| Item | What it is | Status | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Google Cloud | Five-year agreement: data-centre migration plus AI and machine-learning tools, including Contact Center AI Insights and Document AI for commercial lending decisions; primary cloud provider as of April 2025 | Partnership in place; AI tools announced, deployment not reported | 2022-07-25 | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud), [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| Google AI Code Assist and Gemini for Workspace | Internal-efficiency AI tools the bank said it was exploring for 2025 | Exploring | 2025-04-04 | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| Trent AI | AI Security Maturity Model assessed against NIST CSF 2.0, NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act; endorsed by Arvest's principal security engineer | Endorsed by Arvest staff; scope of use not stated | 2026-05-05 | [Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era) |

## Flagship platform: Multi-year technology modernisation (cloud-native core, Google Cloud, Baker Hill UN/FY)

Arvest agreed with Thought Machine in 2021 to build a cloud-native core and with Google Cloud in 2022 to migrate its data centres and adopt Google's AI and machine-learning tools; its first product on the new core, an equipment-finance loan, launched in October 2022 (announced in February 2023) and made it the first US bank to lend on Thought Machine's Vault Core. In December 2025 it hired Jennifer Baker, formerly Synovus Bank's chief technology officer and holder of a Cornell AI-strategy certification, as chief information officer in a newly designed executive role to lead 'all technology departments and teams' and continue a modernisation strategy aimed at customer experience, associate enablement, 'data accessibility and tools' and resource utilisation. In February 2026 it upgraded its nearly 30-year Baker Hill relationship to the UN/FY platform to digitise the small-business lending lifecycle, integrated with its Fiserv Signature core and Salesforce. Chief product and innovation officer Amy Morbeck leads product innovation; no AI model, vendor for decisioning or AI budget has been disclosed. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer), [Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune), [Arvest Bank (Business Wire via FinTech Futures)](https://fintechfutures.com/press-releases/arvest-bank-collaborates-with-tech-leaders-thought-machine-and-accenture-for-next-generation-core-banking-platform), [Arvest Bank (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-launches-real-time-banking-capabilities-using-thought-machine-core-technology-301754260.html), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud))

## Key points

- CIO Jennifer Baker (from December 2025): ex-Synovus CTO, Cornell AI-strategy certification, newly designed role leading all technology teams.
- Modernisation stack: Thought Machine cloud-native core (announced September 2021), Google Cloud migration and AI tools (2022), first product on the new core (equipment-finance lending) in October 2022; cloud migration due to finish in 2027.
- Baker Hill UN/FY small-business lending platform (February 2026) digitises applications, underwriting and workflows; integrated with Fiserv Signature and Salesforce.
- Fortune and Statista America's Most Innovative Companies 2026; 20th among US banks on Forbes' World's Best Banks 2026.
- Customer AI content is fraud education: AI-powered scams and deepfakes, authorized push payment scams, data quality against fraud.
- Private, Walton family-owned; no 10-K, no disclosed AI model, vendor for decisioning or budget.
- Google Cloud deal (July 2022) named Contact Center AI Insights, Document AI for commercial lending decisions and AI for regulatory requirements; migration two and a half years in by September 2024, due to end in 2027 (American Banker).
- Security team is assessing agentic-AI risk: a principal security engineer endorsed Trent AI's AI Security Maturity Model (May 2026).
- Core status: the February 2026 Baker Hill release names Fiserv Signature Core as the system UN/FY integrates with; the only product publicly reported on Thought Machine's Vault Core is the October 2022 equipment-finance loan, and no wider core conversion has been announced.
- Cloud progress (April 2025): 40% of targeted applications migrated and on-premises servers at one data centre down 98% since 2022; Google Cloud is the primary provider, the bank is pursuing multicloud and will keep some workloads on-premises, and application modernisation is due in 2027.
- AI tools under exploration (April 2025): executive director Mark Chastain named Google's AI Code Assist and Gemini for Workspace as 2025 candidates for internal efficiency; no production date has been given.
- Technology leadership has turned over: CTO Ninish Ukkan, who joined in August 2022, left for Fiserv in February 2026; Jennifer Baker's CIO role is newly designed, and technology sits under COO Yurik Paroubek, promoted in November 2025.
- Data readiness: then transformation chief Laura Merling rated the bank's data at 2 out of 10 on arrival and 7 to 8 by December 2023, her own estimate, after modernising the data stack on Google Cloud.
- Skills: more than 1,000 technologists were mapped to learning journeys under me@Arvest by December 2023, 300 had finished cloud fundamentals training, and every associate is due to start a learning journey by 2026.

## Timeline

- May 5, 2026 — **Security engineer on agentic-AI risk** Arvest's principal security engineer endorses Trent AI's AI Security Maturity Model for finding agentic-AI gaps against NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act. ([Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era))
- Apr 8, 2026 — **20th among US banks on Forbes' World's Best Banks** Customer-survey ranking, up from 27th in 2025; CEO Matt Machen quoted. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-ranked-top-20-on-forbes-worlds-best-banks-list))
- Apr 3, 2026 — **'Good data quality, less fraud' customer guidance** Data accuracy framed as a fraud control. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/good-data-quality-less-fraud))
- Mar 25, 2026 — **Fortune America's Most Innovative Companies 2026** Judged on product innovation, process innovation and innovation culture. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune))
- Feb 26, 2026 — **Former CTO Ninish Ukkan joins Fiserv** Ukkan, who joined Arvest as CTO in August 2022, becomes CIO of digital and financial services at Fiserv; no successor CTO appears in public reporting. ([Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/strategy/ninish-ukkan-joins-fiserv-as-cio-of-digital-and-financial-services), [CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475))
- Feb 9, 2026 — **Baker Hill UN/FY small-business lending platform** Digital applications, streamlined underwriting, automated workflows; Fiserv and Salesforce integration. ([Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html))
- Dec 3, 2025 — **Jennifer Baker named chief information officer** Newly designed executive role; continues multi-year modernisation with data accessibility as a pillar. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer))
- Dec 3, 2025 — **'How AI is powering scams' customer guidance** AI-personalised phishing, voice and video deepfakes and synthetic identities explained, with verification advice. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/how-ai-is-powering-scams))
- Nov 6, 2025 — **Machen becomes CEO; Paroubek COO over technology** Kevin Sabin retired on 1 November; Yurik Paroubek, formerly chief banking operations officer, becomes COO overseeing operations strategy, banking operations, mortgage, credit administration and technology. ([KNWA/KFTA (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arvest-ceo-retires-coo-over-182143122.html), [Axios](https://axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/11/06/matt-machen-arvest-ceo-president))
- Apr 4, 2025 — **40% of targeted apps in the cloud; AI Code Assist and Gemini under review** Mark Chastain reports a 98% cut in on-premises servers at one data centre since 2022, a multicloud strategy and 2027 as the end of application modernisation; 2025 goals include exploring Google AI Code Assist and Gemini for Workspace. ([Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/))
- Oct 3, 2024 — **Customer guidance on synthetic identities and deepfakes** Arvest names AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic identity fraud among emerging fraud trends. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/emerging-fraud-trends-and-how-to-protect-yourself))
- Oct 2, 2024 — **me@Arvest reskilling programme and LinkedIn Learning** Programme launched in 2023 with job-based learning journeys; all associates due to start by 2026, and every associate now has a LinkedIn Learning licence. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/preparing-associates-for-the-workforce-of-tomorrow))
- Sep 9, 2024 — **Cloud migration midway, due to finish in 2027** Arvest's IT executive director says the bank is 'seeing that return' as engineers move off data-centre upkeep; a cloud centre of excellence and FinOps practice govern spend. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud))
- Sep 4, 2024 — **Authorized push payment fraud guidance** Social-engineering scam education for customers. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/authorized-push-payment-fraud))
- Jun 4, 2024 — **Amy Morbeck named chief product and innovation officer** New role covering sales, service, marketing, customer experience, the product team and go-to-market execution; Brad Crain becomes regional executive for enhanced banking services. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/morbeck-crain-promoted-to-executive-leadership-roles))
- Dec 20, 2023 — **CTO sets up FinOps for cloud spend** Ninish Ukkan says the bank is setting up FinOps and uses tools such as Apptio to optimise cloud spend. ([CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/cloud-cost-control-capital-one-arvest-bank/703025))
- Dec 5, 2023 — **Transformation chief on data readiness and skills** Laura Merling tells CIO Dive data readiness has risen from 2 to 7 or 8 out of 10, more than 1,000 technologists are mapped to learning journeys and 300 have finished cloud fundamentals; one of two data centres is being retired. ([CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475))
- Feb 23, 2023 — **First product live on the Thought Machine core** An equipment-finance loan launched in October 2022, built in under nine months; Arvest is the first US bank to lend on Vault Core. ([Arvest Bank (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-launches-real-time-banking-capabilities-using-thought-machine-core-technology-301754260.html))
- Jul 25, 2022 — **Google Cloud partnership with AI and ML tools** Five-year deal to migrate data centres and use Contact Center AI Insights, Document AI for commercial lending decisions and AI for regulatory requirements; then transformation chief Laura Merling called data, insights and AI 'the foundation' of industry disruption. ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud))
- Sep 16, 2021 — **Thought Machine and Accenture selected for a cloud-native core** Thought Machine’s Vault chosen as the next-generation core engine; Accenture to help structure the future bank proposition and select ecosystem partners. ([Arvest Bank (Business Wire via FinTech Futures)](https://fintechfutures.com/press-releases/arvest-bank-collaborates-with-tech-leaders-thought-machine-and-accenture-for-next-generation-core-banking-platform))

## Where AI runs

| Use case | What | Status | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting) | Digitised small-business lending (Baker Hill UN/FY) | Rolling out | Automated workflows and streamlined underwriting across the lending lifecycle. | [Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html) |
| [Third-party & vendor AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#third-party-vendors) | Cloud-native core and cloud migration | In production | Thought Machine core and Google Cloud infrastructure with AI and ML tooling. | [Arvest Bank (Business Wire via FinTech Futures)](https://fintechfutures.com/press-releases/arvest-bank-collaborates-with-tech-leaders-thought-machine-and-accenture-for-next-generation-core-banking-platform), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud), [Arvest Bank (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-launches-real-time-banking-capabilities-using-thought-machine-core-technology-301754260.html), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud) |
| [Fraud detection](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#fraud) | Customer fraud education on AI-enabled scams | In production | AI-powered phishing, deepfakes and synthetic identities; push-payment fraud; data quality. | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/good-data-quality-less-fraud), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/authorized-push-payment-fraud), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/how-ai-is-powering-scams) |
| [Customer-facing chatbots](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#customer-chatbots) | Google Contact Center AI Insights (planned) | Announced | Named in the 2022 Google Cloud agreement to improve the contact-centre experience; no deployment has been reported since. | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud) |
| [Cybersecurity](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#cybersecurity) | Agentic-AI security maturity assessment | Pilot | Security engineering uses Trent AI's maturity model to find where the traditional security programme misses agentic-AI risk. | [Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era) |
| [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general) | Innovation culture programme | In production | Product and innovation office under Amy Morbeck; Fortune recognition. | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune) |
| [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting) | Google Document AI for commercial lending (planned) | Announced | Named in the 2022 Google Cloud agreement to advance commercial lending decisions; no deployment has been reported. | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud) |
| [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai) | Gemini for Workspace (exploration) | Announced | Named in April 2025 as a 2025 candidate for internal efficiency; no rollout has been reported. | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| [AI-generated code & coding agents](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#ai-generated-code) | Google AI Code Assist (exploration) | Announced | Named in April 2025 alongside Gemini for Workspace; no rollout has been reported. | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| [Third-party & vendor AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#third-party-vendors) | Multicloud strategy with FinOps and a cloud centre of excellence | In production | Google Cloud is the primary provider; other providers are unnamed; multi-region cloud disaster recovery validated; spend governed by FinOps. | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud), [CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/cloud-cost-control-capital-one-arvest-bank/703025) |
| [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general) | me@Arvest reskilling programme | Rolling out | Job-based learning journeys in cloud and data for technologists, expanding to every associate by 2026, with Coursera, LinkedIn, Google and Salesforce training relationships. | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/preparing-associates-for-the-workforce-of-tomorrow), [CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475) |

## Disclosed numbers

| Measure | Value | As of | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Total assets | > $27 billion | Feb 9, 2026 | [Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html) |
| Baker Hill relationship | ≈ 30 years, upgraded to UN/FY | Feb 9, 2026 | [Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html) |
| Cloud migration timeline | ≈ 2.5 years in; completion slated for 2027 | Sep 9, 2024 | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud) |
| Time to build first product on the new core | < 9 months (live October 2022) | Feb 23, 2023 | [Arvest Bank (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-launches-real-time-banking-capabilities-using-thought-machine-core-technology-301754260.html) |
| Forbes World's Best Banks 2026, rank among US banks | 20th (72 US banks listed) | Apr 8, 2026 | [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-ranked-top-20-on-forbes-worlds-best-banks-list) |
| Total assets (call report) | $28.05 billion | Jun 30, 2026 | [FDIC](https://api.fdic.gov/banks/financials?filters=CERT%3A8728&fields=REPDTE%2CASSET%2CDEP%2CNUMEMP%2CNETINC&sort_by=REPDTE&sort_order=DESC&limit=4) |
| Total deposits (call report) | $24.60 billion | Jun 30, 2026 | [FDIC](https://api.fdic.gov/banks/financials?filters=CERT%3A8728&fields=REPDTE%2CASSET%2CDEP%2CNUMEMP%2CNETINC&sort_by=REPDTE&sort_order=DESC&limit=4) |
| Employees (call report) | 6,087 | Jun 30, 2026 | [FDIC](https://api.fdic.gov/banks/financials?filters=CERT%3A8728&fields=REPDTE%2CASSET%2CDEP%2CNUMEMP%2CNETINC&sort_by=REPDTE&sort_order=DESC&limit=4) |
| Targeted applications migrated to the cloud | 40% | Apr 4, 2025 | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| Cut in on-premises servers at one data centre since 2022 | 98% | Apr 4, 2025 | [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/) |
| Technologists mapped to learning journeys | > 1,000 (300 finished cloud fundamentals; ≈ 13,000 hours of instruction) | Dec 5, 2023 | [CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475) |
| Data readiness, executive's own rating | 2 of 10 in 2021, 7 to 8 of 10 by December 2023 | Dec 5, 2023 | [CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475) |

## Quotes

> "ASMM helps me surface where our traditional security program simply doesn’t see agentic AI risk yet." — Justus Post, Principal Security Engineer, May 5, 2026 ([Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era))

> "That allows us to take those engineers and use them to do other things." — Mark Chastain, Executive Director of Information Technology, Sep 9, 2024 ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud))

> "At Arvest, we believe innovation is more than just using new technology. It means finding creative ways to support our neighbors and make managing their finances easier." — Amy Morbeck, Chief Product and Innovation Officer, Mar 25, 2026 ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune))

> "The UN/FY platform gives us the flexibility, integration and efficiency we need to support our customers at scale." — Brad Crain, Regional Executive, Enhanced Banking Services, Feb 9, 2026 ([Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html))

> "We estimate that we will finish application modernization in 2027." — Mark Chastain, Executive Director of Information Technology, Apr 4, 2025 ([Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/))

> "Data, insights and artificial intelligence are the foundation for that disruption, from reshaping credit risk modeling and better supporting underserved communities, to rethinking data-driven relationship management." — Laura Merling, then Chief Transformation and Operations Officer, Jul 25, 2022 ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud))

> "Our data was locked in silos, and when you’ve got your data stuck on the platform that runs that product, you can’t see a single view of a customer." — Laura Merling, then Chief Transformation and Operations Officer, Dec 5, 2023 ([CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475))

> "We’re in the process of setting up FinOps to optimize our spend." — Ninish Ukkan, then Chief Technology Officer, Dec 20, 2023 ([CIO Dive](https://ciodive.com/news/cloud-cost-control-capital-one-arvest-bank/703025))

> "Jen’s extensive experience driving innovation and optimizing technology teams aligns nicely with our future goals." — Yurik Paroubek, Chief Operating Officer, Dec 3, 2025 ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer))

## Who runs AI

- **Matt Machen** — President and CEO ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-machen-27994414)) ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-ranked-top-20-on-forbes-worlds-best-banks-list))
- **Jennifer Baker** — Chief Information Officer ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenbaker-atl)) ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer))
- **Amy Morbeck** — Chief Product and Innovation Officer ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-morbeck-9838078a)) ([Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune))
- **Mark Chastain** — Executive Director of Information Technology ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud), [Bank Automation News](https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/))
- **Brad Crain** — Regional Executive, Enhanced Banking Services ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-crain)) ([Baker Hill (PR Newswire)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html))
- **Yurik Paroubek** — Chief Operating Officer (oversees banking operations and technology) ([KNWA/KFTA (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arvest-ceo-retires-coo-over-182143122.html), [Arvest Bank](https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer))
- **Justus Post** — Principal Security Engineer ([Trent AI (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era))

## Regulators it answers to

- [Federal Reserve](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/federal-reserve) — Arvest is a state member bank; the Fed's model-risk and third-party guidance govern the cloud core, lending platform and any AI tooling. See [SR 11-7](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fed-sr-11-7), [SR 23-4](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fed-sr-23-4).
- [CFPB](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/cfpb) — Automated small-business and consumer credit workflows carry ECOA adverse-action and UDAAP duties. See [ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/cfpb-ecoa-regulation-b-adverse-action).
- [FDIC](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/fdic) — Deposit-insurance supervision and interagency third-party guidance apply to vendor platforms. See [FDIC FIL-29-2023](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fdic-fil-29-2023).

## What the record suggests

### The infrastructure is ahead of the AI story

A cloud-native core and Google Cloud data estate are what most peers lack before they can run models; Arvest has them and has said little about what runs on top.

### The CIO hire names the next phase

Recruiting an AI-certified former regional-bank CTO into a newly created role signals that data and AI, not migration, are the coming agenda.

### Private ownership lowers disclosure, not risk

No 10-K means no AI risk factors; examiners still expect model inventories for automated underwriting on the new lending platform.

### Fraud education should become fraud automation

A bank that teaches customers about deepfakes has the data platform to detect them; that would be the natural first public AI use case.

## FAQ

### Does Arvest Bank use AI?

Arvest has not disclosed a specific AI deployment in production. It runs a cloud-native core from Thought Machine on Google Cloud, which includes access to Google's AI and machine-learning tools (the 2022 agreement named Contact Center AI Insights and Document AI for commercial lending decisions), digitised small-business lending on Baker Hill's UN/FY platform in 2026, and in December 2025 hired Jennifer Baker, an AI-strategy-certified former Synovus CTO, as chief information officer.

### Who owns and runs Arvest?

Arvest is owned by the Walton family through Arvest Bank Group. Matt Machen is president and CEO, Jennifer Baker is chief information officer and Amy Morbeck is chief product and innovation officer. It is an Arkansas state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve.

### Who leads AI at Arvest Bank?

Arvest has not named a chief AI officer or head of AI. Jennifer Baker, chief information officer since December 2025, leads all technology teams and holds a Cornell AI-strategy certification. Yurik Paroubek, promoted to chief operating officer in November 2025, oversees technology alongside operations. Mark Chastain, executive director of information technology, named Google's AI Code Assist and Gemini for Workspace as 2025 candidates. Amy Morbeck runs product and innovation. CTO Ninish Ukkan left for Fiserv in February 2026, and no successor appears in public reporting.

### Has Arvest replaced its core banking system with Thought Machine?

Not on the public record. Arvest chose Thought Machine's Vault in September 2021 with Accenture and launched an equipment-finance loan on it in October 2022, built in under nine months and the first US bank lending on Vault Core. In February 2026 Baker Hill said its UN/FY lending platform integrates with Fiserv Signature Core, which indicates the Fiserv core is still in use. Arvest has announced no further Thought Machine products or a conversion date.

### How far has Arvest moved to Google Cloud?

In April 2025 Mark Chastain said 40% of targeted applications had moved to the cloud and on-premises servers at one data centre were down 98% since 2022. Google Cloud, signed as a five-year partner in July 2022, is the primary provider; the bank is also pursuing multicloud and will keep some workloads on-premises. It runs a cloud centre of excellence and a FinOps practice, and expects to finish application modernisation in 2027.

## Sources (22)

1. Authorized Push Payment Fraud — Arvest Bank, Sep 4, 2024. https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/authorized-push-payment-fraud
2. Arvest names new CIO, Chief Credit Administration Officer — Arvest Bank, Dec 3, 2025. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-names-new-cio-chief-credit-administration-officer
3. Arvest Bank Deepens Three-Decade Partnership with Baker Hill, Upgrades to UN/FY Platform to Advance Small Business Lending — Baker Hill (PR Newswire), Feb 9, 2026. https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-deepens-three-decade-partnership-with-baker-hill-upgrades-to-unfy-platform-to-advance-small-business-lending-302682843.html
4. Arvest Named One of America's Most Innovative Companies 2026 by Fortune — Arvest Bank, Mar 25, 2026. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-named-one-of-americas-most-innovative-companies-2026-by-fortune
5. Good data quality, less fraud! — Arvest Bank, Apr 3, 2026. https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/good-data-quality-less-fraud
6. Arvest Bank Collaborates with Tech Leaders Thought Machine and Accenture for Next Generation Core Banking Platform — Arvest Bank (Business Wire via FinTech Futures), Sep 16, 2021. https://fintechfutures.com/press-releases/arvest-bank-collaborates-with-tech-leaders-thought-machine-and-accenture-for-next-generation-core-banking-platform
7. Arvest Bank Announces Collaboration with Google Cloud — Arvest Bank, Jul 25, 2022. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-bank-announces-collaboration-with-google-cloud
8. Arvest Bank launches real-time banking capabilities using Thought Machine core technology — Arvest Bank (PR Newswire), Feb 23, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arvest-bank-launches-real-time-banking-capabilities-using-thought-machine-core-technology-301754260.html
9. Are banks saving money as they migrate to the cloud? What you need to know — American Banker, Sep 9, 2024. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-banks-saving-money-as-they-migrate-to-the-cloud
10. How AI is powering scams — Arvest Bank, Dec 3, 2025. https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/how-ai-is-powering-scams
11. Trent AI Announces AI Security Maturity Model for Agentic Era — Trent AI (Business Wire), May 5, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505309646/en/Trent-AI-Announces-AI-Security-Maturity-Model-for-Agentic-Era
12. Arvest Ranked Top 20 on Forbes' World's Best Banks List — Arvest Bank, Apr 8, 2026. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/arvest-ranked-top-20-on-forbes-worlds-best-banks-list
13. For Arvest Bank, wholesale cloud modernization had to start small — CIO Dive, Dec 5, 2023. https://ciodive.com/news/Arvest-Bank-tech-modernization-transformation-leadership/701475
14. How Capital One, Arvest Bank keep cloud costs under control — CIO Dive, Dec 20, 2023. https://ciodive.com/news/cloud-cost-control-capital-one-arvest-bank/703025
15. Morbeck, Crain Promoted to Executive Leadership Roles — Arvest Bank, Jun 4, 2024. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/morbeck-crain-promoted-to-executive-leadership-roles
16. Preparing Associates for the Workforce of Tomorrow — Arvest Bank, Oct 2, 2024. https://arvest.com/about/newsroom/preparing-associates-for-the-workforce-of-tomorrow
17. Emerging Fraud Trends and How to Protect Yourself — Arvest Bank, Oct 3, 2024. https://arvest.com/about/articles/risk-fraud-awareness/emerging-fraud-trends-and-how-to-protect-yourself
18. Arvest Bank moves 40% of apps to cloud — Bank Automation News, Apr 4, 2025. https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/cloud/arvest-bank-moves-40-of-apps-to-cloud/
19. Scoop: Arvest Bank names new president and CEO — Axios, Nov 6, 2025. https://axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/11/06/matt-machen-arvest-ceo-president
20. Arvest CEO retires, COO to take over — KNWA/KFTA (Yahoo Finance), Nov 6, 2025. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arvest-ceo-retires-coo-over-182143122.html
21. Ninish Ukkan joins Fiserv as CIO of digital and financial services — Bank Automation News, Feb 26, 2026. https://bankautomationnews.com/strategy/ninish-ukkan-joins-fiserv-as-cio-of-digital-and-financial-services
22. FDIC BankFind financial data, Arvest Bank (cert 8728), quarter ended 30 June 2026 — FDIC, Jun 30, 2026. https://api.fdic.gov/banks/financials?filters=CERT%3A8728&fields=REPDTE%2CASSET%2CDEP%2CNUMEMP%2CNETINC&sort_by=REPDTE&sort_order=DESC&limit=4

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