A Florida commercial bank that positions security as the reason small businesses switch banks, publishes a steady stream of AI-fraud guidance, and argues that 'digital plus human' beats digital alone; its filings call its AI use 'not material', while an AWS case study describes an internal generative-AI assistant, SAVI, built on Anthropic's Claude.
How is BankUnited using AI?
BankUnited, the $35.4 billion national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes with operations in Florida, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Morristown, New Jersey, and Charlotte, has built its public technology voice around fraud, though an AWS case study shows at least one internal generative-AI deployment. Since 2024 it has published guides on safeguarding against AI fraud, AI-powered fraud for small businesses, AI voice-clone impersonation scams, AI-generated phishing 'without the typos', and why digital payments need AI-powered fraud prevention with automated risk scoring, and its January 2026 research argues that security will be 'the deciding factor for SMB banking in 2026': 23% of surveyed small businesses named security and fraud concerns as the single factor most likely to make them switch banks, ahead of fees (22%) and rates (7%), in a poll of 200 Florida small businesses; the same piece cites the Association for Financial Professionals finding that 79% of organisations were targeted by payment-fraud attempts in 2024. Its counterpart theme is 'digital plus human': Michael Mitchell, executive vice-president and head of branch banking, says digital 'excels at delivering convenience and enabling self-service' but that businesses relying solely on apps can miss opportunities a branch provides, and a December 2025 piece argues small businesses want digital convenience together with relationship-based service from bankers. Its filings and investor materials do not name a dedicated AI leader, AI vendor or AI budget, and its 2025 annual report on Form 10-K emphasises relationship-based commercial lending and core deposits while stating that 'our current use of AI is not material to our operations'. AWS's published case study (undated) fills in part of the picture: BankUnited built SAVI, an internal assistant on Anthropic's Claude 2 model in Amazon Bedrock with Amazon Kendra search, that answers employees' questions from about 400 policy and procedure documents; the case study reports 95% accuracy, responses in under 10 seconds and fewer procedural calls and emails. It quotes Lisa Shim, senior executive vice-president of technology and innovation, saying the bank looks forward to 'expanding the use of generative AI', and says the bank has rolled out 'OpportunitiAI', an initiative to identify further generative-AI use cases. AI is nonetheless on the investment list: on the fourth-quarter 2025 call chief financial officer Jim Mackey said the bank is 'focusing on technology modernization, you know, especially, you know, our payment systems and, you know, AI workflows', and the February 2026 investor presentation pledges to 'invest in digital onboarding, AI, and automation to accelerate deposit acquisition'. Its chief information security officer, David Stender, fronts the bank's AI-fraud guidance, and Julio Jogaib, chief information officer since 2016, runs technology; at a June 2025 South Florida Business Journal roundtable Jogaib said the bank's vendors are using AI in the applications they provide, that he works to ensure the bank and its vendors 'have governance in place surrounding usage, data privacy, and other areas', and that when platforms say they are not using the bank's data 'you have to verify that'; the same report said a contact-centre platform with AI capabilities at BankUnited was exploring sentiment analysis. Under chairman, president and CEO Rajinder Singh, 2025 net income was $268.4 million, up 15%, with a $200 million repurchase expansion; first-quarter 2026 net income was $61.9 million, or $0.83 per share, on a 2.99% net interest margin and an improved funding mix. The 2026 proxy statement adds that an AI and Data Advisory Group of business-line and technology staff has existed since July 2025, that the board's Risk Committee receives regular management reports on AI models and initiatives, and that directors received AI training in 2025; the bank's 10-Qs for March and June 2026 contain no AI language, and neither does the full first-quarter 2026 call transcript. As a national bank BankUnited is supervised by the OCC, whose 2026 bulletin on model risk and its gen-AI risk perspective would govern any AI it adopts in fraud detection or credit.
Lead bank
BankUnited, N.A.
Assets (lead bank, Jun 30, 2026)
$35 billion
Charter
National bank (OCC)
Headquarters
Miami Lakes, FL
Flagship platform
SAVI internal assistant (Claude on Amazon Bedrock) and Talkdesk AI contact centre
AI leadership
Rajinder Singh · Julio Jogaib · David Stender · Jim Mackey · Michael Mitchell · Lisa Shim · Jay D. Richards · Douglas J. Pauls · Michael Lehmbeck · Jhon Pereda · Jeiner Morales
- Security as strategy: 23% of surveyed SMBs would switch banks over security and fraud concerns, more than over fees (22%) or rates (7%), per the bank's January 2026 research.
- Sustained AI-fraud education: guides on AI voice cloning, AI phishing, AI-powered scams and AI-based fraud prevention with automated risk scoring (2024–2026).
- 'Digital plus human' positioning: the head of branch banking says digital 'excels at delivering convenience', but branches and bankers still matter for key business decisions.
- The 10-K calls current AI use 'not material' and filings do not name an AI vendor or spend; the 2026 investor presentation commits to investing in digital onboarding, AI and automation for deposit gathering.
- AWS case study (undated): SAVI, an internal assistant on Anthropic's Claude 2 via Amazon Bedrock, answers staff questions from about 400 policy documents at a reported 95% accuracy; an 'OpportunitiAI' initiative is identifying further gen-AI use cases.
- The CFO listed 'AI workflows' alongside payment-system modernisation among 2026 investments (Q4 2025 call); the Q2 2026 call centred on a record 34.4% share of non-interest-bearing deposits.
- 2025 net income $268.4 million (+15%); Q1 2026 net income $61.9 million, EPS $0.83, NIM 2.99%.
- Vendor AI governance: the CIO says vendors already embed AI in the bank's applications and that their data use must be governed and verified (June 2025).
- Footprint: Florida, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Morristown (New Jersey) and Charlotte, per the July 2026 release boilerplate; 1,803 employees.
- Governance is documented before the technology is: the 2026 proxy says an AI and Data Advisory Group of business-line and IT staff was set up in July 2025, management updates the board's Risk Committee on AI models and initiatives, and directors had AI training in 2025.
- The filings trace a short AI trail: the 2023 10-K has no AI language, the 2024 10-K adds a risk factor saying current AI use is 'not material', the 2025 10-K adds AI and automated decision-making regulation to strategic risks, and the March and June 2026 10-Qs have none.
- Earnings calls say little about AI: on the Q1 2026 call CEO Raj Singh named two large technology projects, upgrades to the treasury and payments platforms, without mentioning AI; on the Q2 call management said it avoids data-centre lending; the Q4 2025 call recorded a $3.8 million software write-down after a technology-stack review.
- No chief AI or chief data officer is named. Lisa Shim, senior EVP, leads technology and innovation; Julio Jogaib has been CIO since 2016; CTO Michael Lehmbeck, who disclosed an internal chatbot in March 2024, left for AgFirst in May 2025; the CISO reports to Chief Risk Officer Jay Richards.
- AWS lineage: in 2023 the then CTO said the bank used AWS AI services including Bedrock and Lex, and the SAVI assistant AWS describes runs on Anthropic's Claude 2 through Bedrock.
- Fraud is a loss as well as a theme: Singh told analysts that one $10 million commercial loan to a New York contractor was a fraud and was written off in full in Q4 2025.
What is SAVI internal assistant (Claude on Amazon Bedrock) and Talkdesk AI contact centre?
BankUnited's two named AI deployments come from vendor case studies. AWS describes SAVI, an employee assistant built on Anthropic's Claude 2 in Amazon Bedrock with Amazon Kendra search, which answers front-line staff questions from about 400 policy and procedure documents at a reported 95% accuracy and in under 10 seconds. Talkdesk says the contact centre runs on its Financial Services Experience Cloud, with Talkdesk Copilot guiding agents and Talkdesk Autopilot handling simple requests as self-service, and listed BankUnited among the first users of its Customer Experience Automation platform in June 2025. The performance figures are the vendors'; the bank's filings call its AI use not material.[17][19][20][21][7]
What AI partnerships and patents does BankUnited have?
BankUnited's named AI partners are Amazon Web Services and Anthropic, through the SAVI employee assistant built on Claude 2 in Amazon Bedrock with Amazon Kendra search, and Talkdesk, whose Copilot and Autopilot tools run its contact centre. In 2023 its then chief technology officer also named AWS Lex. A Google Patents assignee search found no granted patents or published applications held by BankUnited. No model licence, GPU vendor, data-centre or AI budget figure is public.[17][23][19]
| Item | What it is | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services (Bedrock, Kendra) | Platform for SAVI, an assistant answering staff questions from about 400 policy and procedure documents | In production | 2026-09-24[17] |
| Anthropic Claude 2 | Model behind SAVI, according to AWS's case study | In production | 2026-09-24[17] |
| AWS Lex and Bedrock | AI services the then chief technology officer said the bank used | Disclosed | 2023-11-21[23] |
| Talkdesk | Financial Services Experience Cloud with Copilot agent assist and Autopilot self-service | In production | 2025-03-11[19][21] |
What has BankUnited done on AI, and when?
- Aug 6, 2026
Q2 2026 10-Q has no AI discussion[31]
The quarterly report for June 2026 does not mention artificial intelligence.
- Jul 22, 2026
Q2 2026 call: staying out of data-centre lending[34]
Management said it has not financed data centres, citing the risk of obsolescence on long-dated assets and the lack of deposit relationships in credit-only deals.
- Jul 22, 2026
Second-quarter 2026 results[14]
Net income about $71 million, EPS $0.97; non-interest-bearing deposits a record 34.4% of total.
- Jul 7, 2026
New head of commercial banking[16]
BankUnited hired Chad Loar as executive vice president to lead its commercial business throughout Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and the Southeast; the release lists operations in Florida, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Morristown (New Jersey) and Charlotte.
- Jun 4, 2026
Guide to AI-generated phishing[18]
'Scams without the typos'; a five-step client checklist.
- May 7, 2026
Q1 2026 10-Q has no AI discussion[30]
The quarterly report for March 2026 does not mention artificial intelligence; the AI language sits in the annual report's risk factors.
- Apr 22, 2026
- Apr 22, 2026
First-quarter 2026 results[8]
Net income $61.9 million; EPS $0.83; total assets $35.4 billion.
- Apr 10, 2026
Proxy discloses AI governance structure[26]
The 2026 proxy says an AI and Data Advisory Group of business-line and technology staff was set up in July 2025, management updates the Risk Committee on AI models and initiatives, directors had AI training in 2025, and shareholders had asked for more disclosure of board oversight of AI.
- Feb 26, 2026
10-K adds AI and automated decision-making to strategic risks[7]
The 2025 report repeats that current AI use is not material, says wider AI adoption may make cyber incidents more frequent and effective, and says developments in AI regulation and automated decision-making could require substantial spending; the CISO reports to the Chief Risk Officer.
- Feb 26, 2026
2025 annual report: net income $268.4 million[7]
Up 15%; $200 million repurchase expansion; 1,803 employees.
- Feb 26, 2026
10-K: current AI use 'not material'[7]
Risk factor on generative and agentic AI, opaque models and vendors' AI.
- Feb 11, 2026
Investor presentation commits to AI for deposit acquisition[13]
'Invest in digital onboarding, AI, and automation'; operational account opening the #1 priority.
- Jan 21, 2026
- Jan 21, 2026
Q4 2025 call: a $10 million fraud loss[12]
CEO Raj Singh said one commercial and industrial loan to a New York contractor was a fraud and was written off in full at $10 million, adding 'It's very hard to protect yourself against fraud, but it did happen.'
- Jan 21, 2026
Q4 2025 call: 'AI workflows' among 2026 investments[12]
CFO Jim Mackey pairs AI workflows with payment-system modernisation.
- Jan 9, 2026
Security named the deciding factor for SMB banking[6]
Poll of 200 Florida SMBs: 23% would switch banks over security; cites AFP data that 79% of organisations were targeted by payment fraud in 2024.
- Jan 5, 2026
Research on the hidden costs of fraud[37]
BankUnited's survey of 200 small and medium-sized businesses found 21% named managing business risk, including fraud, a top priority for the next 12 months.
- Dec 17, 2025
'Digital plus human' for small businesses[5]
Small businesses want digital convenience combined with relationship-based service from bankers.
- Jun 26, 2025
AI voice-clone impersonation scam series begins[3]
Imposter calls mimicking executives and family members.
- Jun 11, 2025
Named a Talkdesk CXA user at launch[20][21]
Talkdesk lists BankUnited among customers already using its Customer Experience Automation platform, which orchestrates multiple AI agents across the customer journey; Talkdesk's customer story credits CXA with the bank's contact-centre gains, including 15–20% higher IVR containment.
- Jun 6, 2025
CIO on governing vendors' AI[15]
At a South Florida Business Journal roundtable, Julio Jogaib said BankUnited's vendors use AI in their applications, that the bank and its vendors need governance on usage and data privacy, and that vendor claims about not using the bank's data must be verified; a contact-centre platform with AI capabilities was exploring sentiment analysis.
- Jun 4, 2025
Guidance on double-sided spoofing[36]
A resource-corner post describes fraudsters who impersonate a bank to a commercial client and then impersonate the client to the bank to reset a token, and lists call-back verification, pin-drop and IP monitoring, voice biometrics and Positive Pay as controls.
- May 20, 2025
Chief technology officer leaves for AgFirst[24]
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank named Michael Lehmbeck, BankUnited's chief technology officer, its chief information officer, according to a May 20 release reported by Bank Automation News; the sources reviewed name no successor to the CTO title.
- Apr 11, 2025
2025 proxy lists AI among board education topics[27]
The proxy says the board receives regular education on regulatory compliance, BSA/AML, cybersecurity and emerging topics such as artificial intelligence.
- Apr 8, 2025
'Why digital payments need AI-powered fraud prevention'[2]
Automated risk scoring on amount, behaviour, device and merchant signals.
- Mar 11, 2025
Talkdesk case study: AI contact centre[19]
Talkdesk says BankUnited's move to its Financial Services Experience Cloud, with Copilot agent assist and Autopilot self-service, lifted net promoter score 104% (vendor-reported).
- Feb 28, 2025
First AI risk factor in the 10-K[28][29]
The 2024 annual report says generative and agentic AI present opportunities and risks, that 'our current use of AI is not material to our operations', that models may be opaque or rest on flawed data, and that third-party providers are expected to add AI features; the 2023 annual report has no AI discussion.
- Oct 18, 2024
CISO explains AI-powered fraud to businesses[9]
David Stender on AI-driven phishing, deepfakes, password cracking and automated vulnerability scanning.
- Jun 6, 2024
Guidance on safeguarding against AI fraud[1]
Safe words for family calls, stronger passwords, verification habits.
- Mar 18, 2024
Internal chatbot disclosed at Bank Automation Summit[22]
Lehmbeck said BankUnited had deployed an AI chatbot that lets branch staff ask how to complete procedures such as opening a trust account; Bank Automation News put the bank's technology spend at $18.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, down 16.5% year on year.
- Nov 21, 2023
Then-CTO says BankUnited uses AWS AI services[23]
Chief technology officer Michael Lehmbeck told Bank Automation News that the bank uses Amazon Web Services' AI-related services, including Bedrock and Lex, ahead of an AI panel at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2024.
Where does BankUnited use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-fraud awareness programme[2][18] | Continuous client guidance on AI-enabled scams and AI-based fraud prevention. | In production | Fraud detection |
| 'Digital plus human' service model[5] | Digital self-service paired with bankers for complex, high-value work. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| SAVI internal policy assistant[17] | Per AWS's published case study: built on Anthropic's Claude 2 in Amazon Bedrock with Amazon Kendra, answering employee questions from about 400 policy and procedure documents; reported 95% accuracy and sub-10-second responses, used by front-line staff. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| OpportunitiAI use-case programme[17] | Per AWS's case study, an initiative rolled out to identify further generative-AI use cases and align business divisions. | Rolling out | AI governance (general) |
| AI use 'not material' in filings[7] | The 10-K calls current AI use 'not material to our operations'; no AI vendor or budget named in filings. | Announced | AI governance (general) |
| AI workflows and digital onboarding investment[13][12] | AI and automation to speed deposit acquisition; AI workflows in the 2026 technology budget. | Announced | Generative & agentic AI |
| Governance of vendors' embedded AI[15] | The CIO says vendors use AI in the applications they provide and that the bank requires governance on usage and data privacy and verifies how vendors use its data. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| Sentiment analysis in the contact centre[15] | A contact-centre platform with AI capabilities was exploring how sentiment analysis can help bankers and customers find the right solution (June 2025). | Pilot | Customer-facing chatbots |
| AI risk factor[7] | Flawed or biased data, opaque AI and machine-learning models, and AI in third-party vendors' products. | Announced | Model risk management |
| Talkdesk AI contact centre[19][21] | The contact centre runs on Talkdesk's Financial Services Experience Cloud: Talkdesk Copilot guides agents during interactions, Talkdesk Autopilot handles simple requests as self-service, and Customer Experience Analytics drives agent training. Talkdesk reports a 104% rise in net promoter score, agent development that used to take six months to a year now done in 90 days, a 16% self-service rate and abandonment down to 5.3% (the vendor's figures). | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| AI and Data Advisory Group[26] | Set up in July 2025 from business-line and technology staff to support AI governance, enablement and data and AI risk management; management reports on AI models and initiatives to the board's Risk Committee, and the Audit Committee receives updates on AI initiatives within its remit. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Board AI education[27][26] | Directors received AI-focused training in 2025; the 2025 proxy already listed AI among regular board education topics, and shareholder feedback led the 2026 proxy to add disclosure on board oversight of AI. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Commercial fraud-protection products[35][12] | BankUnited's guidance names ACH alerts for transactions from unapproved parties, Payee Positive Pay for unmatched checks and Reverse Positive Pay, under which the client approves checks by email before payment; none is described as AI-based. The CEO reported a $10 million fraud loss on one commercial loan in the fourth quarter of 2025. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI in the cyber-risk programme[26][7] | The CISO reports to the Chief Risk Officer and briefs the board's Risk Committee on AI-related matters; the 10-K warns that wider AI adoption may increase the frequency and effectiveness of cyber incidents. | In production | Cybersecurity |
| Branch procedures chatbot (2024 disclosure)[22][23] | In March 2024 the then chief technology officer said an AI chatbot lets branch staff ask how to complete procedures, such as opening a trust account, and get plain-language steps; in 2023 he said the bank used AWS Bedrock and Lex. BankUnited has not said whether this is the SAVI assistant AWS later described. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
Which AI vendors and fintechs does BankUnited work with?
| Company | What BankUnited uses it for | Status | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talkdesk | Financial Services Experience Cloud with Talkdesk Autopilot, Copilot, Identity and Interaction Analytics in the contact centre. | In production | Conversational AI |
| Claude (Anthropic) | SAVI internal policy assistant built on Anthropic's Claude 2 in Amazon Bedrock (95% accuracy reported by AWS). | In production | Enterprise AI assistants |
| Amazon Bedrock (AWS) | SAVI, an internal assistant built on Anthropic's Claude 2 in Amazon Bedrock with Amazon Kendra, answering staff questions from about 400 policy documents. | In production | Enterprise AI assistants |
Each vendor and fintech page cites the source for the relationship, and vendor pages list products, pricing and other bank customers. Compare AI tools for banks by category, or read the fintech and neobank AI dossiers.
What has BankUnited disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | $35.4 billion[8] | Mar 31, 2026 |
| First-quarter 2026 net income / EPS | $61.9 million / $0.83[8] | Apr 22, 2026 |
| 2025 net income | $268.4 million (+15%)[7] | Feb 26, 2026 |
| SMBs who would switch banks over security concerns | 23% (fees 22%, rates 7%)[6] | Jan 9, 2026 |
| Non-interest-bearing demand deposits, share of total | 34.4% (record)[14] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 net income / EPS | About $71 million / $0.97[14] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Total deposits | $29.4 billion[13] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Organisations reporting payment-fraud attempts in 2024 | 79%[6] | Jan 9, 2026 |
| Fraud loss on one commercial loan, Q4 2025 | $10 million, written off in full[12] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Capitalised software written down, Q4 2025 | $3.8 million[7] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Software and cloud-computing arrangements, gross cost | $121.8 million (2024: $116.1 million)[7] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Technology spend, Q4 2023 (as reported by Bank Automation News) | $18.6 million, down 16.5% year on year[22] | Dec 31, 2023 |
| SMBs naming risk management, including fraud, a top 12-month priority | 21%[37] | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Contact-centre net promoter score change (Talkdesk-reported) | +104%[19] | Mar 11, 2025 |
| SAVI accuracy and response time (undated AWS case study) | 95% and under 10 seconds, across about 400 policy documents[17] | Sep 24, 2026 |
“Despite a seasonally slow quarter, we continue to gather market share.”[8]
Rajinder Singh · Chairman, President and CEO · Apr 22, 2026
“Digital banking excels at delivering convenience and enabling self-service.”[4]
Michael Mitchell · EVP, Head of Branch Banking · Nov 18, 2025
“We also are focusing on technology modernization, you know, especially, you know, our payment systems and, you know, AI workflows.”[12]
Jim Mackey · Chief Financial Officer · Jan 21, 2026
“Its autonomous, multi-agent AI approach redefines how we deliver intelligent, secure, and outcome-focused service, cementing Talkdesk as a vital partner.”[20]
Jeiner Morales · SVP and Director of Data Analytics and Business Systems · Jun 11, 2025
“There is a lot of legal apparatus that needs to be in place and monitoring on what's being done by these platforms. They may say that they are not using our data. But you have to verify that.”[15]
Julio Jogaib · Chief Information Officer · Jun 6, 2025
“AI allows attackers to collect information and narrow it down to what they need to compromise a target in microseconds, where that may have taken months of research in the past.”[9]
David Stender · EVP, Chief Information Security Officer · Oct 18, 2024
“We have two large technology projects going on, which will impact not just that business, it'll impact the entire bank. We're upgrading our treasury platform, and we're upgrading our payments platform.”[32]
Rajinder Singh · Chairman, President and CEO · Apr 22, 2026
“It's very hard to protect yourself against fraud, but it did happen.”[12]
Rajinder Singh · Chairman, President and CEO · Jan 21, 2026
“We call regulators our partners.”[15]
Julio Jogaib · Chief Information Officer · Jun 6, 2025
“You need to have people inside the company capable of thinking.”[15]
Julio Jogaib · Chief Information Officer · Jun 6, 2025
“If you've got a question around how to open a trust account, the person in the branch can go ahead and ask the chatbot, ask those questions to get a very human-friendly response in terms of these are the steps to go about doing these things.”[22]
Michael Lehmbeck · Chief Technology Officer (to May 2025) · Mar 18, 2024
Who runs AI at BankUnited?
Rajinder Singh
Chairman, President and CEO[8]
Julio JogaibLinkedIn ↗
David StenderLinkedIn ↗
EVP, Chief Information Security Officer[9]
Jim MackeyLinkedIn ↗
Michael MitchellLinkedIn ↗
EVP, Head of Branch Banking[4]
Lisa Shim
Senior EVP, Technology and Innovation (head of consumer and small-business banking from January 2019)[17][25]
Douglas J. Pauls
Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Risk Committee, which receives management updates on AI[26]
Michael Lehmbeck
Former Chief Technology Officer; named AgFirst Farm Credit Bank chief information officer in May 2025[22][24]
Jhon Pereda
AVP, BI and Analytics Manager; quoted in AWS's SAVI case study on building the assistant[17]
Which regulators govern BankUnited's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| OCC | BankUnited, N.A. is a national bank; OCC model-risk and gen-AI expectations govern any AI adopted in fraud scoring or credit. | OCC Bulletin 2026-13 OCC Semiannual Risk Perspective, Spring 2026 |
| CFPB | Consumer and small-business products bring UDAAP and adverse-action duties; AI phishing and impersonation guidance intersects with Reg E error-resolution. | ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| Federal Reserve | Holding-company oversight of model risk and third-party fraud-prevention vendors. | SR 11-7 SR 23-4 |
Side by side: SR 11-7 vs SR 26-2 · OCC vs CFPB on AI lending · PRA SS1/23 vs SR 26-2 · MAS AI Risk Management Guidelines vs SR 26-2 · all comparisons.
What does the public record suggest about BankUnited's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
Selling security implies owning it
A bank that tells SMBs to switch over security will be asked what AI it runs against the AI-enabled fraud it describes; its own disclosures so far cover an internal assistant (via AWS), not fraud models.
02
The research is a positioning asset
Original SMB survey data on why customers switch is rarer than AI announcements and gives the bank a defensible story with examiners and clients.
03
'Digital plus human' is a governance choice for agents
If the bank adopts AI assistants, its stated model already defines the human hand-off, which the CFPB's chatbot circular expects.
04
A national charter sets the AI bar early
The OCC's 2026 model-risk bulletin applies to SAVI and to the first fraud model; an internal assistant is a low-risk place to build the controls.
Where does the BankUnited record go deeper?
3 topic pages under this profile, each answering one question from the same sourced record.
Which leader rankings does BankUnited appear in?
6 of the computed leaders rankings include BankUnited, each ranked from the same sourced bank pages.
How does BankUnited compare with its peers?
- How does BankUnited compare with its peers on AI and technology?
- BankUnited competitors and alternatives, by business line
Its peer group on this site, by business model and size:
Who leads AI at BankUnited?
BankUnited names no chief AI officer or chief data officer. Technology and innovation sit with Lisa Shim, senior executive vice-president, who fronted the bank's SAVI case study with AWS; Julio Jogaib has been chief information officer since 2016 and speaks on vendor AI governance; David Stender, the chief information security officer, reports to Chief Risk Officer Jay Richards. An AI and Data Advisory Group of business-line and technology staff has existed since July 2025. Michael Lehmbeck, chief technology officer when the bank disclosed an internal chatbot in March 2024, left in May 2025 to become chief information officer of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank.
How does BankUnited govern AI?
Through the board's Risk Committee, chaired by Douglas Pauls, which gets regular management updates on AI models, initiatives and risk practices; the Audit Committee hears about AI initiatives within its remit. The 2026 proxy says directors received AI training in 2025 and that shareholders had asked for more disclosure on board oversight of AI. Management set up an AI and Data Advisory Group in July 2025. The 2025 10-K says current AI use is not material, flags opaque models, flawed data and vendors' AI, and warns that AI may make cyber incidents more frequent and effective.
Does BankUnited talk about AI on earnings calls?
Rarely. On the fourth-quarter 2025 call CFO Jim Mackey listed 'AI workflows' with payment-system modernisation among 2026 investments, and the call recorded a $3.8 million write-down of capitalised software after a technology-stack review. On the first-quarter 2026 call CEO Raj Singh described two large technology projects, upgrades to the treasury and payments platforms, and AI did not come up in the transcript. On the second-quarter call management said it has stayed out of data-centre financing because of obsolescence risk. The 10-Qs for March and June 2026 contain no AI language.
Does BankUnited use AI?
Yes, at least internally: AWS's published case study describes SAVI, a BankUnited employee assistant built on Anthropic's Claude via Amazon Bedrock that answers policy and procedure questions, and an 'OpportunitiAI' initiative to find more generative-AI uses. Its filings do not name an AI vendor or budget, and its 10-K says its current use of AI is not material; its CIO said in June 2025 that vendors already use AI in the applications they provide the bank, under governance on usage and data privacy; its 2026 investor presentation nonetheless commits to investing in digital onboarding, AI and automation, and its CFO lists AI workflows among technology investments. Its public material explains how criminals use AI and how AI-based fraud prevention works, and positions security and a 'digital plus human' service model as reasons small businesses choose it.
What did BankUnited's 2026 small-business research find?
That security is the deciding factor: 23% of surveyed small businesses named security and fraud concerns as the single factor most likely to make them switch banks, ahead of high fees (22%) and unfavourable rates (7%), and 79% of organisations reported being targeted by payment fraud in 2024.
- Tips on How to Safeguard Against AI Fraud
- Why Digital Payments Need AI-Powered Fraud Prevention
- Emerging AI Voice Clone Impersonation Scams
- Banking Moments That Matter: Why Branches Still Count
- Digital + Human: Why Small Businesses Want the Best of Both Worlds in Banking
- Why Security Will Be the Deciding Factor for SMB Banking in 2026
- BankUnited, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2025
- BankUnited, Inc. Reports 1Q 2026 Net Income of $62 million, $0.83 Diluted EPS
- AI-Powered Fraud: What Businesses Need to Know
- Citigroup IT Veteran to Become BankUnited's Chief Information Officer
- BankUnited Appoints James G. Mackey as Chief Financial Officer (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- BankUnited (BKU) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
- BankUnited, Inc. investor presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- BankUnited Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
- AI revolution: Navigating the promises and perils of a new era
- BankUnited Announces New Head of Commercial Banking
- BankUnited Enhances Customer and Employee Satisfaction for SMB Banking Using AWS (undated case study, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Navigating the Rise of AI-Generated Phishing Attacks
- BankUnited Crushes CX With 104% Increase in Net Promoter Score
- Talkdesk shatters outdated customer experience paradigm with launch of Customer Experience Automation platform
- BankUnited Customer Story (undated page, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- BankUnited deploys chatbot for internal searches
- BankUnited CTO to speak at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2024
- Movers and shakers: Michael Lehmbeck new CIO at AgFirst
- Lisa Shim, BankUnited | Most Powerful Women: Next
- BankUnited, Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- BankUnited, Inc. 2025 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- BankUnited, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2024
- BankUnited, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2023
- BankUnited, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for March 31, 2026
- BankUnited, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for June 30, 2026
- Earnings call transcript: BankUnited misses Q1 2026 EPS estimates
- BankUnited (BKU) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- BankUnited, Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
- Video: Protect Yourself from Check Fraud
- Protect Your Business: Double-Sided Spoofing
- The Hidden Costs of Fraud for Small Businesses
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