The most aggressive AI adopter in the rank-51-to-100 group: a multiyear collaboration that embeds OpenAI engineers on site, a stated 2026 priority to 'operationalize AI at scale', 100% of staff AI-trained, and a CEO who used an AI clone of himself on an earnings call.
How is Customers Bank using AI?
Customers Bancorp, the West Reading, Pennsylvania parent of Customers Bank with about $26 billion of assets, roughly 870 employees and a business-bank model built on single-point-of-contact service, instant payments and specialty verticals, has made AI its identity. Its January 2026 investor deck lists 'Operationalize AI at Scale' among five 2026 priorities, reports an AI Innovation Lab, 100% of employees AI-trained and a standardised AI risk framework, and quantifies results: AI-powered call-centre scoring with 85% greater efficiency, AI-powered loan account opening that reduced workflow by 68%, and AI sanctions screening 50% more accurate, with a 2026 operational-excellence initiative targeting $20 million a year whose expense levers include 'process automation for AI'. On 27 April 2026 the bank announced a multiyear strategic collaboration with OpenAI, extending a relationship that began with ChatGPT Enterprise in 2023, under which OpenAI technical teams work on site to build custom capabilities for lending, deposit onboarding and payments; president and CEO Sam Sidhu said it gives the bank 'the frontier models, engineering expertise and ability to co-create a roadmap toward becoming an AI native bank' and that 'we expect a fundamental re-engineering of how Customers Bank operates'. On the first-quarter call Sidhu handed part of his remarks to an AI clone of his voice, calling the call 'a live demonstration of what we mean when we say AI is not an experiment', and reported more than 500 employee-built agents and models and 28,000 hours saved, equivalent to 15 full-time staff; 75% of employees use OpenAI-powered tools. By the second quarter the bank had completed a pilot closing selected commercial loans in seven days, down from 30 to 60, one to two quarters ahead of schedule, seen prospecting success rates more than double in some verticals, and piloted AI-powered KYC screening and OFAC false-positive clearing, alongside second-quarter net income to common of $71.6 million, or $2.05 per share, and record deposits of $21.7 billion. Chief strategy and innovation officer Carlos Coto leads strategy. The second-quarter investor deck updated the count to more than 46,000 self-reported hours saved, 600-plus agents, 100% of staff AI-licensed and a 40-person AI mobilization team, and management is targeting a low-40s efficiency ratio in 2027 from about 50%. Sidhu told CNBC that AI already writes about half the bank's software code, and in June 2026 the bank added ElevenLabs voice and chat agents for customer service and account opening. The 2025 10-K says the business 'increasingly relies on AI, machine learning and automated decision making' and flags evolving AI regulation and AI-driven stress in borrowers' industries as risks. Customers Bank is a Pennsylvania state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve; the OpenAI deal's financial terms are undisclosed.
Lead bank
Customers Bank
Assets (lead bank, Jun 30, 2026)
$27 billion
Charter
Pennsylvania state member bank (Federal Reserve)
Headquarters
West Reading, PA
Flagship platform
OpenAI strategic collaboration, AI Innovation Lab and cubiX payments network
AI leadership
Sam Sidhu · Carlos Coto · Steve Wyremski · Nick Harris · Nick Robinson · Joan Cheney · Vivin Varghese
- Multiyear OpenAI collaboration (27 April 2026): OpenAI engineers on site building custom AI for lending, deposits and payments on the bank's infrastructure; goal an 'AI native bank'.
- 2026 priority to 'operationalize AI at scale': AI Innovation Lab, 100% of employees AI-trained, standardised AI risk framework; 75% of staff use OpenAI tools.
- Quantified results: call-centre scoring 85% more efficient, loan account opening workflow cut 68%, sanctions screening 50% more accurate, 28,000 hours saved, 500-plus employee-built agents and models.
- Q2 2026 pilot closed selected commercial loans in seven days versus 30 to 60; prospecting success up more than 100% in select verticals; AI KYC and OFAC false-positive clearing piloted.
- CEO Sam Sidhu used an AI clone of his voice on the Q1 2026 earnings call as a demonstration.
- Q2 2026 net income to common $71.6 million ($2.05 per share); record deposits $21.7 billion; cubiX network past $5 trillion cumulative volume.
- Q2 2026 update: 46,000-plus hours saved (self-reported, as of 3 July 2026), 600-plus agents, 100% of staff AI-licensed (75% in Q1) and a 40-person AI mobilization team; management targets a low-40s efficiency ratio in 2027.
- AI writes about half of the bank's software code (CEO to CNBC, April 2026); ElevenLabs voice and chat agents announced in June 2026 for service, relationship-manager assist and account opening.
- 2025 10-K: an AI risk factor on evolving regulation ('Our business increasingly relies on AI'), AI as a credit risk in borrowers' industries, and enterprise-wide AI training launched in 2025.
- Governance roots (2024): an executive 'AI charter' group meeting monthly, an acceptable-use policy and a use-case scoring framework; 99% of staff through 'First Pass' AI training.
- Remediation context: a Written Agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia dated 5 August 2024 (BSA/AML, OFAC, board oversight, digital-asset risk management and 'dollar token activities'), plus a Pennsylvania Department of Banking consent order; both still described in the 2025 10-K, no CFPB action disclosed, and neither order mentions AI.
- The Customers Bank Instant Token (CBIT), a blockchain-based payments product on Tassat's TassatPay platform, was offered until 31 December 2024; the in-house cubiX network launched in November 2024 is not built on a blockchain and uses no tokens, and the 2025 10-K says CBIT customers moved to cubiX.
- AI ownership: CEO Sam Sidhu says he is 'personally leading' the AI effort; Carlos Coto, chief strategy and innovation officer, leads AI and automation and built the governance framework (American Banker profile); Nick Robinson, ex-Capital One, has been chief risk officer since September 2024. No chief AI officer or chief data officer is named in the bank's leadership page or SEC filings.
- Filings are quieter than the calls: the Q1 and Q2 2026 10-Qs contain no reference to AI or OpenAI and the Q2 10-Q reports no material change to the 10-K risk factors, while the 2025 10-K carries AI only in a regulation risk factor, a borrower-credit risk and employee training.
- Q2 2026 call detail: a multi-agentic credit-underwriting process closed C&I and CRE loans within a week (an 85% reduction in readiness to close), AI KYC screening lifted team productivity 50%, month-end close fell 60%, and 46,000 hours saved equals 24 FTEs; the 40-person AI team is about 5% of the workforce.
- Vendors named: OpenAI and Microsoft (enterprise partnerships from 2023), OpenAI engineers on site since April 2026, ElevenLabs voice agents (June 2026) and Qualia Shield wire-fraud verification (June 2026); the bank publishes a cubiX MCP server. No patent assigned to the bank was located.
What is OpenAI strategic collaboration, AI Innovation Lab and cubiX payments network?
Customers Bank adopted ChatGPT Enterprise in 2023 and on 27 April 2026 announced a multiyear strategic collaboration with OpenAI that places OpenAI technical teams on site to build custom AI capabilities across lending, deposits and payments, including AI-enabled document collection, digital account onboarding, post-closing portfolio and collateral monitoring and AI-driven risk tools, running on the bank's own infrastructure. The bank has created an AI Innovation Lab, trained 100% of employees on AI, adopted a standardised AI risk framework, and by the first quarter of 2026 employees had built more than 500 agents and custom AI models, with AI workflows saving 28,000 hours; 75% of staff use OpenAI-powered tools. Reported outcomes include an AI-powered call-centre scoring tool with 85% greater efficiency, AI-powered loan account opening that cut workflow by 68%, sanctions screening 50% more accurate, and a Q2 2026 pilot that closed selected commercial loans in seven days instead of 30 to 60. Its cubiX instant-payments network passed $5 trillion of cumulative volume in Q2 2026.[4][5][3][7]
What AI partnerships and patents does Customers Bank have?
Customers Bank names OpenAI (enterprise use since 2023, engineers on site since April 2026), Microsoft (enterprise partnership from 2023, no product named), ElevenLabs (voice agents, June 2026) and Qualia (wire-fraud verification, June 2026), and publishes its own cubiX MCP server. No granted patent or published application assigned to Customers Bancorp or Customers Bank was located, and the 2025 10-K does not mention patents. Financial terms of the OpenAI deal are not public.[4][27][18][30][28][12]
| Item | What it is | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Enterprise use since 2023; multiyear collaboration with OpenAI engineers on site building lending, deposit and payments capabilities | In production | 2026-04-27[4][15][27] |
| Microsoft | Enterprise partnership begun in 2023, named on the Q1 2026 call; no product or scope disclosed | In production | 2026-04-24[27] |
| ElevenLabs | ElevenAgents voice and chat agents for service, relationship-manager assist and account opening | Announced | 2026-06-02[18] |
| Qualia | Qualia Shield wire-fraud verification inside an AI-powered closing platform for title and escrow customers | In production | 2026-06-29[30] |
| cubiX MCP server | Bank-built model context protocol server letting LLMs interact with payment rails | In production | 2026-06-10[28][31] |
What has Customers Bank done on AI, and when?
- Aug 7, 2026
- Jul 24, 2026
Q2 2026 call: underwriting, KYC and close-cycle results[31]
A multi-agentic underwriting process closed loans within a week; AI KYC screening raised productivity 50%; month-end close fell 60%; 46,000 hours saved equals 24 FTEs; Sidhu leads a 40-person team, about 5% of the workforce; the bank says it was first to publish an MCP.
- Jul 24, 2026
Q2 2026 call: low-40s efficiency target for 2027[20]
OpenAI engineers on custom capabilities; multi-agent credit underwriting closed some C&I and CRE loans within a week; efficiency ratio targeted at a low-40% run-rate in 2027 from about 50%.
- Jul 23, 2026
Q2 2026 deck: 46,000 hours, 600 agents, 100% licensed[19]
Agentic pods pair engineers with bankers; a 40-person AI mobilization team; top-down targets of a seven-day loan close, commercial onboarding in minutes, and a cubiX agentic interface handling nearly 2 billion client API requests by year-end 2026.
- Jul 23, 2026
Second-quarter 2026 results[7]
Seven-day loan closings piloted; AI KYC screening and OFAC false-positive clearing piloted; net income to common $71.6 million.
- Jun 29, 2026
Qualia Shield wire-fraud verification goes live[30]
Title and escrow customers can originate and receive wires inside Qualia, where the release says automated fraud verification runs on every transaction; Qualia is described as an AI-powered closing platform.
- Jun 10, 2026
- Jun 2, 2026
ElevenLabs conversational agents[18]
Voice and digital service agents, real-time assist for relationship managers and conversational account opening on ElevenAgents.
- Apr 28, 2026
600 staff join an AI masterclass[17]
Fortune reports the masterclass alongside the AI-clone call; the CEO says the aim is removing repetitive administrative work, not replacing judgment.
- Apr 27, 2026
CNBC: OpenAI tie began in 2023 and tools may be resold[15]
Sidhu says the bank first used OpenAI in 2023, that both sides contribute resources, that the bank may co-create enterprise tools OpenAI could sell to other banks, and that smaller banks are not expected to have the same AI frameworks as larger ones.
- Apr 27, 2026
- Apr 27, 2026
- Apr 24, 2026
Q1 2026 call: AI timeline, risk priority and a frontier-model deal[27]
Sidhu dates enterprise partnerships with OpenAI and Microsoft to 2023, governance and data work to 2024 and production use to 2025; says a frontier-model partnership was signed that week; names risk management excellence a 2026 priority and intends regulators to view the bank as a model.
- Apr 24, 2026
AI clone of the CEO speaks on the Q1 earnings call[5]
500-plus agents and models built; 28,000 hours saved.
- Apr 23, 2026
Q1 2026 deck: AI roadmap and per-employee metrics[14]
Roadmap from a governance-and-data foundation (2024) through piloting use cases in production (2025) and deploying use cases and agentic resources (2026) to end-to-end mass deployment (2027+); revenue per employee $981,000 in 2025.
- Apr 15, 2026
Shareholder letter: 'This is not AI theater'[13]
AI in production writing code, automating manual processes, routing customer communications and accelerating underwriting; phase two is end-to-end workflows run by AI agents under human supervision.
- Feb 27, 2026
2025 10-K: AI risk factors and AI training[12]
A standalone risk factor on evolving AI regulation says the business 'increasingly relies on AI, machine learning and automated decision making'; AI disruption of borrowers' industries is flagged as a credit risk; enterprise-wide AI training launched in 2025.
- Jan 26, 2026
Steve Wyremski named chief operating officer[11]
Former CFO of a $100 billion-plus bank, who had accelerated Customers' finance and data modernization as a strategic advisor since 2024.
- Jan 23, 2026
Q4 2025 call: CEO says he is personally leading AI[26]
'AI will redefine the banking industry and our organization'; employees report a nearly 20% productivity gain, more than half the firm uses enterprise AI platforms, and cubiX volume reached over $2 trillion in 2025 against $1.5 trillion in 2024.
- Jan 23, 2026
Q4 2025 call: every employee trained on AI[10]
Work under way on workflow orchestration, automated onboarding, AI support for underwriting and credit-memo drafting, and risk and compliance automation.
- Jan 22, 2026
Investor deck: 'Operationalize AI at Scale' as a 2026 priority[3]
AI Innovation Lab; 100% of staff trained; quantified efficiency gains.
- Nov 18, 2025
West Coast expansion[2]
New offices; 'high-tech capabilities with local, high-touch relationships'.
- Oct 24, 2025
Q3 2025 call: more than 100 agentic AI use cases[9]
Sidhu traces the programme to a cross-functional AI discovery team formed in December 2023, cites about a 10% productivity lift in various areas and says the bank is preparing to test over 100 agentic AI use cases.
- Aug 21, 2025
CEO puts remediation cost at $10 million to $15 million[24]
Sidhu tells Banking Dive the bank added about three dozen risk and compliance staff and hired consultants after the Fed action; Robinson brought half a dozen executives from Capital One.
- Jul 28, 2025
CEO on stablecoins and the GENIUS Act[1]
Sidhu to become holding-company CEO on 1 January 2026.
- Dec 31, 2024
CBIT offered for the last time; cubiX takes over[12]
The 2025 10-K says the blockchain-based CBIT product on TassatPay was offered until 31 December 2024; cubiX, built in-house and launched in November 2024, does not run on a blockchain or use tokens, and CBIT participants transitioned to it.
- Sep 3, 2024
Nick Robinson starts as chief risk officer[22]
Hired from Capital One's commercial division; Joan Cheney moves to deputy chief risk officer. Sidhu cites 'rapidly evolving' risks and opportunities.
- Aug 8, 2024
Federal Reserve publishes Written Agreement with Customers Bancorp and Customers Bank[21][12]
Dated 5 August 2024: BSA/AML programme, customer due diligence, suspicious-activity monitoring, OFAC screening procedures, board oversight, digital-asset risk management and controls over the bank's 'dollar token activities' (CBIT); 30 days' notice to the Reserve Bank before any new digital-asset initiative. A Pennsylvania consent order was agreed the same day. Neither mentions AI.
- Jul 15, 2024
AI charter, acceptable-use policy and 'First Pass' training[8]
CIO Nick Harris describes an executive AI charter group meeting monthly on compliance, risk and use cases, a scoring framework for AI uses, a cross-functional AI Discovery team, and 99% of staff trained since Q1 2024; AI not yet in the transaction stream.
Where does Customers Bank use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-powered loan closing and account opening[7][3] | Selected commercial loans closed in seven days versus 30 to 60; account-opening workflow cut 68%. | Pilot | Credit scoring & underwriting |
| AI KYC screening and OFAC false-positive clearing[7][3] | Piloted in Q2 2026, per the second-quarter release, to make compliance processes more consistent and defensible; the January 2026 investor deck, citing AI use-case examples, reports AI-powered sanctions screening improved accuracy by 50%. Neither source describes the screening as in full production. | Pilot | AML / KYC |
| AI call-centre scoring[3] | 85% greater efficiency and full visibility into customer interactions. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Employee-built agents and custom models on OpenAI[5][4] | 500-plus agents; 75% of staff on OpenAI tools; on-site OpenAI engineering. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Standardised AI risk framework and AI Innovation Lab[3] | Enterprise governance for scaled deployment. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| AI charter, acceptable-use policy and use-case scoring[8] | Monthly executive AI charter meetings on compliance, risk and policy; uses scored on value, cost, time to develop and risk. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| AI risk-factor disclosure[12] | The 10-K carries a standalone risk factor on evolving AI regulation and names AI disruption of borrowers' industries and AI-enabled hacking as risks. | In production | Model risk management |
| AI-written software code[15][16] | About half the bank's software code is written by AI, per the CEO. | In production | AI-generated code & coding agents |
| ElevenLabs voice and chat agents[18] | Always-available service agents, real-time assist for relationship managers and conversational account opening. | Announced | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Agentic commercial onboarding and cubiX agentic interface[19][7] | Commercial deposit onboarding in minutes rather than hours; an agentic interface for cubiX payments targeting nearly 2 billion client API requests by year-end 2026. | Pilot | Generative & agentic AI |
| Qualia Shield wire-fraud verification for title and escrow[30] | Wires originate and are received inside Qualia, with automated fraud verification on every transaction; Qualia is described as an AI-powered closing platform. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI fraud and deepfake detection (stated)[25] | Customer guidance says the bank uses real-time fraud detection powered by AI, biometric authentication and deepfake and impersonation detection; no vendor, model or metric is disclosed. | In production | Fraud detection |
| OpenAI, Microsoft and ElevenLabs relationships[27][15][18] | Enterprise partnerships with OpenAI and Microsoft from 2023, OpenAI engineers on site since April 2026 and ElevenLabs agents from June 2026; Sidhu says the bank may co-create tools OpenAI could sell to other banks. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| AI across the three lines of defence[13][14] | The 2026 shareholder letter aims to move risk, compliance and audit from sample-based to continuous monitoring with AI tools; the Q1 deck sets 'Reduce Risk' beside revenue and productivity. | Announced | AI governance (general) |
| cubiX MCP server and agentic-payment interface[28][31][19] | A bank-built MCP server lets LLMs interact with payment rails; the bank says it was the first to publish an MCP, and targets nearly 2 billion client API requests through the agentic interface by year-end 2026. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Agentic back-office and corporate functions[31] | Deposit-product setup cut from an hour to a couple of minutes, legal documents reviewed in minutes, regulatory-filing accuracy tracking and a 60% shorter month-end close, all built in house. | 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 Customers Bank work with?
| Company | What Customers Bank uses it for | Status | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Enterprise (OpenAI) | ChatGPT Enterprise since 2023; 75% of team members use OpenAI-powered tools; multiyear collaboration with on-site OpenAI engineers from April 2026. | 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 Customers Bank disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Hours saved by AI workflows (Q1 2026) | 28,000 (≈ 15 FTE)[5] | Apr 27, 2026 |
| Employee-built agents and custom AI models | > 500[5] | Apr 27, 2026 |
| Commercial loan closing time in pilot | 7 days, from 30 to 60[7] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 net income to common / diluted EPS | $71.6 million / $2.05[7] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| cubiX cumulative network volume | > $5 trillion[7] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Hours saved by AI (self-reported survey) | > 46,000[19] | Jul 3, 2026 |
| Agents deployed (incl. custom GPTs) | > 600[19] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Staff with AI licences | 100% (75% in Q1 2026)[19][14] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| AI mobilization team | 40 FTEs[19] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Share of software code written by AI | ≈ 50%[15] | Apr 27, 2026 |
| Efficiency-ratio target | Low 40s in 2027, from ≈ 50%[20][15] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Revenue per employee | $981,000 (2025) vs $910,000 (2024)[14] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Prospecting success-rate improvement in select verticals | > 100%[7] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Staff through 'First Pass' AI training | 99%[8] | Jul 15, 2024 |
| FTE equivalent of AI-saved hours (Q2 2026) | 24 FTEs (about 15 in Q1)[31][27] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Reduction in readiness to close commercial loans (pilot) | 85%[31] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Productivity gain from AI-powered KYC screening | 50%[31] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Shorter month-end close cycle | 60%[31] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Self-reported productivity gain from AI (Q4 2025) | Nearly 20%[26] | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Share of workforce on the AI mobilization team | About 5%[31][19] | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Target cubiX agentic-interface client API requests by year-end 2026 | Nearly 2 billion[19] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Estimated cost of addressing the Fed action (CEO estimate) | $10 million to $15 million[24] | Aug 21, 2025 |
| Pre-tax profit per employee | $346,000 (2025) vs $286,000 (2024)[14] | Dec 31, 2025 |
“This strategic collaboration with OpenAI gives us the frontier models, engineering expertise and ability to co-create a roadmap toward becoming an AI native bank.”[5]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 27, 2026
“We completed a pilot of our new AI-powered loan closing process, which included successfully closing selected commercial loans in seven days, down from 30 to 60 days typically.”[7]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Jul 23, 2026
“This is not AI theater. We measure it in cycle time, cost per transaction, and error rates, not just in adoption statistics or training.”[13]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 15, 2026
“When you have an autonomous agent, you're essentially creating a digital worker … and they can work around the clock.”[15][16]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 27, 2026
“The goal is to remove the repetitive, administrative work so our people can focus on what they do best—we're not replacing critical thinking and judgment, we're removing the tedious, time-consuming work that gets in the way of it.”[17]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 28, 2026
“Working with ElevenLabs enables us to combine cutting-edge AI with our high-touch service model, giving our customers immediate access to support while ensuring the human connection remains at the center of everything we do.”[18]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Jun 2, 2026
“We prompt employees to use AI to optimize their day and find efficiencies. How to use AI responsibly will be ubiquitous for knowledge workers in the future.”[8]
Nick Harris · Chief Information Officer · Jul 15, 2024
“I am personally leading our AI transformation effort because I believe the bank in our tier that wins on AI will have compounding benefits and structural advantages that will be very difficult to match.”[27]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 24, 2026
“We are appreciative of the increasingly collaborative relationship with our regulatory stakeholders and intend to be a bank that regulators view as a model for risk management.”[27]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 24, 2026
“I think that it's safe to say our regulators' bar was higher than our bar last year. Our bar is higher than our regulators' bar this year.”[24]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Aug 21, 2025
“Smaller banks are not going to be expected to have the same level of frameworks as many of the larger banks.”[15]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Apr 27, 2026
“AI will redefine the banking industry and our organization.”[26]
Sam Sidhu · President and CEO · Jan 23, 2026
Who runs AI at Customers Bank?
Sam SidhuLinkedIn ↗
President and CEO, Customers Bancorp (CEO of the holding company since 1 January 2026; says he personally leads the AI transformation)[5][7][27][13]
Carlos CotoLinkedIn ↗
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer (leads AI and automation; built the AI governance framework and structured the AI partnerships)[6]
Steve WyremskiLinkedIn ↗
EVP, Chief Operating Officer (from January 2026; led finance and data modernization as strategic advisor from 2024)[11]
Nick Harris
Chief Information Officer (as profiled in July 2024)[8]
Nick Robinson
EVP and Chief Risk Officer (since 3 September 2024; previously chief risk officer of Capital One's commercial division)[22][29][24]
Joan Cheney
Deputy Chief Risk Officer (from September 2024, previously chief risk officer)[22]
Vivin Varghese
Former Chief Information Security Officer (left in 2024 for Provident Bank; current CISO not named in public sources)[23]
What AI roles is Customers Bank hiring for?
Data as of · 1 AI-titled posting · read from Customers Bank's own careers site, re-checked weekly
1 open AI-related posting on Customers Bank's careers site as of Oct 25, 2026. A snapshot of current openings, not a source: postings close. Compare with other banks on which banks are hiring for AI.
Malvern, PA · posted
Which regulators govern Customers Bank's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve | Customers Bank is a state member bank; the OpenAI dependency and custom models sit squarely under SR 23-4 third-party and SR 11-7 model-risk guidance. | SR 23-4 SR 11-7 |
| FinCEN | AI-driven KYC screening and OFAC false-positive clearing must satisfy BSA/AML model expectations and the innovation statement. | 2018 Joint Statement on BSA/AML Innovation |
| CFPB | Automated account opening and lending decisions carry adverse-action and UDAAP duties. | ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| SEC | Quantified AI claims in earnings materials and an AI-cloned CEO voice invite scrutiny of AI-related disclosure. | Division of Examinations FY2026 Priorities |
Side by side: SR 11-7 vs SR 26-2 · PRA SS1/23 vs SR 26-2 · MAS AI Risk Management Guidelines vs SR 26-2 · OCC vs CFPB on AI lending · all comparisons.
What does the public record suggest about Customers Bank's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
This is the template for an AI-first regional bank
Named priorities, quantified outcomes, a lab, universal training and a vendor partnership; peers describing AI as 'evolution' will be compared against it.
02
Concentration on one model provider is the exam question
OpenAI engineers on site and models on bank infrastructure reduce data-leakage risk but deepen dependence; exit and substitution plans belong in the SR 23-4 file.
03
Compliance pilots need validation before scale
AI KYC and OFAC clearing are exactly where FinCEN and examiners will want independent model validation and false-negative testing.
04
Self-reported productivity is not audited productivity
Survey-based gains and hours-saved figures should be paired with expense and revenue-per-employee trends investors can verify.
Where does the Customers Bank record go deeper?
Which leader rankings does Customers Bank appear in?
6 of the computed leaders rankings include Customers Bank, each ranked from the same sourced bank pages.
How does Customers Bank compare with its peers?
- How does Customers Bancorp compare with its peers on AI and technology?
- Customers Bancorp competitors and alternatives, by business line
Its peer group on this site, by business model and size:
- Customers Bank Uses AI to Close Commercial Loans in 7 Days
- Customers Bank bets on Palantir to become AI-native
- Customers Bank partners Palantir to enhance onboarding with AI
- Customers Bank and Palantir Collaborate to Build an AI-Native Future for Banking
- Customers Bank to Deploy Palantir's Foundry, AI Platforms to Improve Customer Experience
Does Customers Bank use AI?
Extensively. Customers Bank has a multiyear collaboration with OpenAI that embeds OpenAI engineers on site to build AI for lending, deposits and payments, trains all employees on AI, runs an AI Innovation Lab, and reports quantified gains such as commercial loans closed in seven days instead of 30 to 60, 500-plus employee-built agents and 28,000 hours saved.
What is the Customers Bank and OpenAI deal?
Announced 27 April 2026, it is a multiyear strategic collaboration under which OpenAI technical teams work on site at Customers Bank to build custom AI capabilities on the bank's infrastructure, focused on end-to-end workflows in lending, deposit onboarding and payments. Financial terms were not disclosed. CEO Sam Sidhu says the goal is to become an AI-native bank.
Who leads AI at Customers Bank?
CEO Sam Sidhu says he is personally leading the AI transformation and, in July 2026, described a 40-person AI mobilization team, about 5% of the workforce. Carlos Coto, chief strategy and innovation officer, leads AI and automation, built the governance framework and structured the AI partnerships, according to American Banker's profile. Steve Wyremski became chief operating officer in January 2026, and Nick Robinson has been chief risk officer since September 2024. Nick Harris was chief information officer in July 2024. No chief AI officer or chief data officer is named in the bank's leadership page or SEC filings.
What happened to the Customers Bank Instant Token (CBIT)?
CBIT was a blockchain-based instant payments product that Customers Bank ran on Tassat's TassatPay platform. The 2025 10-K says the bank offered it until 31 December 2024. The in-house cubiX network, launched in November 2024, is not built on a blockchain and uses no tokens, and CBIT customers moved to it. The Fed's August 2024 Written Agreement had required adequate controls over the bank's 'dollar token activities'. cubiX passed $5 trillion of cumulative activity in Q2 2026 and now offers an MCP server for AI agents.
Is Customers Bank under a regulatory order, and does it cover AI?
On 5 August 2024 Customers Bancorp and Customers Bank entered a Written Agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and agreed a Pennsylvania Department of Banking consent order, covering BSA/AML, OFAC, board oversight and digital-asset risk management. The 2025 10-K still describes both; the 2026 10-Qs do not mention them. Sidhu told Banking Dive in August 2025 that remediation cost an estimated $10 million to $15 million. No CFPB action is disclosed, and the Written Agreement text does not mention AI.
- 'Pie is getting bigger faster': Customers CEO on stablecoins
- Customers in Pennsylvania announces West Coast expansion
- Customers Bancorp Q4 2025 Investor Presentation
- Customers Bank Announces Strategic Collaboration with OpenAI to Redefine the Commercial Banking Operating Model
- OpenAI will embed staff at Customers Bank under multiyear deal
- Carlos Coto | Digital Banking (speaker profile)
- Customers Bancorp Reports Results for Second Quarter 2026
- Customers Bank's Dynamic AI Strategy
- Customers Bancorp Q3 2025 Earnings Transcript
- Customers Bancorp Q4 Earnings Call Highlights
- Customers Bank Appoints Stephen Wyremski as Chief Operating Officer (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Customers Bancorp Annual Shareholder Letter 2026 (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Customers Bancorp Q1 2026 Investor Presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2)
- This bank CEO let his AI clone handle an earnings call — now he's signing an OpenAI deal
- Customers Bank deepens ties with OpenAI
- CEO of a $25.9 billion bank had his AI clone lead the company’s earnings call—as Mark Zuckerberg builds his own digital twin
- Customers Bank and ElevenLabs to Deploy AI-Powered Conversational Agents Across Customer and Employee Experiences
- Customers Bancorp Q2 2026 Investor Presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2)
- Customers Bancorp Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
- Written Agreement by and among Customers Bancorp, Inc., Customers Bank and Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
- Customers Bank bolsters executive team with new C-suite appointments
- 7 technology C-suite changes at banks, fintechs in September
- Customers CEO talks lessons learned from Fed enforcement action
- Who's Responsible for Keeping Your Financial Information Safe?
- Earnings call transcript: Customers Bancorp Q4 2025 shows strong growth
- CUBI Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Digital Payments for Business (cubiX)
- Investor Relations: Our Leadership
- Customers Bank Deploys Qualia Shield for Customers, Advancing Wire Fraud Prevention for Title and Escrow Professionals
- Earnings call transcript: Customers Bancorp posts strong Q2 2026 growth
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026
- Customers Bancorp, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
When Customers Bank moves on AI, you'll read it here first.
when one of the banks we cover moves on AI, it is in the next morning's brief · six sourced stories · 7 am PT · free
plus every regulation, bank and agent page update, the morning after · leave any morning