A Mid-South acquirer turned organic grower under a new CEO, with a chief information officer, a newly hired chief technology officer and a retiring first chief data officer, funding 'investments in talent and technology' from efficiency cuts, without a disclosed AI programme.
How is Simmons Bank using AI?
Simmons First National, the Pine Bluff, Arkansas parent of Simmons Bank with about $25 billion of assets across six states, changed leaders and priorities at the turn of 2026: Jay Brogdon became CEO on 1 January after George Makris Jr. retired, and told American Banker that 'delivering organic growth — that's not been our strong suit historically', so the bank is hiring bankers, a private-banking team and new consumer and commercial leaders to deepen relationships and gather low-cost deposits. Its technology organisation is being rebuilt in parallel. In May 2025 the bank hired David Kennedy as executive vice president and chief technology officer, with chief information officer Ann Madea saying his leadership would be instrumental 'as we accelerate our technology strategy and enhance the resilience and scalability of our platforms'; in August 2026 it announced the retirement of Lisa Hunter, who became its first chief data officer in 2021 and built the Data Office, data governance and data-literacy programmes after earlier leading the centralised call centre and an automated teller line. Second-quarter 2026 net income was $66.7 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, with a 3.84% margin, an adjusted efficiency ratio of 54.26% and, in Brogdon's words, 'continued execution of efficiency initiatives' including eliminated positions and square-footage reductions that 'more than funded our investments in the business'; a summary of the call cited 'ongoing investments in talent and technology'. Neither the earnings releases nor the leadership announcements name an AI programme, AI leader, vendor or budget (the releases mention AI only in the forward-looking-statement caution about 'emerging issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence'), and the competitive worry management stresses is deposits: Brogdon called deposit competition 'very, very fierce' on the July 2026 call. The 2025 10-K adds a risk factor noting 'rapid developments in artificial intelligence, including agentic artificial intelligence', the risks of third-party models and generative models that 'may produce incorrect outputs', and the 2026 10-Qs warn of cyber-attacks using 'generative artificial intelligence and deepfakes'. On the calls, the AI-adjacent theme is process work: the Better Bank initiative's automation, centralization and standardization, and in July 2026 a shift toward 'organizational optimization, process engineering, and technology enablement'; on the 16 October 2026 call Brogdon said the bank is 'barely scratching the surface' of the 'technology and automation that we are continuing to insert into the business', still without mentioning AI. Simmons Bank is an Arkansas state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve. Treat this as a thin AI record with a strong data-office foundation.
Thin public record: No AI remarks on its last four earnings calls (Q4 2025 to Q3 2026), no named AI leader, programme, vendor or budget, and AI in filings only as 10-K/10-Q risk factors and forward-looking-statement cautions.
Lead bank
Simmons Bank
Assets (lead bank, Jun 30, 2026)
$25 billion
Charter
Arkansas state member bank (Federal Reserve)
Headquarters
Pine Bluff, AR
AI leadership
Jay Brogdon · Ann Madea · David Kennedy · Chris Van Steenberg · Lisa Hunter · Alex Carriles · Tina Groves · Daniel Hobbs
- No AI programme, leader, vendor or budget disclosed in 2025 or 2026 releases and calls.
- Technology leadership: David Kennedy hired as EVP and CTO in May 2025 to oversee technology delivery as CIO Ann Madea accelerated the technology strategy; first chief data officer Lisa Hunter retiring after building the Data Office (announced August 2026).
- New CEO Jay Brogdon (from 1 January 2026) pivoting from acquisitions to organic growth: new consumer, wealth and commercial leaders and a private-banking team hired February 2026.
- Q2 2026 net income $66.7 million ($0.46 per share); NIM 3.84%; adjusted efficiency ratio 54.26%.
- Efficiency actions (position eliminations, real-estate reductions) more than fund investments in talent and technology.
- Q2 2026 call (17 July 2026): CEO Jay Brogdon said deposit competition is 'very, very fierce'; CFO Daniel Hobbs called deposits 'one of our biggest focuses strategically' and an area of significant investment over the next 12 to 24 months.
- Q3 2026 call (16 October 2026): part of the savings from the September efficiency plan goes to 'technology enablement' for deposit growth, and automation and tooling for bankers and back-office teams are measured by turn times such as days to close and fund a loan; no AI remark.
- Filings: the 2025 10-K's AI risk factor names agentic AI, third-party model risk and incorrect generative output; 2026 10-Qs flag cyber-attacks using generative AI and deepfakes.
- Better Bank initiative: automation, centralization and standardization across an acquisition-built footprint; COO Chris Van Steenberg rebuilding back-, middle- and front-office processes.
- The one measured model-style system on record is an in-house mobile-deposit scoring and qualification algorithm built with Jack Henry: it scores the customer rather than the cheque, cut fraud losses 96% to under 1 basis point and lifted monthly mobile-deposit limits from $1,500 to up to $150,000; Jack Henry gave Simmons a 2025 Cobalt Award for it, and Chief Digital Officer Alex Carriles described it.
- AI language entered Simmons filings only in the 2025 10-K (25 February 2026): a full-text search of the 2024 10-K and the Q1, Q2 and Q3 2025 10-Qs finds no mention of artificial intelligence, AI or machine learning, and the 2026 proxy statement has none either.
- Technology governance, per the 2025 10-K (Item 1C): a chief information security officer and a senior vice president of IT governance and risk report to the CIO; the Simmons Bank board's IT Committee takes reports from the CISO and CIO; an architecture review board, a vendor council and a third-party risk management department review new initiatives and vendor terms. The CISO and the SVP are not named.
- The 2026 proxy lists no CIO, CTO or chief data officer among executive officers; the CRO (Tina Groves) administers the risk programme that the board's Risk and Compliance Committee oversees, covering fraud, third-party vendors, cybersecurity and information technology.
- Footprint cuts fund the investment: 26 branch closures effective 4 December 2026 (about 100 associates, $20 million to $23 million of pre-tax cost) and an 8.5% cumulative cut in square footage against a 15% goal; the 2026 expense guide is up 2% to 3%.
- An Investor Day is set for 10 December 2026 in New York, where Brogdon, CFO Daniel Hobbs and other executives will present strategic priorities; the programme is not published, so any AI or technology position would first appear there.
What AI partnerships and patents does Simmons Bank have?
Simmons has no named AI partner, AI lab, cloud or data-platform agreement and no AI vendor spend in its releases, filings or calls. Its only documented technology partner relevant to risk models is Jack Henry: Simmons has run Jack Henry's Banno digital platform since 2019 and built its in-house mobile-deposit scoring algorithm with Jack Henry's tools and integrations, which won a 2025 Cobalt Award. A Google Patents assignee search for Simmons Bank and Simmons First National found no patents or published applications held by the bank.[16][17][9]
| Item | What it is | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Henry Banno digital banking platform | Digital banking platform the bank moved to in 2019; customer demand for mobile deposit then outran manual enrolment | In production | 2019-01-01[16] |
| Mobile-deposit scoring with Jack Henry | In-house customer scoring and qualification algorithm tied to Silverlake, jXchange and Remote Deposit Anywhere; 96% fall in fraud losses | In production | 2025-09-10[16][17] |
What has Simmons Bank done on AI, and when?
- Oct 16, 2026
Q3 2026 call: technology and automation 'barely scratching the surface'[14]
Brogdon says the efficiencies in the September 8-K include 'the benefits of some technology and automation that we are continuing to insert into the business', that the bank is 'barely scratching the surface' of those opportunities, and that reinvested savings will go to technology enablement, marketing and talent; automation and tooling are judged by measures such as days to close and fund a loan. No AI remark; adjusted efficiency ratio 53.31%.
- Sep 22, 2026
Investor Day set for 10 December 2026[26]
In New York; Brogdon, CFO Daniel Hobbs and other executives will present strategic priorities and plans; no agenda published.
- Sep 1, 2026
Decision to close 26 branches[25]
Closures take effect 4 December 2026 and affect about 100 associates, about 70% of whom the bank expects to retain; pre-tax cost estimated at $20 million to $23 million, mostly in the third quarter (8-K filed 3 September).
- Aug 20, 2026
First chief data officer Lisa Hunter to retire[7]
Built the Data Office, data governance and data-literacy programmes since 2021.
- Aug 5, 2026
Q2 10-Q: generative AI and deepfakes in cyber-attacks[11]
Cyber-attack techniques are 'increasingly sophisticated, including through the use of generative artificial intelligence and deepfakes'.
- Jul 17, 2026
Q2 2026 call: square-footage and process-improvement targets[15]
CFO Daniel Hobbs says square footage fell another 2.5% in the quarter, 8.5% in total, toward a 15% goal, and that process improvement across front, middle and back office is also under way.
- Jul 17, 2026
- Jul 16, 2026
- May 6, 2026
Q1 10-Q repeats the agentic-AI risk factor[19]
The 10-Q carries the agentic-AI and third-party-model risk factor and the cyber-attack language on generative AI and deepfakes.
- Apr 17, 2026
Q1 2026 call: 'fund every investment' from efficiency[12]
Brogdon says the bank made 'very big investments in terms of talent and other things' in the quarter while holding expense discipline; no AI remark.
- Apr 16, 2026
Q1 2026 results: 'a more efficient and scalable infrastructure'[18]
Net income $68.5 million ($0.47 per share); the release says the company is committed to 'designing a more efficient and scalable infrastructure'; no AI remark.
- Apr 8, 2026
2026 proxy statement: no AI mention; risk committee covers IT, cyber and vendors[24]
The board's Risk and Compliance Committee covers fraud, third-party vendors, cybersecurity and information technology; the chief risk officer runs the risk programme; executive officers listed include no CIO, CTO or CDO.
- Feb 25, 2026
2025 10-K Item 1C names the technology risk structure[9]
A CISO and an SVP of IT governance and risk report to the CIO; the Simmons Bank board's IT Committee receives CISO and CIO reports; an architecture review board, vendor council and third-party risk management department review initiatives and vendors.
- Feb 25, 2026
2025 10-K: AI risk factor names agentic AI[9]
Third-party AI models bring risks from how they are developed, trained and deployed; generative models may produce incorrect outputs, release confidential information or reflect biases; AI regulation is uncertain.
- Feb 13, 2026
Brogdon: regulation and technology investment favour scale[28]
At a Dallas Business Journal panel he argued that regulatory expectations and technology investments favour banks that can spread costs and drive efficiency.
- Feb 2, 2026
- Jan 21, 2026
Q4 2025 call: 2026 expense guide up 2% to 3%, procurement and real-estate savings[13]
Brogdon says the expense guide is up 2% to 3% to fund talent and the technology stack; management cites a procurement group set up about two years earlier for vendor spend, with opportunity over the next 12 to 24 months, and a 6% cut in square footage in 2025.
- Jan 21, 2026
Q4 2025 call: Better Bank automation in the 'middle innings'[8]
Automation, centralization and standardization across an acquisition-built footprint; the COO describes inspecting back-, middle- and front-office processes, sometimes rebuilding them entirely; hiring in support functions tied to automation and efficiency.
- Jan 1, 2026
- Sep 10, 2025
- Aug 4, 2025
- May 20, 2025
David Kennedy hired as chief technology officer[1]
Technology delivery, innovation, infrastructure and cost reduction; announced with a statement from CIO Ann Madea.
- Feb 27, 2025
- Nov 12, 2024
Where does Simmons Bank use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Data Office[7] | Data governance, data literacy and data-driven decision-making established under the first CDO. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Platform resilience and scalability programme[1] | CTO mandate to modernise infrastructure and reduce cost. | Rolling out | Third-party & vendor AI |
| AI risk-factor disclosure[9] | 10-K risk factor on agentic AI, third-party model risk, uncertain AI regulation and incorrect or biased generative output. | In production | Model risk management |
| Generative-AI and deepfake attack risk[11] | 10-Q cyber risk factor names generative AI and deepfakes among attack techniques. | In production | Cybersecurity |
| Centralised call centre and automated teller line[7] | Legacy service automation credited to the retiring CDO. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Mobile-deposit customer scoring[16][17] | In-house scoring and qualification algorithm built with Jack Henry: evaluates every customer daily, recalculates limits monthly, sets deposit eligibility, limits, risk level and holds; fraud losses down 96% to under 1 basis point; the source does not say whether the model is machine learning. | In production | Fraud detection |
| Vendor council, third-party risk management and architecture review board[9][13] | Groups that review contract terms, assurance reviews of third parties and new initiatives affecting technical or security architecture; a procurement group set up about two years before January 2026 manages vendor spend. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| CISO-led information security programme with board IT Committee reporting[9] | Security operations, identity and access, engineering and architecture groups under a CISO who reports to the CIO; cyber KRIs go to the enterprise risk management committee and the Simmons Bank board IT Committee. | In production | Cybersecurity |
| Board and executive risk oversight of IT, cyber and vendors[24] | Board Risk and Compliance Committee oversight of fraud, third-party vendor, cybersecurity and IT risk, with an Enterprise Risk Management Committee of senior executives and the chief risk officer administering the programme; no AI-specific committee is named. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Better Bank process automation and standardisation[13] | Management says it has brought 'a tremendous amount of automation to processes' and centralised and standardised around best practices across an acquisition-built footprint; the technology is not named and AI is not mentioned. | Rolling out | AI governance (general) |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
What has Simmons Bank disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 net income / diluted EPS | $66.7 million / $0.46[5] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Adjusted efficiency ratio / net interest margin, Q2 2026 | 54.26% / 3.84%[5] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Consecutive years of cash dividends | 117[7] | Aug 20, 2026 |
| Fraud-loss reduction after mobile-deposit scoring | 96%, to under 1 basis point[16][17] | Sep 10, 2025 |
| Monthly mobile-deposit limit, before and after scoring | $1,500 to up to $150,000[16] | Sep 10, 2025 |
| Noninterest expense, Q2 2026 reported / adjusted | $147.7 million / $140.3 million[5] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Cumulative square-footage reduction / goal | 8.5% / 15%[15] | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Branches to close / associates affected | 26 / about 100[25] | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Estimated pre-tax cost of the branch closures | $20 million to $23 million[25] | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Mentions of AI in the 2026 proxy statement | 0[24] | Apr 8, 2026 |
“Delivering organic growth — that's not been our strong suit historically. Most of our growth has been through acquisitions.”[4]
Jay Brogdon · President and CEO · Feb 2, 2026
“As we accelerate our technology strategy and enhance the resilience and scalability of our platforms, David's deep understanding and leadership will be instrumental in shaping the next phase of our transformation.”[1]
Ann Madea · EVP and Chief Information Officer · May 20, 2025
“By scoring the customer instead of the check, we've been able to dramatically reduce fraud while simultaneously empowering customers with higher deposit limits and instant access to their funds.”[16]
Alex Carriles · EVP and Chief Digital Officer · Sep 10, 2025
“We have brought a tremendous amount of automation to processes and continue to do that.”[13]
Jay Brogdon · President and CEO · Jan 21, 2026
“Our mantra in the bank is fund every investment that we want to make in the business.”[12]
Jay Brogdon · President and CEO · Apr 17, 2026
“Deposit competition is very, very fierce. Our outlook is that that's going to continue.”[15]
Jay Brogdon · President and CEO · Jul 17, 2026
“We're focused heavily on how we optimize the organization of our teams, how we engineer better processes, and how we enable the business through technology.”[15]
Jay Brogdon · President and CEO · Jul 17, 2026
Who runs AI at Simmons Bank?
Ann MadeaLinkedIn ↗
Former EVP and Chief Information Officer (October 2021 – June 2026, per LinkedIn)[1]
David KennedyLinkedIn ↗
EVP and Chief Technology Officer (hired May 2025); LinkedIn now lists him as EVP, Chief Information Officer[1]
Chris Van Steenberg
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (since November 2024; previously Chief Digital & Product Officer at First Horizon)[8][24][29]
Lisa Hunter
Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer (first in the role, 2021; retirement announced 20 August 2026)[7]
Alex Carriles
Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer (as named in Jack Henry's 2025 case study; current status not confirmed); oversees digital banking strategy, digital customer experience and digital customer acquisition[16]
Tina Groves
Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer; administers the enterprise risk programme that covers fraud, third-party vendors, cybersecurity and information technology[24]
Daniel HobbsLinkedIn ↗
Chief Financial Officer[6]
What AI roles is Simmons Bank hiring for?
Data as of · 0 AI-titled postings · read from Simmons Bank's own careers site, re-checked weekly
No open AI-titled postings on Simmons 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.
Which regulators govern Simmons Bank's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve | Simmons Bank is a state member bank; Fed model-risk and third-party guidance would govern any AI built on the Data Office foundation. | SR 11-7 SR 23-4 |
| CFPB | Consumer and private-banking products bring adverse-action and UDAAP duties to any automated decisioning. | ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| FDIC | Deposit-insurance supervision and interagency third-party guidance apply to vendor platforms. | FDIC FIL-29-2023 |
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 Simmons Bank's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
The Data Office is the AI precondition, and its founder is leaving
Succession for the chief data officer role will show whether data governance stays an executive priority or folds into IT.
02
Efficiency-funded technology needs a stated destination
Cutting positions to fund technology invites the question of what the technology is; an AI position would answer it.
03
Deposit competition is where AI pays first
Retention analytics and pricing models serve the stated top priority more directly than back-office automation.
04
Organic growth means more models
A shift from acquisitions to relationship banking raises the weight of underwriting, pricing and CRM models under SR 11-7.
Where does the Simmons Bank record go deeper?
How does Simmons Bank compare with its peers?
- How does Simmons First National Corporation compare with its peers on AI and technology?
- Simmons First National Corporation competitors and alternatives, by business line
Its peer group on this site, by business model and size:
Does Simmons Bank use AI?
Simmons has not disclosed an AI programme, leader, vendor or budget. It has a chief information officer, hired a chief technology officer in May 2025 to accelerate its technology strategy, and built an enterprise Data Office under its first chief data officer, who is retiring in 2026.
Who leads AI at Simmons Bank?
Simmons has not named a head of AI. Technology sits with a chief information officer (Ann Madea in the May 2025 hiring release) and chief technology officer David Kennedy, hired in May 2025; Lisa Hunter, the first chief data officer, retires in 2026; Alex Carriles was named Chief Digital Officer in a 2025 Jack Henry case study; chief risk officer Tina Groves runs the risk programme; COO Chris Van Steenberg came from First Horizon's digital and product role. The 2026 proxy names no AI committee.
Does Simmons Bank use AI to fight fraud?
Simmons describes one fraud system with numbers: an in-house mobile-deposit scoring algorithm built with Jack Henry that scores the customer rather than the cheque. It cut fraud losses 96% to under 1 basis point, raised monthly limits from $1,500 to up to $150,000 and won a 2025 Jack Henry Cobalt Award. The source does not call it AI or machine learning, and no AI fraud or AML vendor is public.
What do Simmons filings say about AI?
The first AI language appears in the 2025 10-K, filed 25 February 2026: rapid developments in AI including agentic AI, third-party model risk, uncertain regulation and incorrect generative output. The Q1 and Q2 2026 10-Qs repeat it and add generative AI and deepfakes as cyber-attack techniques. The 2024 10-K, the three 2025 10-Qs and the 2026 proxy statement contain no AI language, and the earnings releases mention AI only in the forward-looking caution.
What changed at Simmons in 2026?
Jay Brogdon became CEO on 1 January 2026 after George Makris Jr. retired, and the bank shifted from acquisition-led growth to organic growth, hiring new consumer, wealth and commercial leaders and a private-banking team while cutting positions and real estate to fund investments in talent and technology.
- Simmons Bank hires David Kennedy as Chief Technology Officer
- Simmons First National Corporation Announces CEO Retirement and Leadership Transition
- Simmons Bank promotes new CEO as longtime leader retires
- Simmons Bank hires new leaders to boost organic growth
- Simmons First National Corporation Reports Second Quarter Results
- Simmons First National Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
- Lisa Hunter to Retire After 30 Years at Simmons Bank
- Simmons First National Q4 Earnings Call Highlights
- Simmons First National Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Simmons First National Corporation Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
- Simmons First National Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
- Simmons First (SFNC) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Simmons (SFNC) Q4 2025 Earnings Transcript (call held 21 January 2026; transcript posted 21 April 2026)
- Simmons First (SFNC) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Earnings call transcript: Simmons First misses Q2 2026 estimates as stock falls
- Simmons Bank changes the game with mobile deposit scoring
- Jack Henry Announces 2025 Cobalt Award Winners
- Simmons First National Corporation first quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Simmons First National Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026
- Simmons First National Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
- Simmons First National Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025
- Simmons First National Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025
- Simmons First National Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025
- Simmons First National Corporation 2026 Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A)
- Simmons First National Corporation Form 8-K, Item 2.05 (closure of 26 branches)
- Simmons First National Corporation to Host Investor Day
- Simmons Bank Announces Key Executive Appointments
- Bank leaders say North Texas remains a magnet for capital and talent
- Simmons First names next CEO, COO
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