A midsize bank that says AI has flipped build-versus-buy: three vendor contracts already replaced, five tiers of AI access, a head of AI and data science, and a COO who counts tokens monthly.
How is Valley using AI?
Valley National Bancorp, a $64 billion bank spanning New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama and California, has one of the more candid AI accounts among midsize lenders because its chief operating officer, Russell Barrett, talks about the economics. Ranked No. 47 on American Banker's 2026 Most Innovative People in Finance list, Barrett credits a cloud-first strategy that moved over 80% of data-centre capacity to a cloud hub, a completed core conversion and a four-year push to build a 'data culture' for letting Valley act on AI faster than peers: a data task that takes another bank five months takes Valley five days, digital transformation has produced nearly $100 million of cost savings over four years, about $20 million of recurring fee revenue and more than 100,000 hours of productivity, and more than 50 digital initiatives launched in a year. In July 2026 he said agentic AI had 'upended the build-versus-buy calculus': Valley is already replacing three external software contracts with its own AI-enabled workflows, has reached production on AI prospecting and fraud capabilities ahead of similar-sized banks working with the same partners, and is 'very token-conscious', tracking spend monthly, with five tiers of AI access and about 80 of 3,600 employees as open-access power users. Nickolaus Lachman, head of AI and data science since 2025, builds custom generative-AI agents for Valley's AI Assistant; a new Valley Foundry explores fintech as a primary focus rather than a side lab. The bank's 2026 moves include senior hires for partner banking, digital and customer care, a $247 million agreement in August 2026 to buy Chicago's Providence Financial for a retail footprint there, and technology expenses of $31.9 million in the first quarter, up 7%. On the first-quarter 2026 call CEO Ira Robbins listed AI already in use: a customer-facing voice AI agent that calls past-due auto-loan customers, fraud tools that verify transactions and prioritise suspicious-activity alerts, next-best-offer sales tools, and AI in card service requests, parts of underwriting, risk monitoring and software development. In July 2026 he said banks that adopt AI effectively could cut their efficiency ratios by around 500 basis points, and CFO Travis Lan put year-to-date savings at about $15 million in the expense run rate against $3 million to $4 million of new AI-associated spending; the chief credit officer added that agentic AI is not yet in the bank's core credit analysis. The 2025 10-K describes an AI governance, oversight and strategic facilitation function covering risk assessment of internal and vendor AI, due diligence and model validation. It does not disclose total AI investment.
Lead bank
Valley National Bank
Assets (lead bank, Jun 30, 2026)
$66 billion
Charter
National bank (OCC)
Headquarters
Morristown, NJ
Flagship platform
Cloud-first infrastructure, Valley's AI Assistant and tiered access
AI leadership
Ira Robbins · Russell Barrett · Nickolaus Lachman · Travis Lan · Stephen Schroth · Michael Rappaport · Ed Montesdeoca · Rodrigo Suarez · Mark Saeger · Patrick Smith · Ori Kaufman Gafter · Jeff Allen · Eyal Efrat · Peter V. Maio
- Build-versus-buy has flipped: 'We are already replacing three external contracts with our ability to leverage AI' (COO, July 2026); AI prospecting and fraud tools reached production ahead of similar-sized peers.
- Foundations: 80%-plus of data-centre capacity moved to a cloud hub, a completed core conversion and a 'data culture' begun four years ago; five days versus five months for data tasks.
- Measured outcomes: nearly $100 million of cost savings over four years, ~$20 million of recurring fee revenue, 100,000-plus hours of productivity, 50-plus digital initiatives in a year.
- Governed access: five AI tiers, two specialised for engineering, QA and model risk; about 80 of ~3,600 employees with open access; spend and token use tracked monthly.
- People: Russell Barrett (COO, ex-BNP Paribas and Bank Leumi CIO), Nickolaus Lachman (head of AI and data science, custom agents for Valley's AI Assistant), the Valley Foundry for fintech exploration.
- AI in production per the CEO (Q1 2026): a voice AI agent for past-due auto loans, fraud and alert-prioritisation tools, next-best-offer sales AI, and AI in card servicing, underwriting steps, risk monitoring and software development.
- The economics (Q2 2026 call): ~$15 million of run-rate savings against $3–4 million of new AI spend; the CEO sees ~500 bp of efficiency-ratio improvement for banks that adopt AI well, about 65% from expenses and 35% from revenue.
- Formal strategy (Q2 2026 deck): centralised AI governance with model-risk focus, an AI team reporting to the head of data and analytics, and a roadmap to an 'AI-native organization' from 2028; agentic underwriting is still in exploration, per the chief credit officer.
- Growth: senior hires for partner banking, digital and customer care (February 2026); Providence Financial in Chicago for $247 million (August 2026); AI used to compete for deposits (Bloomberg, 2025).
- Build-via-buy, too: the $340 million Bluevine acquisition (September 2026) adds ~180 AI and data-science engineers and a platform where, per Valley's own deal deck, the majority of new code is AI-generated and ~80% of inbound customer inquiries are AI-contained.
- Bank Leumi owns 13.1% (72.9 million shares) and designates two Valley directors; one, Eyal Efrat, is Leumi's chief information officer and sits on Valley's Risk Committee with Peter Maio, a former Ally CIO (2026 proxy).
- Valley says its AI edge comes from three channels: Valley Ventures ($200 million committed, $80 million deployed), a tech-banking franchise of about 2,000 clients, and Bank Leumi's view of cyber, fraud and risk practice; the CEO describes 'a robust team of AI practitioners' sourcing use cases from them (Q2 2026 call).
- Contact-centre AI has a named owner: Ed Montesdeoca, hired in February 2026 from Capital One to lead customer care and strategy, where he led more than 5,000 associates and enabled that bank's first generative-AI contact-centre initiatives.
- Disclosure trail: the FY2024 10-K (February 2025) already described an AI governance function; the FY2025 10-K added agentic AI and a warning that Valley may not know when vendors add AI to tools in its environment; the 2026 10-Qs mention AI only in forward-looking-statement cautions.
- Headcount context: 3,634 employees on the Q4 2025 call and 3,607 on the Q1 2026 call, against about 3,350 when Robbins became CEO; he says roles cut are being partly reinvested in AI.
- No AI lab, cloud provider or GPU vendor is named in Valley's filings or releases; named partners are Infinant, Koxa and Finley Technologies (fintech and treasury platforms) plus Bluevine after closing. No chief information or chief data officer is named in the sources reviewed.
What is Cloud-first infrastructure, Valley's AI Assistant and tiered access?
Valley's AI sits on a cloud-first strategy that moved more than 80% of its data-centre capacity to a cloud hub, giving what chief operating officer Russell Barrett calls a 'single pane of glass' on data, and on a completed core conversion. Nickolaus Lachman, senior vice-president and head of AI and data science, builds custom generative-AI agents and applications for Valley's AI Assistant under a governance framework. Access is tiered: five levels, two of them for engineering, quality assurance and model-risk staff with specialised tools, and about 80 of roughly 3,600 employees with open access as cross-functional 'power users'. Barrett says the bank is already replacing three external software contracts with AI-built workflows and reached production on AI prospecting and fraud tools sooner than similar-sized peers, while tracking spend and token use monthly. The second-quarter 2026 investor deck sets out the strategy formally: a centralised governance framework emphasising model risk management and data security, role-appropriate AI tools backed by an AI leadership team reporting to the head of data and analytics, a build-and-buy approach fed by Valley Ventures, the technology-banking business and Bank Leumi, and a roadmap from foundations (2023–2025) through 'AI portfolio execution' (2025–2027) to an 'AI-native organization' from 2028.[4][1][2][14]
What AI partnerships and patents does Valley have?
Valley's named technology partners are fintech and treasury platforms, not AI labs: Infinant for partner banking, Koxa for ERP-integrated treasury and Finley Technologies for credit management. Its AI sourcing runs through Valley Ventures, its tech-banking franchise and its largest shareholder, Bank Leumi, and from closing through Bluevine's roughly 180 engineers. No AI lab, cloud provider or GPU vendor is named in filings or releases reviewed, and no patent assigned to Valley was found in the searches run for this profile.[34][35][36][14][24][17]
| Item | What it is | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinant Interlace | Cloud-based deposit and payments platform for Valley's Partner Banking business (embedded finance, not AI) | In production | 2025-10-27[34] |
| Koxa Treasury Gateway (Valley Connect) | ERP-integrated treasury: real-time balances and payment submission, approval and reconciliation inside clients' ERP software | In production | 2025-09-17[35] |
| Finley Technologies Credit Management System | Post-origination loan platform for securities-based collateral management and syndicated loan servicing, built as a design partnership with Valley Ventures | In production | 2025-02-25[36] |
| Valley Ventures | Corporate venture arm: $200 million committed, $80 million deployed; portfolio solutions feed Valley's AI initiatives | In production | 2026-07-23[14] |
| Bank Leumi | Largest shareholder (13.1%), two board designees, visibility into Israeli tech and into cyber, fraud and risk practice | In place | 2026-04-03[24][14] |
| Bluevine | Digital small-business bank to be acquired for $340 million; about 180 R&D staff, majority of new code AI-generated | Announced | 2026-09-28[17][18] |
| Valley Foundry | Intake and governance process for startup, fintech and vendor technologies, starting with AI, cybersecurity and data | Announced | 2026-09-09[33] |
What has Valley done on AI, and when?
- Sep 29, 2026
Robbins on CNBC: AI agents not a threat to regional banks[37]
The CEO appears on Power Lunch to discuss whether AI could affect regional banks.
- Sep 28, 2026
Bluevine acquired for $340 million to accelerate the AI roadmap[17][18][19]
Valley agreed to buy the digital small-business banking platform Bluevine for $340 million, adding $2.1 billion of low-cost core deposits, about 175,000 active small-business customers and roughly 180 engineering, product and data-science staff. The announcement and investor presentation frame Bluevine as 'production-grade AI capabilities and engineering talent' built in-house, citing that the majority of Bluevine's new code is AI-generated and about 80% of its inbound customer inquiries are AI-contained; CEO Ira Robbins said the deal would 'meaningfully accelerate our digital and AI capabilities.' Close expected early 2027.
- Sep 9, 2026
Valley Foundry launched; Michael Rappaport to lead[16]
A new technology and innovation capability to speed adoption of AI, cybersecurity and data-and-analytics tools through internal and external partnerships; Rappaport joins from Capco, with earlier innovation roles at HSBC.
- Aug 25, 2026
- Aug 6, 2026
Q2 10-Q mentions AI only as a forward-looking risk[27][28]
The quarterly report refers to AI in its forward-looking-statement caution on keeping pace with technology, regulation and the ability to assess and monitor AI risks; the first-quarter 10-Q, filed 7 May, carries the same wording. The substantive AI disclosure sits in the earnings decks and the annual report.
- Jul 23, 2026
Q2 call names Valley Ventures, tech banking and Bank Leumi as AI advantages[21]
Robbins says Valley has 'a robust team of AI practitioners' sourcing use cases from those relationships, that software is already being eliminated, and that the 500 basis points would come roughly 65% from expenses and 35% from revenue.
- Jul 23, 2026
AI strategy slides and a 500-basis-point efficiency thesis[14][15]
The Q2 deck updates the AI strategy, ecosystem and roadmap first shown in the Q1 deck (adding wire-fraud identification, collections and loan servicing to the use cases); on the call the CFO puts savings at ~$15 million against $3–4 million of new AI spend, and the chief credit officer says agentic AI is not yet in core credit analysis.
- Jul 23, 2026
Second-quarter 2026 results[10]
Net income $170.9 million; salary expense down on 'resource optimization'.
- Jul 10, 2026
'AI is changing the build-versus-buy question'[4]
Three vendor contracts replaced; five access tiers; token use tracked monthly.
- Jun 18, 2026
Press release lists Valley's AI applications[31]
Valley says it has advanced AI applications across anti-money laundering, operational quality, sales effectiveness and employee training, launched more than 50 digital initiatives in a year, and already runs Valley Foundry and Valley Ventures as parts of its innovation ecosystem.
- Jun 1, 2026
COO ranked No. 47 for building an 'AI-ready bank'[1]
Cloud-first, data culture, the Valley Foundry and $100 million of savings.
- May 21, 2026
Robbins argues AI is a connectivity fix, not a threat[30]
In an American Banker opinion piece the CEO says AI can synthesise fragmented bank systems and automate routine work, and that it will not replace relationship banking.
- May 7, 2026
Fixed-income investor deck lists AI among credit strengths[29]
A May 2026 presentation to bond investors names 'forward-thinking integration of technology and AI to enhance efficiency and client experience' among its credit highlights.
- Apr 23, 2026
First-quarter deck presents Valley's AI strategy, use cases and journey[25]
Slides set out guiding principles (measurable value, responsible AI), an AI team reporting to the head of data and analytics, and five use cases including agentic AI for credit underwriting; the roadmap runs from foundations (2023-2025) to 'AI portfolio execution' (2025-2027) and an AI-native organisation from 2028.
- Apr 23, 2026
- Apr 23, 2026
- Apr 15, 2026
Head of AI and data science on agent 'fleets'[2]
Lachman's remit: governance to custom applications for Valley's AI Assistant.
- Apr 3, 2026
2026 proxy: Bank Leumi holds 13.1% and two board seats[24]
Bank Leumi owns 72.9 million shares (13.1%) and designates two directors, Nitzan Sandor and Eyal Efrat (Leumi's chief information officer). Efrat and Peter Maio, a former Ally CIO, sit on the Risk Committee that oversees the Cyber and Technology Risk Subcommittee. The proxy contains no AI discussion.
- Feb 27, 2026
2025 10-K: AI risk factor and an AI governance function[11]
Valley says it has made and will keep making investments in generative, machine-learning and agentic AI, and has implemented an AI governance, oversight and strategic facilitation function covering risk assessment of internal and vendor AI, due diligence, model validation and controls.
- Feb 11, 2026
Leaders for partner banking, digital and customer care[8][32]
Rodrigo Suarez (partner banking), Stephen Schroth (digital and assisted channels) and Ed Montesdeoca (customer care and strategy) appointed; Montesdeoca joins from Capital One, where he enabled the first generative-AI initiatives in contact-centre operations.
- Jan 29, 2026
Fourth-quarter 2025 call ties AI to banker productivity[22]
Robbins says past investments in data analytics, AI and sales effectiveness are making bankers more productive and that AI solutions are meant to speed customer acquisition; he cites 3,634 employees against about 3,351 when he became CEO.
- Oct 27, 2025
Infinant selected for Partner Banking[34]
Valley picks Infinant's cloud-based Interlace platform to run deposit and payment programmes for fintech partners alongside its existing core, after what both describe as an extensive selection process.
- Mar 19, 2025
AI to compete for deposits[7]
Among regionals using AI on customer data to lure deposits.
- Mar 3, 2025
CFO and commercial leadership set[6]
Travis Lan confirmed as CFO.
- Feb 28, 2025
FY2024 10-K already carries an AI governance function[23]
Valley says it has implemented an AI governance, oversight and strategic facilitation function covering risk assessment of internal and vendor AI, due diligence, model validation and controls, and expects vendors to add AI to their products faster than Valley can independently.
- Feb 25, 2025
Finley credit-management platform goes live[36]
Valley implements Finley Technologies' post-origination Credit Management System for securities-based collateral management and syndicated loan servicing, displacing legacy technology; Valley Ventures partner Jeff Allen calls it a design partnership.
Where does Valley use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley's AI Assistant and custom agents[2] | Machine learning and custom gen-AI agents built by the AI and data science team. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| AI workflows replacing vendor software[4] | Three external contracts for specific workflows being replaced. | Rolling out | Generative & agentic AI |
| AI-powered fraud capabilities[4] | Reached production with partners ahead of similar-sized banks. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI prospecting and lead generation[4][7] | Helping bankers develop relationships 'in a not-creepy way'; AI used to compete for deposits. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Five-tier AI access and monthly spend tracking[4] | Specialised tiers for engineering, QA and model risk; ~80 open-access power users. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Voice AI for auto-loan reminders and collections[14][13] | An autonomous outbound voice agent that holds payment-reminder and collection conversations with past-due auto-loan customers. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| AI knowledge assistants for customer care[14] | Generative AI giving customer-care agents access to approved policies and procedures. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| AML and fraud alert actioning[14] | Machine-learning models segment risk, identify wire fraud and reduce false positives in AML alert review. | In production | AML / KYC |
| Automation and agentic AI in underwriting and loan servicing[14][15] | Financial-statement spreading and rent-roll population are automated; agentic AI for underwriting workflow is shown in the deck but, per the chief credit officer, still in exploration. | Pilot | Credit scoring & underwriting |
| AI governance function and risk-factor disclosure[11] | Risk assessment of internal and vendor AI, due diligence, model validation and controls; the 10-K flags errors, bias, unfair treatment and customer-service AI that fails to escalate to humans. | In production | Model risk management |
| Valley Foundry[16] | A dedicated capability to identify, test and advance emerging technologies, initially AI, cybersecurity, and data and analytics, through startup, fintech and vendor partnerships. | Announced | AI governance (general) |
| Bluevine AI-native small-business platform[18] | Acquired production-grade AI engineering: per Valley's deal presentation, the majority of Bluevine's new code is AI-generated and roughly 80% of its inbound customer inquiries are AI-contained; about 180 R&D staff join to accelerate Valley's AI roadmap. | Announced | Generative & agentic AI |
| Vendor and internal AI risk assessment[11][23] | The 10-K says Valley assesses internal and vendor AI, but warns it may not learn of AI added to vendor tools before they enter its environment; it expects vendors to add AI faster than Valley can independently. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| Board-level cyber and technology oversight[24][21] | The Risk Committee's Cyber and Technology Risk Subcommittee oversees vendor and own-system cyber risk; directors Peter Maio and Eyal Efrat are named for information-security expertise, and Bank Leumi gives Valley visibility into cyber, fraud and risk practice. | In production | Cybersecurity |
| AI for knowledge access, back-office processes and risk monitoring[20] | The CEO says Valley already uses AI to improve access to its internal knowledge base and to rethink legacy back-office processes including card service requests, parts of underwriting and risk monitoring. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| AI in software development[20][18] | Valley says AI already accelerates its data analytics and software development; the acquired Bluevine platform reports that most new code is AI-generated. | In production | AI-generated code & coding agents |
| AI in AML, operational quality, sales effectiveness and employee training[31] | A June 2026 release lists these four areas as where Valley has advanced AI applications, alongside embedded-finance integrations built with startups and internal engineers. | 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 Valley work with?
| Company | What Valley uses it for | Status | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| NICE Actimize | Unified AML platform starting with Customer Due Diligence, followed by Suspicious Activity Monitoring and case management, selected March 2017 (no later update found). | Selected | AML compliance |
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 Valley disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor contracts being replaced by AI | 3[4] | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Employees with open AI access / total | ≈ 80 / ≈ 3,600[4] | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Digital transformation results over four years | ≈ $100 million saved; ≈ $20 million recurring revenue; 100,000+ hours[1] | Jun 1, 2026 |
| Data-centre capacity moved to cloud | > 80%[1] | Jun 1, 2026 |
| Technology, furniture and equipment expense, Q1 2026 | $31.9 million, up ≈ 7%[4] | Apr 23, 2026 |
| AI savings vs new AI spend, year to date | ≈ $15 million run-rate savings vs $3–4 million new AI-associated expense[15] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Efficiency-ratio improvement the CEO sees from effective AI adoption (industry-wide) | ≈ 500 bp (≈ 65% expenses, 35% revenue)[15] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Valley Ventures capital committed / deployed | $200 million / $80 million[14] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Capital expenditure, last seven to eight years vs the prior period | ≈ $450 million vs ≈ $50 million[13] | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Providence Financial acquisition | $247 million; $1.6 billion of assets[5] | Aug 25, 2026 |
| Bluevine acquisition | $340 million; $2.1 billion of core deposits; ≈175,000 small-business customers; ≈180 R&D staff[17][18] | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Bluevine: new code AI-generated / inbound inquiries AI-contained | Majority / ≈80%[18] | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Employees: Q4 2025 call / Q1 2026 call / when Robbins became CEO | 3,634 / 3,607 / ≈ 3,350[22][20] | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Bank Leumi stake in Valley and board seats | 13.1% (72,861,862 shares); two directors designated[24] | Mar 1, 2026 |
| Technology, furniture and equipment expense, Q2 2026 | $33.2 million, up ≈ 8.4% year on year[26] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP): Q2 2025 / Q1 2026 / Q2 2026 | 55.2% / 53.1% / 52.1%[14] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Tech Banking clients cited as an AI sourcing channel | ≈ 2,000[14] | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Bluevine deposit cost vs Valley's | 1.44% on $2.1 billion vs 2.28%[18] | Sep 28, 2026 |
“We probably are not market-leading in the number of use cases, but we do feel our ability to execute and see it to fruition is definitely something.”[4]
Russell Barrett · Chief Operating Officer · Jul 10, 2026
“Our persistence over the last few years on building a scalable infrastructure sits at the back of every innovative creation or partnership we now benefit from at Valley.”[1]
Russell Barrett · Chief Operating Officer · Jun 1, 2026
“We invested early in AI talent, and continue to devote resources and focus to solutions that can augment the capabilities of our associates.”[12]
Ira Robbins · Chairman and CEO · Apr 23, 2026
“I think like most AI use cases, right, the manual work can be automated, but it doesn't change the oversight and approval and governance that's around those AI efforts.”[15]
Travis Lan · Chief Financial Officer · Jul 23, 2026
“Valley has long operated as a technology-forward bank, investing in differentiated capabilities and fostering a deep ecosystem in this space to better serve our clients.”[16]
Russell Barrett · Chief Operating Officer · Sep 9, 2026
“The acquisition of Bluevine directly advances the strategic priorities we have previously communicated to our shareholders. It is expected to enhance our core funding capabilities, add a proven small business growth platform and meaningfully accelerate our digital and AI capabilities.”[17]
Ira Robbins · Chairman, President and CEO · Sep 28, 2026
“We have already utilized AI to improve access to our internal knowledge base, to rethink legacy back-office processes, including card service requests, certain elements of underwriting, and risk monitoring, and to accelerate data analytics and software development.”[20]
Ira Robbins · Chairman and CEO · Apr 23, 2026
“We have a robust team of AI practitioners focused on sourcing use cases and aligning solutions from these relationships that I just mentioned.”[21]
Ira Robbins · Chairman and CEO · Jul 23, 2026
“We don't have agentic in our core analysis right now, but traditional proven financial statement spreading, rent roll population within our core systems, those we are employing right now.”[21]
Mark Saeger · Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer · Jul 23, 2026
“AI isn't a disruption to be feared, but a practical capability that can help us do the hard, behind-the-scenes work better, so bankers can do more of the human work customers actually value.”[30]
Ira Robbins · Chairman and CEO · May 21, 2026
Who runs AI at Valley?
Ira RobbinsLinkedIn ↗
Chairman and CEO[9]
Russell BarrettLinkedIn ↗
Chief Operating Officer; formerly chief transformation officer[1][4]
Nickolaus LachmanLinkedIn ↗
SVP, Head of AI and Data Science[2]
Travis LanLinkedIn ↗
Chief Financial Officer[6]
Stephen SchrothLinkedIn ↗
Head of Digital and Assisted Channels (from February 2026)[8]
Michael Rappaport
Head of Valley Foundry (from September 2026)[16]
Ed Montesdeoca
Head of Customer Care and Strategy (from February 2026); previously National Service Executive, Retail Bank and U.S. Card, Capital One, where he enabled the first generative-AI initiatives in contact-centre operations[32]
Rodrigo Suarez
Head of Partner Banking (from February 2026); formerly Chief Banking Officer, Piermont Bank; oversees fintech partnerships, embedded banking and payment platforms[32]
Mark Saeger
Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer; said on the Q2 2026 call that agentic AI is not in Valley's core credit analysis[21]
Patrick Smith
Senior Executive Vice President and President of Consumer Banking; line owner for the digital and customer-care hires[32]
Ori Kaufman Gafter
Leads Valley's Tech and International Banking team, one of the sources of AI partners named for the Valley Foundry[33]
Jeff Allen
Partner, Valley Ventures (the bank's venture capital and innovation division); co-designed the Finley credit-management platform[36]
Eyal Efrat
Director (since 2025, designated by Bank Leumi); First Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Head of Technology Division at Bank Leumi; member of Valley's Risk Committee[24]
Peter V. Maio
Independent director since 2020; former Chief Information Officer of Ally Financial; member of the Risk Committee that oversees the Cyber and Technology Risk Subcommittee[24]
Which regulators govern Valley's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| OCC | Valley National Bank is a national bank; custom agents, AI prospecting and fraud models fall under the model-risk bulletin and the gen-AI risk perspective. | OCC Bulletin 2026-13 OCC Semiannual Risk Perspective, Spring 2026 |
| CFPB | AI prospecting and deposit targeting for consumers sit under UDAAP; any AI in lending under ECOA. | CFPB Chatbots in Consumer Finance (issue spotlight, 2023) ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| Federal Reserve | Fraud and prospecting partners are third-party relationships for the holding company; replacing vendors with in-house AI shifts the model inventory. | SR 23-4 SR 26-2 |
| NY DFS | New York operations bring the DFS cyber rule and its frontier-model letter into scope. | 23 NYCRR Part 500 DFS Frontier AI Models Industry Letter (May 2026) |
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 Valley's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
Replacing vendors with AI moves risk from third-party to model risk
Every contract Valley retires with an in-house workflow becomes a model it must inventory, validate and monitor; the tiered access for model-risk staff suggests it knows this.
02
Token-consciousness is a governance metric
Monthly tracking of spend and the reason behind it is the discipline most banks lack; publishing the numbers would turn it into a competitive claim.
03
Execution over use-case counts is the right posture for a $64 billion bank
The COO's own framing, production before proliferation, is what examiners prefer and what investors can measure.
04
Chicago adds a footprint and a systems integration
Providence brings 14 branches onto a cloud-first stack the bank says handles change quickly; it is the first test of that claim through an acquisition.
Where does the Valley record go deeper?
Which leader rankings does Valley appear in?
7 of the computed leaders rankings include Valley, each ranked from the same sourced bank pages.
How does Valley compare with its peers?
- How does Valley National Bancorp compare with its peers on AI and technology?
- Valley National Bancorp competitors and alternatives, by business line
Its peer group on this site, by business model and size:
How is Valley Bank using AI?
Valley runs custom generative-AI agents and an AI Assistant built by its head of AI and data science, uses AI for prospecting, lead generation and fraud, and is replacing three external software contracts with AI-enabled workflows, according to its chief operating officer in July 2026. Access is tiered across five levels, with about 80 of roughly 3,600 employees given open access, and AI spend and token use are tracked monthly.
Is AI paying off at Valley?
Management says so. On the second-quarter 2026 call CFO Travis Lan said Valley had about $15 million of savings in its expense run rate against $3 million to $4 million of new AI-associated headcount and vendor spend, and CEO Ira Robbins said banks that adopt AI effectively could lower their efficiency ratios by around 500 basis points. Valley's efficiency ratio was 52.1% in the quarter and is targeted at 50% or lower as it exits 2026.
What has Valley's digital transformation delivered?
According to COO Russell Barrett's June 2026 profile in American Banker, nearly $100 million of cost savings over four years, about $20 million of recurring fee revenue and more than 100,000 hours of productivity, built on moving over 80% of data-centre capacity to the cloud and a completed core conversion.
Who leads AI at Valley?
Nickolaus Lachman, senior vice-president and head of AI and data science, builds Valley's custom generative-AI agents and AI Assistant. Valley's second-quarter 2026 deck says an AI leadership team reports to its head of data and analytics, whose name the filings reviewed do not give. Chief operating officer Russell Barrett, at Valley since 2021, owns the technology and cloud agenda; Michael Rappaport has led the Valley Foundry since September 2026; CEO Ira Robbins sets the efficiency thesis. No chief information or chief data officer is named in the sources reviewed.
Who supplies Valley's AI and technology?
Valley names no AI lab, cloud or GPU vendor. Its named technology partners are Infinant (Interlace, for partner banking, October 2025), Koxa (Valley Connect ERP-treasury integration, September 2025) and Finley Technologies (credit management, February 2025), with Bluevine to follow on closing. Valley Ventures, which has $200 million committed and $80 million deployed, and Bank Leumi, which owns 13.1% and has two directors, are its channels to AI startups and practice. No patents assigned to Valley were found.
Does Valley use AI in customer care and fraud?
Yes, in part. Robbins said in April 2026 that Valley runs a voice AI agent calling past-due auto-loan customers and fraud tools that verify transactions and prioritise suspicious-activity alerts; the July deck adds generative-AI assistants for customer-care agents and machine learning for wire fraud and AML alerts. Valley hired Ed Montesdeoca from Capital One in February 2026 to run customer care. Agentic AI in credit underwriting is still exploratory, per the chief credit officer.
- #47 Valley Bank's COO is building an AI-ready bank
- Nickolaus Lachman, SVP, Head of AI & Data Science, Valley Bank (Digital Banking speaker profile)
- Regional bank weighed down by CRE loans goes back on offense
- Valley Bank exec: AI is changing build-versus-buy question
- Valley National Bank to acquire Chicago-area lender for $247M
- Valley National Bank bolsters its C-suite
- Fifth Third Among Banks Using AI to Help Lure Customer Deposits
- Valley Bank Strengthens Leadership Team to Accelerate Partner Banking, Digital Innovation, and Customer Care
- Valley National Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
- Valley National Bancorp Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
- Valley National Bancorp Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Valley National Bancorp first quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Valley National Bancorp Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
- Valley National Bancorp second quarter 2026 earnings presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2)
- Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Valley Bank Launches Valley Foundry, Names Michael Rappaport to Lead
- Valley National Bancorp to Acquire Bluevine Inc., Accelerating Its Digital Small Business Growth Strategy and Meaningfully Enhancing Its Core Funding Capabilities
- Accelerating Valley's National Digital Banking Franchise (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.2)
- Valley National Bank to acquire fintech Bluevine for $340M
- Valley (VLY) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Earnings call transcript: Valley National Bancorp beats Q4 2025 expectations
- Valley National Bancorp Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
- Valley National Bancorp 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- Valley National Bancorp first quarter 2026 earnings presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2)
- Valley National Bancorp second quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Valley National Bancorp Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
- Valley National Bancorp Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026
- Valley National Bancorp Fixed Income Investor Presentation, May 2026 (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Bankers need to start viewing AI as a solution rather than a threat
- Valley Bank's Russell Barrett Named to American Banker's Inaugural 2026 Most Innovative People in Finance List
- Valley Bank Strengthens Leadership Team to Accelerate Partner Banking, Digital Innovation, and Customer Care
- Valley Bank Launches Valley Foundry, Names Michael Rappaport to Lead
- Valley Bank Selects Infinant to Enhance Partner Banking Capabilities
- Valley Bank Launches New Enterprise Resource Planning Banking Solution Powered by Koxa
- Valley Bank Partners with Finley Technologies to Launch Credit Management System
- Valley National CEO Ira Robbins: AI agents not a threat to regional banks
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