A former thrift fifteen years into becoming a commercial bank, whose 'Build 2030' plan puts a data-driven 'digital focus' alongside deposit mix goals, with in-house software (AI-assisted development at more than twice the pace), an AI-powered call-centre agent promised for mid-2026 but not yet reported as launched, an nCino AI agent for commercial credit work, and a $3.9 billion reverse merger with EverBank agreed in September 2026.
How is WaFd Bank using AI?
WaFd, Inc., the Seattle parent of WaFd Bank with $27.6 billion of assets, 210 branches across nine western states and a September fiscal year, has spent 15 years converting from a savings institution into a commercial bank and now frames its technology agenda inside a plan called Build 2030. The plan pairs a 'digital focus' to 'leverage data to anticipate financial needs and empower clients' with concierge-level service for all clients, serving businesses alongside consumers in person and digitally, and targets to shift 20% of interest-bearing deposits to non-interest-bearing and redeploy $8 billion of single-family loans into commercial lending. On the April 2026 earnings call, president and CEO Brent Beardall, who said 'the headline for this quarter is loan growth', described two planned launches: a next-generation mobile app with sharply reduced access times, real-time peer-to-peer payments and consumer positive pay, and an AI-powered call-centre agent offering 24/7 support so bankers can spend time on higher-value client interactions; the agent was promised for the April-June quarter, but neither the July nor the 16 October 2026 call mentioned it and no source reports that it has launched. On the same call he said WaFd is 'actively using AI to assist our software developers which is increasing the pace of development by over 2x', built through its own software subsidiary, and that technology 'is not a replacement for bankers'. The AI record goes back further than the page once said. From 2019 WaFd's Pike Street Labs built a data lake and an Amazon Lex voicebot with voice biometrics that, per an AWS case study, made balance inquiries 95% faster and cut calls to live representatives by 45% for enrolled customers, before spinning out as Archway Software; and in 2026 WaFd began using nCino's Analyst Digital Partner AI agent for loan-document review, covenant work and credit analysis, presented on nCino's stage by commercial product head Jill Boyle. The fiscal 2025 10-K carries a dedicated AI risk factor covering generative and agentic models, bias, opacity and third-party models. The bank cites a net promoter score of 58, which it calls 'approaching world class', as proof that service and technology investment are landing, and information technology is broken out as a growing line of non-interest expense in its decks. Results are steady: fiscal third-quarter 2026 net income of $66.1 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, up 15% year on year, a 2.81% net interest margin, a 53.69% efficiency ratio and a 173rd consecutive quarterly dividend. On 7 September 2026 WaFd agreed a $3.9 billion all-stock reverse merger with EverBank Financial Corp: WaFd, Inc. survives as the holding company but is renamed EverBank Financial Corp (ticker EVBK), WaFd Bank merges into EverBank, N.A. under the OCC, EverBank's Greg Seibly becomes chief executive and Beardall president of a roughly $75 billion bank, and closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027. Customer-facing AI content covers deepfake impersonation and voice cloning. WaFd Bank is today a Washington state nonmember bank supervised by the FDIC; no AI budget has been disclosed.
Lead bank
WaFd Bank
Assets (lead bank, Jun 30, 2026)
$28 billion
Charter
Washington state nonmember bank (FDIC); agreed in September 2026 to merge into EverBank, N.A. (OCC), closing expected in the first quarter of 2027
Headquarters
Seattle, WA
Flagship platform
Build 2030 digital focus: next-generation mobile app and planned AI call-centre agent
AI leadership
Brent Beardall · Cathy Cooper · Kim Robison · Kelli Holz · Jill Boyle · Dustin Hubbard · John Chavez · Mark Trotter
- Build 2030 plan: 'digital focus' pillar to 'leverage data to anticipate financial needs and empower clients'.
- AI-powered call-centre agent for 24/7 support announced on the April 2026 call for the April-June quarter (planned; no launch reported as of the 16 October 2026 call), alongside a next-generation mobile app with real-time P2P and consumer positive pay.
- AI-assisted software development 'increasing the pace of development by over 2x' (CEO, April 2026 call); WaFd builds its own consumer online and mobile apps.
- Earlier AI: Amazon Lex voicebot with voice biometrics built by Pike Street Labs (95% faster balance inquiries, 45% fewer calls to live representatives for enrolled customers, per AWS); SageMaker models for personalised offers.
- nCino Analyst Digital Partner AI agent used for loan-document review, covenant work and credit analysis (2026).
- Fiscal 2025 10-K has a dedicated AI risk factor covering generative and agentic AI, bias, opacity and reliance on third-party models.
- Net promoter score of 58, described as 'approaching world class', cited as evidence technology investment is working.
- Fiscal Q3 2026: net income $66.1 million, EPS $0.84 (+15% year on year), NIM 2.81%, efficiency ratio 53.69%, 173rd consecutive dividend.
- First loan growth after several quarters of contraction in the March 2026 quarter.
- $3.9 billion reverse merger with EverBank (announced 7 September 2026): combined ≈ $75 billion bank named EverBank, WaFd Bank to merge into EverBank, N.A. (OCC); closing expected 1Q 2027.
- Customer AI content is scam education: deepfakes and voice cloning; no AI budget disclosed.
- Core banking platform is Fiserv DNA, according to a 2022 Talkdesk announcement; Talkdesk's contact-centre platform integrates with it to give agents a 360-degree client view.
- Pike Street Labs, Inc. is a WaFd subsidiary that 'provides technology and data services to the Bank' (total assets $4.6 million at 30 September 2025); the 10-K says it was not a subsidiary a year earlier, and the original Pike Street Labs unit became the separate company Archway in February 2023.
- October 2025 call: Pike Street Labs built WaFd's digital banking platform in-house; Release 2.8 added direct-deposit switching, debit-card controls and consumer wires verified by device ID plus voice print for $10; 44% of online deposit-account applications are auto-approved and 4,700 consumer accounts opened online in a year.
- WaFd Wealth, launched in 2025, is working with Pike Street Labs on a financial-planning platform for the mass affluent that produces AI-generated planning outcomes which humans review; assets under management were just under $450 million at 31 March 2026 against a $1 billion target within two years.
- The 17 July 2026 call on fiscal third-quarter results does not mention AI, the mobile app or the call-centre agent, and the 16 October 2026 call on fiscal fourth-quarter results, dominated by the EverBank merger, does not mention them either; no source reviewed confirms the agent promised for the April-June quarter has launched.
- Governance: the Chief Risk Officer chairs the enterprise risk committee, and the CRO, Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer report quarterly to the board Risk Management Committee (10-K); none is named in the filing, and the executive page lists no CTO, CDO or head of AI.
What is Build 2030 digital focus: next-generation mobile app and planned AI call-centre agent?
WaFd's Build 2030 plan, presented to investors in 2026, includes a 'digital focus' to 'leverage data to anticipate financial needs and empower clients', alongside shifting 20% of interest-bearing deposits to non-interest-bearing and serving businesses 'both in-person and digitally'. On the April 2026 earnings call management said a next-generation mobile banking app was about to launch with much faster access, real-time peer-to-peer payments and consumer positive pay, and that the bank would introduce an AI-powered call-centre agent providing 24/7 support to improve efficiency and free bankers for higher-value conversations; neither the July nor the 16 October 2026 call mentioned the agent, and no launch has been reported. The bank tracks a net promoter score approaching 'world class' as evidence that service, usability and technology investment are paying off. The software is largely built in-house: WaFd says it is the only bank of its size it knows of to have built its own consumer online and mobile applications, and that AI assisting its developers has more than doubled the pace of development. Named AI vendors are Amazon (Lex, Polly, Transcribe and SageMaker behind the voicebot and data platform built from 2019) and nCino, whose Analyst Digital Partner agent WaFd uses for loan-document review, covenant work and credit analysis; no AI budget has been disclosed.[4][2][5][13][10]
What AI partnerships and patents does WaFd Bank have?
WaFd's public AI record names Amazon Web Services (Lex voicebot, SageMaker models, data lake, cloud migration), Talkdesk (contact-centre platform) and nCino (Analyst Digital Partner agent), plus its own software subsidiary Pike Street Labs and the spun-out Archway, in which it co-led a $15 million round in 2023. No patent or published application was found under the names Washington Federal, WaFd, Pike Street Labs or Archway Software in a Google Patents search on 14 October 2026. No frontier-model vendor, GPU or AI budget figure is public.[13][27][14][11][15][6]
| Item | What it is | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services | Amazon Lex voicebot, SageMaker personalised offers and S3 data lake; AWS Managed Services ran the cloud migration of 80% of workloads in a year | In production | 2024-08-14[13][27] |
| Talkdesk | Financial Services Experience Cloud with Amazon Lex voice and chat bots and voice-biometric authentication; named by AWS as a CXA customer | In production | 2026-01-20[14][22] |
| nCino | Analyst Digital Partner AI agent for loan-document review, covenants and credit-risk analysis | Pilot | 2026-09-10[10][11] |
| Archway Software | Spin-out of the original Pike Street Labs; links bank cores to web, mobile, voice and AI; WaFd co-led its $15 million Series A with Madrona | Investment | 2023-02-28[15][16] |
| Pike Street Labs, Inc. | WaFd subsidiary providing technology and data services; building the AI-assisted planning platform for WaFd Wealth | In development | 2025-10-20[6][21] |
What has WaFd Bank done on AI, and when?
- Oct 16, 2026
Q4 FY2026 call: EverBank merger, no AI update[24]
The fiscal fourth-quarter call centres on the EverBank merger and loan sales; Beardall says scale matters because it lets a bank invest more in technology, but the call does not mention AI, the call-centre agent or the mobile app.
- Sep 10, 2026
nCino: WaFd piloting Analyst Digital Partner for credit risk[11]
nCino says WaFd is piloting the agent for credit risk assessment and financial analysis.
- Sep 8, 2026
Merger deck: integration office and core-system decisions[8]
27 integration workstreams launched and key technology decisions advanced, including core, accounting and HR systems; WaFd's NPS of 58 versus a peer median of 8.
- Sep 7, 2026
- Aug 4, 2026
June 2026 10-Q: AI risk listed, technology expense rising[26]
The 10-Q lists risk associated with the development and use of artificial intelligence among forward-looking factors, as the December and March 10-Qs did; non-interest expense of $110.3 million rose $6.0 million year on year on compensation and technology expenses.
- Jul 27, 2026
Investor presentation: Build 2030 with a digital-focus pillar[4]
$27.6 billion of assets; NPS approaching world class; IT expense tracked.
- Jul 17, 2026
Q3 FY2026 call makes no reference to AI[25]
The call transcript carries no mention of AI, the mobile app or the call-centre agent promised on 17 April for the April-June quarter; Beardall cites pervasive technology as a reason deposits move to higher-yielding alternatives.
- Jul 16, 2026
Fiscal third-quarter 2026 results[3]
Net income $66.1 million; EPS $0.84; efficiency ratio 53.69%.
- Jun 30, 2026
- Jun 5, 2026
173rd consecutive quarterly dividend paid[3]
$0.27 per share.
- May 29, 2026
nCino AI agent on the nSight stage[10]
Jill Boyle shows how WaFd uses nCino's Analyst Digital Partner for loan-document review and covenant work that used to be keyed into spreadsheets.
- Apr 17, 2026
Q2 FY2026 call: live-banker pledge and wealth assets[23]
Beardall says customers will always be able to reach a live banker and that technology is not a replacement for bankers; WaFd Wealth assets under management were just under $450 million.
- Apr 17, 2026
- Jan 20, 2026
AWS lists WaFd among Talkdesk CXA customers[22]
An AWS partner blog on agentic customer-experience automation says WaFd modernised its customer experience centre with the Talkdesk Financial Services Experience Cloud, integrating conversational AI into existing systems.
- Nov 18, 2025
10-K names Pike Street Labs as a subsidiary and describes AI-risk governance[6]
Pike Street Labs, Inc. provides technology and data services to the Bank (assets $4.6 million); the CRO, CIO and CISO report quarterly to the board Risk Management Committee.
- Nov 18, 2025
Fiscal 2025 10-K adds a dedicated AI risk factor[6]
Covers generative and agentic AI, biased or harmful outputs, limited transparency, evolving AI regulation and reliance on third-party models; separately flags AI-enabled deepfakes as a cyber threat.
- Oct 20, 2025
WaFd Wealth plans AI-assisted planning platform with Pike Street Labs[21]
WaFd Wealth head John Chavez says the unit is building a questionnaire-based planning tool with AI-generated outcomes that humans review, aimed at the mass affluent, with a trust company to follow.
- Oct 17, 2025
Q4 FY2025 call: in-house digital platform, voice-print wires, AI fraud warning[20]
Beardall says WaFd's tech stack beats any mid-sized peer; Cathy Cooper reports Pike Street Labs' Release 2.8, 44% auto-approval of online deposit applications and a client data platform under development; Beardall says bad actors use AI extensively to commit fraud.
- Aug 28, 2025
Beardall on CNBC Squawk Box with Valley National CEO[19]
CNBC lists the impact of AI among the topics Beardall and Ira Robbins discussed, alongside the consumer, interest rates and deposit-insurance reform.
- Sep 1, 2024
Guide to AI scams: deepfakes and voice cloning (updated September 2024)[1]
Customer education on AI-enabled impersonation.
- Aug 14, 2024
AWS case study: data lake, machine learning and voicebot results[13]
Pike Street Labs (formed 2019) built an S3 data lake, SageMaker-driven personalised offers (6,600+ new accounts since 2021) and an Amazon Lex voicebot: 95% faster balance inquiries and 45% fewer calls to live representatives for voice-enrolled customers; NPS rose from 17 in 2018 to 57.
- May 8, 2024
WaFd selects Fiserv CashFlow Central for small business[18]
Jill Boyle, head of Commercial Product and Treasury Solutions, says the Fiserv payables and receivables tool will be integrated into WaFd's digital banking; the product was built by Fiserv with Melio.
- Feb 28, 2023
Pike Street Labs spun out as Archway with $15 million Series A[15][17][16]
Archway, previously WaFd's Pike Street Labs, raised $15 million led by Madrona and WaFd Bank to sell a platform that links bank cores to web, mobile, voice and AI services; Dustin Hubbard, formerly WaFd's CTO, became its president.
- Feb 6, 2023
Amazon Lex voicebot and chatbot with Talkdesk[12]
AWS describes WaFd's contact centre combining Amazon Lex voice and chat bots with Talkdesk and voice-biometric authentication; balance lookups take seconds, a 90% reduction versus the legacy system.
- Oct 19, 2022
Talkdesk and Amazon Lex chosen for the contact centre[14]
Talkdesk says WaFd replaced a disparate legacy contact-centre system with its Financial Services Experience Cloud and Amazon Lex voice and chat bots for login, account lookup and internal transfers, with voice-biometric authentication; it integrates with Fiserv DNA, the WaFd core platform.
Where does WaFd Bank use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-powered 24/7 call-centre agent (planned)[2][25][24] | Support automation to free bankers for higher-value interactions; promised in April 2026 for the April-June quarter, with no launch reported on the July or October 2026 calls. | Announced | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Next-generation mobile app[2] | Faster access, real-time peer-to-peer payments, consumer positive pay. | Rolling out | Generative & agentic AI |
| Build 2030 digital focus[4] | Data used to anticipate client needs; NPS tracked as the outcome metric. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Customer education on deepfake scams[1] | Voice cloning and AI impersonation guidance. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI-assisted software development[5] | AI assists the bank's in-house developers, which the CEO says has more than doubled the pace of development. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Amazon Lex voicebot with voice biometrics[12][13] | Voice-authenticated self-service (balances, transfers) on Talkdesk with Amazon Lex, Polly and Transcribe; sentiment analysis via Amazon Comprehend. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| nCino Analyst Digital Partner[10][11] | AI agent for loan-document review, covenant work, credit risk assessment and financial analysis in commercial lending. | Pilot | Credit scoring & underwriting |
| Voice-print verified consumer wires[20] | Consumer wires in the mobile app are verified by device ID plus the client's voice print for $10; launched with Release 2.8 in October 2025. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI-generated financial plans for WaFd Wealth[21] | Questionnaire-based planning tool built with Pike Street Labs that generates planning scenarios with AI; humans review each plan; not a robo-adviser. | Announced | Generative & agentic AI |
| Talkdesk and AWS contact-centre stack[14][22] | Talkdesk Financial Services Experience Cloud with Amazon Lex voice and chat bots and voice-biometric authentication; AWS names WaFd as a Talkdesk CXA customer in 2026. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| Quarterly technology and security risk reporting[6] | The CRO, CIO, CISO, CFO and chief credit officer report quarterly to the board Risk Management Committee; the CRO chairs the enterprise risk committee. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Defence against AI-enabled attacks and deepfakes[6][20] | The 10-K names AI-enabled cyber-attacks and deepfake identity fabrication as major concerns; Beardall says bad actors use AI extensively to commit fraud and that treasury-management controls and automation are essential. | In production | Cybersecurity |
| AI risk-factor disclosure[6] | The 10-K names incorrect, biased or harmful outputs of generative and agentic models, limited transparency, evolving AI law and dependence on third-party models as risks. | In production | Model risk management |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
Which AI vendors and fintechs does WaFd Bank work with?
| Company | What WaFd Bank uses it for | Status | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talkdesk | Financial Services Experience Cloud for Banking with Amazon Lex voice and chat bots and Talkdesk Identity voice-biometric authentication. | In production | Conversational AI |
| nCino | Analyst Digital Partner AI agent for loan-document review, covenant work and credit risk assessment | Pilot | Banking platforms |
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 WaFd Bank disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Q3 2026 net income / diluted EPS | $66.1 million / $0.84 (+15% year on year)[3] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Efficiency ratio / net interest margin, fiscal Q3 2026 | 53.69% / 2.81%[3] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Total assets / branches | $27.6 billion / 210[4] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Consecutive quarterly dividends | 173[3] | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Software development pace with AI assistance | > 2x[5] | Apr 17, 2026 |
| Voicebot: faster balance inquiries / fewer calls to live representatives (voice-enrolled) | 95% / 45%[13] | Aug 14, 2024 |
| EverBank reverse merger value / combined assets | $3.9 billion (all stock) / ≈ $75 billion[7][8] | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Merger integration workstreams launched | 27[8] | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Pike Street Labs, Inc. total assets | $4.6 million[6] | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Online deposit-account applications auto-approved | 44%[20] | Oct 17, 2025 |
| Consumer accounts opened online in the past year | more than 4,700[20] | Oct 17, 2025 |
| Net promoter score, eight years ago versus latest | 17 versus 58[20] | Oct 17, 2025 |
| WaFd Wealth assets under management / target within two years | just under $450 million / $1 billion[23] | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Non-interest expense, fiscal Q3 2026 (change year on year) | $110.3 million (+$6.0 million), on compensation and technology expenses[26] | Jun 30, 2026 |
“Digital Focus: Leverage data to anticipate financial needs and empower clients.”[4]
WaFd Bank · Build 2030 investor presentation · Jul 27, 2026
“The headline for this quarter is loan growth.”[2]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Apr 17, 2026
“We are actively using AI to assist our software developers which is increasing the pace of development by over 2x.”[5]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Apr 17, 2026
“Our perspective is technology is a tool for clients and bankers to make us better bankers. It is not a replacement for bankers.”[5]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Apr 17, 2026
“Let me be clear, customers will always be able to access a live banker, if that is their preference.”[23]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Apr 17, 2026
“We have all heard about the hype that what AI can do, and we too are excited about the potential. AI is also being used extensively by bad actors to commit fraud.”[20]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Oct 17, 2025
“I would now take our tech stack over any mid-sized bank peer, as we now have a phenomenal digital offering with a combination of strong vendor relationships and control via in-house developed software.”[20]
Brent Beardall · President and CEO · Oct 17, 2025
“Second, it’s having control over our client-facing technology instead of being held hostage by vendors.”[20]
Cathy Cooper · Chief Experience Officer · Oct 17, 2025
“Fast forward three years from now, we’ll have a technology solution for the massive affluent segment that could possibly dwarf the AUM of the core wealth management business.”[21]
John Chavez · Head of WaFd Wealth · Oct 20, 2025
Who runs AI at WaFd Bank?
Brent BeardallLinkedIn ↗
President and CEO (to become president of the combined EverBank after the merger closes)[3][4][7]
Cathy CooperLinkedIn ↗
Kim Robison
Chief Operating Officer[4]
Kelli HolzLinkedIn ↗
Chief Financial Officer[4]
Jill BoyleLinkedIn ↗
Senior Vice President, Commercial Product and Treasury Solutions (nCino AI agent deployment)[10]
Dustin Hubbard
Chief Technology Officer (as named by AWS in February 2023); later president of Archway Software, the spin-off of WaFd's Pike Street Labs[14][12][13][16]
John Chavez
Head of WaFd Wealth (business owner of the AI-generated financial-planning platform being built with Pike Street Labs)[21]
Mark Trotter
Vice President, Cloud and Network (led WaFd's AWS cloud migration, per AWS)[27]
What AI roles is WaFd Bank hiring for?
Data as of · 0 AI-titled postings · read from WaFd Bank's own careers site, re-checked weekly
No open AI-titled postings on WaFd 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 WaFd Bank's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| FDIC | WaFd Bank is a state nonmember bank; FDIC model-risk and third-party guidance govern the AI call-centre agent and app vendors. | FDIC FIL-29-2023 FDIC FIL-15-2026 |
| CFPB | A customer-facing AI agent falls squarely under the CFPB's chatbot guidance and UDAAP. | CFPB Chatbots in Consumer Finance (issue spotlight, 2023) |
| Federal Reserve | Holding-company oversight of technology investment and consolidated risk. | SR 23-4 |
| OCC | After the EverBank merger closes, WaFd Bank's operations and AI tools move into EverBank, N.A., a national bank under OCC model-risk and generative-AI expectations. | OCC Bulletin 2026-13 OCC Semiannual Risk Perspective, Spring 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 WaFd Bank's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
The call-centre agent is the first real test
A 24/7 AI agent puts WaFd inside CFPB chatbot guidance from day one; escalation paths and complaint handling should be documented before launch.
02
Tie AI to Build 2030 metrics
The plan's deposit-mix and NPS goals give AI a measurable purpose most peers lack; publish the link.
03
Efficiency is already good, which raises the bar
A 53.69% efficiency ratio means AI has to show revenue or retention gains, not just cost.
04
Name the vendor
Investors and examiners will ask which platform runs the agent and who owns the model risk.
05
The merger decides the AI stack
With core, accounting and HR system choices already being made for the EverBank combination, WaFd's in-house apps, voicebot and nCino agent each need a keep-or-replace decision and a model inventory that survives the move to an OCC charter.
Where does the WaFd Bank record go deeper?
Which leader rankings does WaFd Bank appear in?
1 of the computed leaders rankings include WaFd Bank, each ranked from the same sourced bank pages.
How does WaFd Bank compare with its peers?
- How does WaFd, Inc. compare with its peers on AI and technology?
- WaFd, Inc. competitors and alternatives, by business line
Its peer group on this site, by business model and size:
Who leads AI at WaFd Bank?
WaFd has not named a head of AI, chief AI officer or chief technology officer in its filings or on its executive page, which lists Brent Beardall (CEO), Kelli Holz (CFO), Cathy Cooper (chief experience officer), Ryan Mauer (chief credit officer) and Kim Robison (COO). Beardall announced the AI call-centre agent and AI-assisted development in April 2026; Cooper presented the in-house digital platform built by Pike Street Labs in October 2025; Jill Boyle fronted the nCino agent. The 10-K says a chief information officer and chief information security officer report to the board risk committee but does not name them. Dustin Hubbard, CTO until 2023, became Archway's president.
What is Pike Street Labs?
Pike Street Labs is WaFd's in-house software unit. The original unit, formed around 2019 under CTO Dustin Hubbard, was spun out in February 2023 as Archway with a $15 million Series A led by Madrona and WaFd. The fiscal 2025 10-K lists a new Pike Street Labs, Inc. as a subsidiary providing technology and data services to the bank, with $4.6 million of assets and no presence a year earlier. On the October 2025 call it was credited with the in-house mobile app and deposit-account portal, and WaFd Wealth plans to use it for an AI-assisted planning platform.
Has WaFd launched its AI call-centre agent?
Not confirmed. On 17 April 2026 Beardall said WaFd would launch an AI call-centre agent 'this next quarter', giving customers answers 24 hours a day, and that a live banker would always remain available. The 17 July 2026 call on April-June results did not mention the agent, AI or the new mobile app, nor did the 16 October 2026 call on July-September results, and no source reviewed reports a launch. WaFd's earlier voice self-service uses Amazon Lex with Talkdesk and voice biometrics, in place since 2022 and 2023.
Does WaFd Bank use AI?
Yes. WaFd announced in April 2026 that it would introduce an AI-powered call-centre agent providing 24/7 support (no launch reported as of October 2026) alongside a next-generation mobile app, and said AI assisting its in-house software developers has more than doubled their pace. It has run an Amazon Lex voicebot with voice biometrics since at least early 2023, and in 2026 began using nCino's Analyst Digital Partner AI agent for loan-document review, covenants and credit analysis. Its fiscal 2025 10-K includes a dedicated AI risk factor. No AI budget has been disclosed.
How is WaFd performing?
For the fiscal third quarter ended June 30, 2026 it earned $66.1 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, up 15% year on year, with a 2.81% net interest margin, a 53.69% efficiency ratio and its 173rd consecutive quarterly dividend. Assets are $27.6 billion across 210 branches.
Is WaFd merging with EverBank?
Yes. On 7 September 2026 WaFd, Inc. and EverBank Financial Corp announced a $3.9 billion all-stock reverse merger. WaFd, Inc. remains the listed holding company but will be renamed EverBank Financial Corp under the ticker EVBK, WaFd Bank will merge into EverBank, N.A., Greg Seibly will be CEO and Brent Beardall president, and closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to WaFd shareholder and regulatory approvals.
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- WaFd, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025
- WaFd, Inc. Enters into a $3.9 Billion Reverse Merger Transaction with EverBank Financial Corp (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- WaFd, Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2: investor presentation on the EverBank merger
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