First Internet Bank cuts SBA compliance reviews 87% with Bretton AI agents
For the head of compliance at a community bank
First Internet Bank of Indiana has cut compliance review times for Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applicants by 87% using AI agents, according to a case study from Bretton AI, PYMNTS reported on Oct. 26.1
According to PYMNTS' account of the Bretton AI case study, the AI agents at First Internet Bank do research that analysts once did by hand: they retrieve corporate records, identify beneficial owners and check sanctions lists and fraud indicators, then consolidate the findings into a structured report.1 Analysts review the report and take the cases that need judgment, according to PYMNTS' account of the case study.1
Reviews that took eight to 10 hours now take less than an hour at the $6 billion-asset digital bank.1
Across four workflows (SBA origination, enhanced due diligence, fraud reviews and periodic customer reviews), the bank saves an estimated 24,300 employee hours a year, Bretton AI said, which equals roughly 12 full-time employees at a 2,080-hour work year.1
PYMNTS noted the figure measures freed capacity, not payroll savings, and the bank plans to use the time to take on more business, not to reduce headcount.1
The bank funded $610 million in SBA 7(a) loans in 2024, up 44% from a year earlier, the bank said in early 2025; CEO David Becker told his SBA manager in the case study, "I want you to do twice as much business."1
The results come from a vendor case study, not an independent audit, so treat the figures as claims to test. They also show how a board may now frame AI in compliance: as freed hours to redeploy toward growth, which sets a number executives can be asked to match.
Our take. A vendor's case study says twelve analysts' worth of hours came free, and the CEO wants twice the business from the same team. If your compliance staffing plan still assumes eight-hour files, someone will ask why.
Action. Compliance operations: Time current EDD and SBA file reviews in hours per case and compare them with the vendor's under-one-hour benchmark.