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A new AP-NORC and Gallup poll just dropped a statistic that should keep every Bank CIO and Risk Officer awake at night: 58% of finance professionals are using AI at work. That sounds great for productivity, right? Here is the problem: Only 37% of companies have an official AI implementation plan. The "Shadow" Gap Do the math. That leaves a massive gap of employees—your loan officers, your marketing team, maybe even your branch managers—who are "bringing their own AI" to wor

By Ray K. Ragan 1 January 2026 The "wait and see" era for AI in banking is officially over. As we look at the landscape for 2026, the biggest threat to community banking isn't a regulatory fine—it’s irrelevance. While the G-SIBs (Global Systemically Important Banks) are scrambling to meet the CFPB’s April 1st Open Banking deadline, community banks have a unique, momentary window of opportunity. It's time to move past risk and start building our AI future in banking. We don't

In community banking and credit unions, the excitement surrounding Artificial Intelligence (especially Generative AI) is palpable. The promise of automated back-office tasks, hyper-personalized member service, and enhanced fraud detection is game-changing. But immediately following the excitement comes the inevitable question from the board room and the risk committee: “What will the regulators say?” For community financial institutions (CFIs), the fear of getting ahead of re