Branch Real Estate Can Be Capital, Too
For many banks and credit unions, the branch is still part of the brand, the service model, and the community presence. Bill Yeomans, founder and president of Brookline Branch Services, sees this in-person element as “the billboard”—a visible signal that the institution is there. But that does not mean every branch has to be owned. […]
AML Rules Put More Weight on Risk Judgment
The Federal Reserve’s proposed rules for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, or AML/CFT, would give financial institutions more room to make risk-based judgments—and more responsibility to show those judgments are sound. The proposal keeps the basic AML/CFT program framework, but puts more pressure on whether a bank’s resources are aimed at the […]
Headline Deposit Growth Masks a Wider Funding Divide
The small-business deposit market is becoming increasingly uneven. ProSight’s latest State of U.S. Deposits analysis showed strong headline growth, with the largest banks driving much of it. That creates a funding challenge for regional and smaller banks. If the biggest institutions are capturing more of the growth, aggregate numbers can make the market look healthier […]
ProSight Fraud Survey Highlights the Importance of Customer Education
Financial institutions for years have invested heavily in fraud controls, monitoring systems, authentication tools, and employee training. Yet an overwhelming sentiment from fraud prevention professionals, executives, compliance officers, risk leaders, and investigators responding to the 2026 ProSight State of Fraud Prevention Survey is that technology and bank controls alone are not enough in the fraud […]
What Banks Should Examine in a Data Center Deal
A data center leased to a major technology company can look like a reassuring lending opportunity. Then come the questions about power, construction, local opposition, and how much computing capacity that company will need years from now. Today’s massive, single-tenant AI facilities are a different proposition from older data centers, many of which served multiple […]
Preparing for Quantum Threats to Encryption
Cybercriminals are already collecting encrypted information they cannot read, betting that future quantum computers will eventually unlock it. The tactic is known as “harvest now, decrypt later.” The threat extends to digital signatures and certificates used to verify identities and authorize transactions. And while no one knows exactly when quantum computers will become powerful enough […]
Are Your Vendors Still Delivering?
A bank may be satisfied with a vendor relationship when the contract is signed. Over time, though, costs can drift, technology can change, and the people responsible for overseeing the service can move on. Those are among the challenges Steven Ramirez, CEO of Beyond the Arc, explored in ProSight’s recent “Vendor Management Beyond Due Diligence” […]
Risks Remain, but Feared CRE Cliff Yet to Materialize
Concerns about commercial real estate (CRE) have hung over the banking industry in recent years, fueled by higher interest rates, falling property valuations, and a looming wave of maturing loans. While those risks remain, and the picture varies by type and region, the outlook for CRE is considerably less alarming than it appeared even a […]
Using AI to Automate the 5 Cs of Credit
Artificial intelligence is giving banks new ways to modernize evaluation and tracking of the 5 Cs of credit by accelerating document review, expanding the data available to lenders, and continuously monitoring changes in borrower risk. In this Q&A, Huron’s Peter Reynolds and Adam Wells discuss how AI can strengthen assessments of character, capacity, capital, collateral, […]
A Look at the Fed’s Proposed Risk-Focused Rules for AML and CFT
Concerned that regulatory risk management of money laundering and terrorism financing has become too much of a check-the-box compliance exercise, the Federal Reserve recently proposed new rules for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). However, while this proposal could potentially modernize and strengthen AML/CFT regulations, it also raises questions about enforcement […]
Deploying AI in Credit Risk Management
Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities to make commercial lending faster, more efficient, and more responsive, but those gains come with important questions about governance and oversight. In this Q&A, Huron’s Erik Shumar and Peter Reynolds discuss how AI can streamline underwriting, improve the borrower experience, and strengthen portfolio monitoring, while addressing risks such as […]
Build Risk Into Product Design Early
A new product can look ready for market until late-stage review surfaces questions about fairness, safety and soundness, disclosures, customer experience, or risk appetite. By then, the bank may already have spent plenty of time and money on technology, processes, marketing, and third-party contracts. That is when routine concerns can become expensive problems. Waiting until […]
Why Bigger Fraud Budgets Aren’t Enough
Banks are spending more to fight fraud. Yet fraud is still moving faster than many institutions can operationally respond. The 2026 ProSight State of Fraud Prevention Survey shows the scale of the gap. Fifty-three percent of respondents said their institutions increased fraud budgets by 5% or more this year. At the same time, 85% said […]
When Fraud Controls Slow the Customer Down
Banks spent years trying to make financial transactions faster, easier, and more seamless. Fraud is complicating that push: Sometimes the safer move is to slow the customer down. The 2026 ProSight State of Fraud Prevention Survey shows that many institutions are leaning toward protection. Half of respondents said they prioritize fraud mitigation over customer experience, […]
In the Lifecycle of a Business, Treasury Management Needs are Constant
Capturing business banking dollars is a growing priority for financial institutions as they pursue customers with long-term relationship and profitability potential. Throughout the lifecycle of these enterprises, banks delivering tailored treasury management services can support customers’ evolving financial needs while earning high margin returns. From small businesses using basic banking services to larger corporations with […]
Payments Are the Engine for Growth in Community Banking
The environment for community banking is undergoing massive disruption. For one, the definition of “primary financial institution” has changed. Traditionally, a consumer’s primary bank was the financial institution holding any combination of their mortgage, auto loans, and direct deposit checking account. It harkens back to a time when most consumers had relationships with one or […]
Beyond Acquisitions: Driving Profitable Growth Through Deeper Relationships
For years, financial institutions treated growth as a numbers game—more accounts, more campaigns, more applications, more reach. That playbook is showing its age. Today, the financial institutions best positioned for profitable growth are converting demand more effectively, funding relationships faster, retaining balances longer, and expanding wallet share with greater precision. Growth has moved beyond the […]
The 2026 ProSight State of Fraud Prevention Survey Report: Escalating Threats and Evolving Defenses
Download Full Survey Report ProSight Financial Association fielded its initial State of Fraud Prevention Survey in summer 2026. Bank and credit union leaders working in business lines, compliance, cybersecurity, finance, fraud prevention, information technology, legal, and risk were among the 125 banking professionals from institutions throughout North America who completed the survey. The institutions they represent include credit unions […]
Building for Intelligence: From Data to Decision in Banking
How quickly and confidently institutions make decisions increasingly defines competitive advantage in banking. At the same time, the operating environment is becoming more demanding. Competition from fintechs and private credit is intensifying, customer expectations are rising, and risks from cyber fraud are increasing, just as the regulatory environment is changing. Yet many banks are still […]
Profitable Growth Starts With Better Relationship Math
Banks can still grow by opening accounts, gathering deposits, and launching products. But a new account is only the starting line. The value shows up later: when the customer keeps money at the bank, moves money through the bank, adds services, and gives the institution a bigger role in their financial life. That calculation is […]
Where Lending Deals Get Stuck
Commercial lending friction rarely comes from one dramatic breakdown. More often, it shows up in smaller places: a deal that never fit the bank’s strategy, data sitting in different systems, a credit memo that sends committee members hunting for the same information, or a monitoring signal that arrives too late to be useful. Blake Coules, […]
Synthetic Identity Has Entered Its AI Phase
Synthetic identity fraud has been a banking problem for decades. AI is now making it faster to create, easier to scale, and harder to challenge with familiar controls. Criminals can assemble fake identities, generate documents, create deepfake faces and voices, and push those identities through digital onboarding and authentication controls. For banks, the problem can […]
What Data Centers Really Bring to a Market
Data centers can look like instant economic development: large sites, big construction budgets, new infrastructure, and plenty of attention from local officials, developers, and business owners. The reality is more uneven. A data center can reshape a local market, but the strongest effects may arrive during the build-out, not after the facility is running. That […]
Fraud Trends Crucial to Understand in 2026
Americans lost $196 billion to fraud last year, up from $163 billion in the previous year. As financial institutions of all sizes contend with this ever-growing threat in all its forms, it’s important to stay abreast of evolving trends and regulatory responses. While the tactics and terminology of financial crime may change, many of the […]
How Consortium Data Is Changing Commercial Fraud Defense
Fraud in commercial banking is evolving faster than most financial institutions’ ability to fight it. Banks increasingly are searching for ways to strengthen their fraud prevention tactics and are turning to consortium data, or shared intelligence across multiple institutions, as a powerful tool. Consortium data provides insights, signals, and behavioral patterns no single institution could […]
When AI Shortens the Cybersecurity Clock
The cybersecurity response window is shrinking. AI can help defenders at financial institutions find vulnerabilities, suggest fixes, and draft new security-monitoring rules faster. It can also help attackers discover weaknesses, chain them together, and shrink the time banks have to respond. That puts new pressure on vulnerability management. Traditional programs were built around a slower […]
Where Data Center Risk Can Hide in the Portfolio
A data center may arrive as one giant project, but the credit effects can spread well beyond the site itself. The boom can change local labor costs, land values, infrastructure needs, housing demand, municipal decisions, and borrower behavior. That means exposure may show up even when the bank is not financing the data center itself. […]
New Currency, Same Dangers: Stablecoins and Familiar Risk Vectors
Financial institutions exploring stablecoin strategies available to them under the GENIUS Act face a host of risk management challenges as digital-asset fraud continues to rise. Using the tactics of conventional fiat currency fraud, alongside new methods designed specifically for targeting on-chain payment networks, fraudsters stole an estimated $17 billion through crypto scams and fraud in […]
Where AI Is Helping Risk and Compliance Teams
For risk and compliance teams, the early value of artificial intelligence is showing up in familiar operational pain points: summarizing large volumes of information, spotting patterns across risk data, preparing for risk and control self-assessments, and giving experienced teams more time for judgment. In the ProSight Executive Report, “AI Innovation in Banking,” Frank Devlin’s article […]
Make Valuation Reviews Match the Risk
Real estate valuation review can slow a deal for good reasons. It can also slow a deal because it adds too much process, even to low-risk transactions; sends minor issues back to appraisers or evaluators; or treats every file as though it deserves the same level of review. In an article on more effective valuation […]
When Risk Moves Faster Than the Model
Quantitative models remain essential to bank risk management. They give structure, consistency, and discipline to decisions across credit, market, operational, and enterprise risk. They also have limits. In a volatile environment shaped by geopolitical fragmentation, fast-moving technology, cyber threats, and financial crime, historical data may not fully capture what comes next. Qualitative tools, meanwhile, can […]
Bring Internal Audit in Earlier—With Boundaries
Internal audit can be easy to miscast: the team that arrives late, asks for evidence at the worst possible time, and leaves behind a list of findings. When that happens, the relationship becomes defensive—and the institution loses a chance to use audit insight earlier in the risk cycle. In a recent ProSight webinar, Janice E. […]
When Supplier Risk Won’t Wait
Supplier risk does not wait for the next annual review. Vendors change, subcontractors enter the picture, cyber and financial signals move, and risk teams are left trying to decide which alerts deserve attention. For Spencer Funke, head of third-party risk management at Edward Jones, earlier visibility buys something every risk team needs: time. “One of […]
The Many Faces of Artificial Intelligence in Bank Fraud
AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for fraudsters, who are now attempting attacks like account takeovers (ATO) and synthetic identity fraud at unprecedented speed and scale, resulting in billions of dollars in losses for financial institutions. At the same time, banks and credit unions are using AI tools for anti-fraud defenses like real-time […]
More Effective Valuation Review Strategies
Adapting to a more risk-focused valuation review process can enable lenders to close real estate deals faster while ensuring that they meet regulatory standards. Here are four “Cs” to keep in mind to strengthen your valuation-related review strategies: The First ‘C’: Comply with Regulatory Expectations There are two key regulatory references regarding the scope of […]
Quantitative and Qualitative Risk Measurement: Why Balance Matters in Uncertain Times
Driven by rising geopolitical fragmentation, transformative technology, and the increasing complexity and escalation of cyber threats and financial crime, financial institutions are reassessing their approach to risk measurement. To avoid falling behind competitors and potentially missing key risk indicators, firms must supplement traditional quantitative analysis with qualitative assessment. Indeed, in today’s volatile and uncertain markets, […]
Help Shape the Industry’s Risk Outlook
Risk is moving fast—and not always in tidy categories. Cybersecurity, fraud, AI, credit, regulation, third-party exposure, operational resilience, and efficiency pressure are increasingly tangled together. For banks, the priority is to understand which risks require attention now, which ones are gaining momentum, and whether risk functions are adapting quickly enough. That is the purpose of ProSight’s Risk Outlook Survey, which […]
Aligning People and Processes in Credit Workflows
Operational excellence in banking means aligning people and processes to act decisively on reliable information. In a complex, regulated environment, consistency is as important as speed. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled credit workflows built on solid data can become powerful enablers, helping relationship managers, risk officers, and executives detect risk earlier, respond consistently, and protect portfolio health. […]
The Secret Behind Banks That Deliver Great Experiences
Mid-year is a natural time for banks to pause, reflect, and reset. What successes can they build on? Which challenges require a different approach? And how can they continue driving financial growth and value while preserving trust and loyalty with their customers? This self-assessment is critical for an industry at a pivotal moment as expectations […]
The Innovation-Risk Paradox: Moving Beyond Pilots to Production-Grade AI
Operational discipline and balance sheet protection are overtaking experimentation as the second half of 2026 approaches. While the promise of generative AI has been immense, the reality is increasingly sobering: despite big investments, 95% of generative AI business efforts are failing to reach production, research from MIT NANDA reveals, with only 5% achieving meaningful revenue […]
Banks Offering Backup Programs for Financially Stressful Times
Banks and credit institutions exploring creative ways to connect with customers are finding that onsite employee benefit programs anchored in financial wellness prove their worth in deposit growth, wealth services, and more. Research shows that an increasing number of lower- to middle-income workers would struggle to cover a $400 emergency. Without savings, many will tap […]
The Talent Revolution of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how work is performed within the banking industry, altering roles, skills, productivity expectations, and operating models across the industry. While much of the public discussion has focused on technology adoption, leading research suggests that the more dynamic transformation is occurring within the banking workforce itself. Over the next three to […]
Lender Liability Often Starts With Good Intentions
Most bankers understand lender liability in concept. The harder part is recognizing how easily it can develop in an ordinary borrower relationship. In a recent ProSight article, Jason Alpert and Martin Knaust describe lender liability with a simple formula: (Loan + Duty) x Breach = Damages. Duties may come from loan documents, common law expectations such as […]
Regulatory Change Puts More Weight on Bank Judgment
Bank regulation is shifting, but the message for senior leaders is not simply “less” or “more.” The more useful word may be “targeted.” In a recent ProSight webinar, S&P Global Ratings managing directors and sector leads Stuart Plesser, Giles Edwards, and Nicolas Charnay described a regulatory landscape moving at different speeds across the U.S., Europe, […]
Banking the Entrepreneurial Transition
BTomorrow’s business customers may already be sitting inside today’s retail account base. They may be taking payments for a side hustle, testing a business idea after work, selling services through social media, or building a microbusiness that has not yet found its way into a formal business banking relationship. In two ProSight Q&As, Chris McNulty, […]
Article 9 Sales Can Save Time—If the Process Holds Up
When a borrower is out of cash, collateral values are thin, and bankruptcy looks too slow or expensive, an Article 9 sale can be a valuable workout tool. It can also create new problems if the bank treats speed as a substitute for process. In ProSight’s latest “Ask the Workout Window,” veteran workout leader Jason […]
The Quest for Deposits in Uncertain Times
Affluent customers and small businesses are driving growth in bank deposits at a time when the path of interest rates remains uncertain and inflation erodes the saving power of the mass market. Full-year totals on December 26 in ProSight’s State of the U.S. Deposit Market report showed deposit balances for 2025 higher than those over […]
From Hindsight to Foresight: Turning Early Warnings into Resilience Across Banking
The challenge for most banks is not in identifying risk but in responding to it early enough to change outcomes. By the time traditional indicators confirm something is wrong, remedial options have narrowed, and earnings pressure and supervisory scrutiny have intensified. In a fast-moving, interconnected industry, timing is a defining advantage for bank leadership. This […]
Squeezing Expenses, Safeguarding Revenue: Making Smart Tradeoffs in Efficiency Management
High bars in compliance, complexity, and customer satisfaction challenge financial institutions’ ability to cut costs, despite the industry’s tenacious push for efficiency and productivity. Running a business model built on trust and safety is expensive, and tradeoffs between belt-tightening and growing revenue don’t always yield the expected outcomes, as banks have learned. Instead of separating […]
Lender Liability: Where Good Intentions Go Wrong
Bankers expect to be repaid on their loans, but what happens if their borrowers have been harmed (or think they have been harmed) by a bank during the origination or servicing of the asset? Lender liability is one of those topics that tends to surface during banker training sessions, legal reviews, or after something goes […]