Bank Tech Myth-busting: The Truth in Technology Act
Jimmy Sawyers, Sawyers & Jacobs
Fintechs, neobanks, cryptocurrency, Banking-as-a-Service, Artificial Intelligence…the list goes on. Has your bank missed an opportunity or dodged a bullet by not following the herd on some leading-edge innovations? Sorting the performers from the pretenders has never been more difficult for bank executives who must balance the risk-reward proposition that new technology brings. One could argue the “zeitgeist” (literally “spirit of the times”) in banking today is full of more confusion and misinformation than the Old West days of snake oil salesman and outlaws. Combined with daily cybersecurity threats such as ransomware attacks, even the most experienced banker might have trouble sleeping at night.
Despite the tech flops, failed projects, and cyberattacks, the future of our industry remains bright, and bankers will continue to innovate…as long as banking leaders make sound strategic decisions based on factual information rather than false advertising. Learn about the latest tech trends and true innovators that should merit your time and attention as Jimmy Sawyers, Chairman and Co-Founder of Sawyers & Jacobs LLC, gives a humorous yet no-nonsense look at the tech issues that impact bank executives the most.
Case Study: How a $2.7B Local Bank Used AI to Win Commercial Deals versus Larger Banks
Sudharshan Krishnan, Sympera Inc.
Madhu Reddy, EVP/CIO, Republic Bank of Chicago
This session will show how AI plugs into the CRM and bank core, delivering value, operating model improvements across RM teams, and high banker utilization and adoption.
- How a community regional bank moved from a pilot to a bank-wide AI rollout across its commercial teams to compete with large banks on AI
- What the market managers actually experienced, the targets they set, and the operating-model changes it took. This session will show how AI plugs into the CRM and bank core, delivering value, operating model improvements across RM teams, and high banker utilization and adoption.
The A.I. Framework: The Transition from Efficiency to ROIC
Joe McMann, Verapath
Artificial intelligence is moving beyond individual productivity and isolated use cases. For community banks, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to turn it into measurable business value.
This session provides bank leaders with a practical framework for making that transition. Joe McMann will examine how banks can progress from governance and individual use cases to connected institutional architecture and AI agents, creating capacity that can be redeployed toward customers, relationships, growth, and higher-value work. The session will also address the governance, security, and regulatory controls required as AI moves deeper into bank operations.
Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap for moving from AI experimentation to institutional AI at scale and understanding how efficiency creates capacity, capacity enables growth, and growth drives ROIC.
What Worked, What Didn’t: A Community Banker’s Technology Playbook
Panel Conversation with Members of the BankTech Committee
In this candid panel discussion, members of the BankTech Committee will share firsthand experiences with the technologies shaping today’s community banking environment. From digital account opening, payments, automation, data and AI tools, cybersecurity, and customer-facing platforms, panelists will discuss the initiatives that are delivering meaningful value for their banks.
Just as importantly, they will address the real-world hurdles: vendor and core integration challenges, employee and customer adoption, unexpected costs, implementation delays, data concerns, and change-management lessons. Attendees will hear what worked, what did not go as planned, and what panelists would do differently next time.
Designed for bankers at every stage of their technology journey, this session will offer practical takeaways and honest perspectives to help attendees evaluate opportunities, avoid common pitfalls, and make more informed technology decisions for their institutions.
Fireside Chat: From Strategy to Execution: Leading Bank Technology Change
Rates are shifting, deposits move faster than ever, and every bank is being asked to do more with technology. In this candid conversation, two leaders from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago share what they're seeing across hundreds of member institutions and what they've learned from modernizing their own technology. Topics include digital banking strategy, liquidity readiness, interest rate risk, strategic use of FHLB advances, and practical technology and AI adoption. You'll leave with ideas you can put to work in the next 90 days.
Learning objectives:
- Identify practical priorities for digital banking investments at community and regional banks
- Evaluate contingency funding and collateral readiness in a faster-moving deposit environment
- Apply scenario-based thinking to interest rate risk management
- Explore ways FHLB advances can support liquidity, balance sheet, and community lending goals
- Recognize the factors that help technology and AI projects move from plan to results