This week on the PiTech Solutions Podcast, Mike and Laura unpack the forces converging on banking in 2026, a year when artificial intelligence stopped being an experiment and became a core operating priority. From autonomous agents on the front line to a redrawn regulatory map covering AI, stablecoins, and open banking, this is the strategic briefing that C suite leaders in regulated industries need.
Agentic AI moves from pilot to production: With 82% of U.S. banks planning to increase their AI budgets, institutions like BNY, TD Bank, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are deploying autonomous agents and even naming chief AI officers. The early returns are concentrated in fraud and compliance, where detection agents cut false positives by 60% or more and automation reduces AML and KYC workloads by 30 to 50 percent.
The model risk rulebook gets rewritten: The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC issued SR 26-2 in April, superseding the decade old SR 11-7 framework. Notably, it leaves generative and agentic AI outside its formal scope, placing the governance burden squarely on boards and executives.
Stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and open banking: The GENIUS Act has made stablecoin strategy operationally unavoidable, with real implications for deposits and lending capacity. Tokenized deposits are emerging as banks’ preferred path to modernize payments without losing the customer relationship, while Section 1033 keeps open banking in regulatory limbo.
The through line is clear: technology and customer expectations are outpacing regulation, and the winners are building governance and infrastructure now. To learn more about PiTech Solutions, visit pitechsol.com.