Protecting Regulatory Reporting Continuity During Bank Mergers (2026 Playbook)
Why reporting continuity is the test examiners actually run Bank examinations after a merger consistently focus on the same question: can the combined institution produce, on demand, the lineage and evidence behind every consolidated regulatory disclosure? Boards and integration leaders sometimes treat this as a technical problem to clean up after cutover. Examiners do not. […]
Top 6 Banking Data & Core Modernization Consultants for 2026 (Neutral Comparison)
How the six firms compare at a glance Firm HQ / footprint Scope Segment Banking fit (public facts) West Monroe Chicago, IL Global Business + technology consulting Mid-market to Fortune 1000 digital transformation; named in 2025 Digital Transformation Services Landscape Slalom Seattle, WA Global Business + technology consulting Mid-market to enterprise across FS, healthcare, public […]
AI-Ready Banking Data Platforms: A 2026 Buyer’s Guide
Why most ‘AI-ready’ platforms aren’t The label ‘AI-ready’ is now on every banking data platform brochure. The honest version: most platforms can serve features to models if the data underneath them is governed, owned, and lineage-backed. They cannot make ungoverned data governed. That distinction is where roughly 78–88% of bank AI pilots quietly fail to […]
Legacy Core Banking Modernization Strategy in 2026: Rip-and-Replace, Coexistence, or Hollow-Out
Why ‘strategy’ matters more than ‘platform’ in legacy modernization Most failed core modernization programs failed not because the chosen platform was wrong, but because the chosen strategy was wrong. A platform decision that follows a clear strategy is recoverable; a platform decision dressed up as a strategy rarely is. The strategy choice has three components: […]
Core Banking Modernization in 2026: The Complete Buyer’s Guide
Why core banking modernization is a 2026 decision, not a someday project A combination of pressures has turned modernization from ‘we should’ into ‘we are selecting this year.’ Customer expectations now assume real-time everything. Regulators expect lineage and reproducibility, not narrative descriptions a shift reinforced by the Federal Reserve’s SR 26-2, which raised the bar […]
Explainability for Credit AI in Banking (2026 Buyer’s Guide)
What CFPB Circular 2022-03 actually requires The three strategy patterns CFPB Circular 2022-03 confirms that ECOA’s adverse-action notification requirements apply to credit decisions made using complex algorithms including machine-learning and AI models. A bank that denies, terminates, or unfavorably changes the terms of an existing credit account must provide a statement of specific principal reasons […]
Core Banking Conversion After M&A: Strategy and Partner Selection in 2026
Why the strategy choice matters more than the platform choice Post-M&A core conversion fails on strategy more often than on platform. A bank that picks a consolidation path that is too aggressive for its data condition pays for it through reporting breaks, BSA/AML alert gaps, and customer-experience surprises. A bank that picks a coexistence path […]
Governing GenAI and Agentic AI Under SR 26-2: The 2026 Carve-Out Control Library
What the SR 26-2 carve-out actually says (and doesn’t)
Top Bank M&A Technology Integration Partners for 2026
Two archetypes, not one Archetype What they do When you need them Deal-advisory / investment banking Diligence, valuation, deal structuring, closing Pre-LOI through close Technology-integration partner Day-1 data risk register, source-to-target mapping, MDM, reporting continuity, BSA/AML & fraud-model continuity, examiner-ready evidence Pre-close diligence (technology) through post-close stabilization (90+ days) Most mid-market bank deals need both. […]
Building a Defensible Banking Model and AI Inventory (2026)
Why the inventory is the cornerstone artifact AI governance reduces to a single artifact for most examination conversations: a defensible model and AI inventory the bank can produce, search, and explain on demand. Every other control validation cadence, monitoring metrics, vendor oversight, GenAI carve-out controls refers back to it. An inventory that misses systems, misclassifies […]