Customers Bank and OpenAI have entered into a multiyear partnership to integrate advanced AI technologies into the commercial banking operations of the US-based lender.
Building on their initial collaboration in 2023, when Customers Bank began using ChatGPT Enterprise, this new agreement involves OpenAI’s technical teams working directly onsite to develop custom AI solutions tailored to the bank’s specific needs and processes.
Three Focus Areas
The collaboration aims to enhance operations in three key areas: lending, deposits, and payments. In lending, AI will be used for document collection, credit memoranda preparation, legal documents, and post-closing portfolio and collateral monitoring. For deposits, the focus is on simplifying digital onboarding and account setup processes. In payments, AI intends to boost the capabilities of cubiX, the bank’s proprietary payments platform, by accelerating agent-ready APIs and enhancing AI-driven risk and compliance tools.
The bank plans to deploy these AI agents within the next six to 12 months across these three operational areas. Upon successful implementation, it is projected that closing a commercial loan—from underwriting through document collection and legal negotiations—will be reduced from 30 to 45 days down to approximately seven days. The time taken to open accounts for complex commercial clients, which now exceeds one day, could drop significantly to less than 20 minutes with the use of conversational AI and automated document gathering.
Currently, 75% of Customers Bank’s team members utilize tools powered by OpenAI. The bank has invested heavily in infrastructure for large-scale AI deployment over the past year and has applied AI to software development processes as well.
Financial Objectives and Workforce Impact
Customers Bank aims to improve its efficiency ratio from around 49% to the low 40s, with higher returns anticipated by 2027. The CEO has signalled that automation will help reduce hiring needs, focusing on generating more revenue per employee rather than increasing headcount in line with operational expansion.
Despite the level of automation, customer relationships are to remain human-centric, aiming to allow bankers more time for client structuring and service enhancement instead of administrative tasks.
An analyst from Piper Sandler commented that this arrangement stands out due to OpenAI’s direct involvement in developing AI tools within the bank’s operations. This approach is viewed as a step beyond how most banks have historically approached AI deployment, with potential for the custom system developed at Customers Bank to be adapted and marketed to other financial institutions.
