EnFi has acquired $15 million to scale the deployment of artificial intelligence agents that assess credit applications at regional and community banks across the United States.
The startup announced this funding round on February 4, 2026. The lead investor is Fintop, with additional participation from Patriot Financial Partners, Commerce Ventures, Unusual Ventures, and Boston Seed Capital. This brings EnFi’s total capital raised to $22.5 million since its inception.
The investors are connected to over 150 financial institutions, mostly regional and community banks. EnFi creates AI agents aimed at evaluating credit applications and assisting in lending decisions for smaller banking institutions.
Addressing Analyst Shortages in Regional Banking
Regional and community banks frequently struggle to recruit credit analysts, which hampers their ability to handle loan applications. EnFi positions its AI agents as a remedy to the staffing issues that impact lending volumes at non-major banking centers.
Banks can customize these AI agents according to their specific credit portfolios and underwriting standards. The technology examines factors like applicant leverage, collateral, and credit history—tasks previously handled by human credit analysts. Banks have employed the system for duties such as document screening and identifying discrepancies in loan applications.
Moreover, EnFi’s technology acts as an auxiliary tool for existing credit professionals rather than a fully autonomous underwriting solution. Credit analysts use these agents to speed up application review processes and reduce manual data verification tasks.
AI Integration into Credit Decision Workflows
Globally, financial institutions are increasingly incorporating AI technologies into their lending operations, with uses ranging from credit scoring to fraud detection and document processing. Conventional credit analysis requires a meticulous review of financial statements, tax returns, collateral appraisals, and credit bureau reports. However, AI can partly automate these procedures.
Regional and community banks in the U.S. often face challenges when competing with larger national banks that have larger technology budgets and more personnel resources. The credit analyst workforce has also faced recruitment difficulties recently, especially since shifts in the labor market. Smaller institutions frequently find it challenging to match the compensation offered by major financial centers or tech companies vying for analytical talent.
Regulatory guidelines on AI use in lending are still evolving across different regions. In the U.S., the Equal Credit Opportunity Act mandates lenders to provide specific reasons for credit denials, establishing compliance requirements for AI-based decision systems. The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have issued guidance on responsible AI implementation in credit decisions.
