Account Opening Isn’t the Finish Line: Why Customer Onboarding Should Never End
By Wendy Wilson Banks devote significant resources to attracting new customers and originating new loans. Marketing teams focus on acquisition. Digital teams work to streamline account opening and application experiences. Lenders track approval rates and funded volume. But once a customer opens an account or closes on a loan, many institutions treat onboarding as a…
The Regulatory Unlock: How Market Structure Reform Could Bring Institutions Into Crypto
By Hyunsu Jung One of the major obstacles to institutional adoption of cryptocurrency in the United States is the absence of a clear, unified regulatory framework for trading markets. Unlike traditional financial markets, crypto regulation remains fragmented across multiple federal agencies, each overseeing different aspects of the ecosystem. U.S. crypto exchanges must also navigate a…
AI Is Resurrecting Zombie Business Fraud in SMB Lending
By Patrick Lord Zombie lending fraud isn’t new; community and regional banks have been dealing with it for decades. But generative AI is making it faster, easier to execute and harder for lenders to spot. The scheme is relatively straightforward: a fraudster identifies a dormant or dissolved company, often one that once operated legitimately, and…
Endpoint Detection: Strengthening the First Line of Defense in Modern Banking
By Sean Martin Most modern banking attacks no longer begin at the network perimeter. They begin on endpoints like employee devices, where remote access, cloud applications and day-to-day business activity create more opportunities for attackers to gain a foothold. More than half of financial institutions experienced a cyberattack in the past year, underscoring how frequently…
What the C-Suite Barometer Means for Bank Compliance Teams
By Mark Burnside Executive perspectives across regional and community banks reflect a thoughtful approach as leaders handle regulatory pressures and accelerated change across banking institutions. According to the “C-Suite Barometer: Executive Leadership Insights in the US,” organizations are maintaining progress by pairing technology investment with disciplined execution and operational adaptability. For regional banks, this focus…
The Next Crypto Battleground Isn’t Silicon Valley, It’s Capitol Hill
By Hyunsu Jung For most of the past decade, the future of digital assets was framed as a technology race. New blockchains promised faster settlement. Crypto exchanges competed on liquidity. Startups raised millions selling the narrative that their protocol would ultimately power the financial infrastructure of the internet. The assumption was that innovation would determine…
Closing the Data Readiness Gap: Building the Foundation for Effective AI
By Ajay John Artificial intelligence is quickly transforming financial services. For community banks, this shift brings both opportunity and challenge. It can strengthen fraud prevention, improve efficiency, and deliver deeper customer insight. At the same time, it is accelerating AI-driven fraud and social engineering threats. Adopting AI isn’t just about adding new tools. To truly…
Capital Markets Are Scaling Faster Than the Systems That Support Them
By Trevor Vick There is a fundamental contradiction at the heart of today’s capital markets. Trillions of dollars are flowing into AI infrastructure, data centers, and public works at a pace that would have seemed extraordinary just a few years ago. Transaction volumes are breaking records. Securitization structures are growing more complex and more creative….
Bankers’ Top Five Strategic Priorities for 2026
By Tara Schultz As banking leaders navigate through 2026, they are focused on five key strategic priorities, including customer support, market expansion, operational efficiency and more. These efforts are all aimed at staying competitive and meeting rising customer expectations. CSI’s 2026 Banking Priorities survey highlights how institutions are putting these priorities into action, by investing in modern…
Suspicious Activity Report Filings Hit Record in 2025
By Mark W. Dever Last year saw a record number of SAR filings. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), banks and savings associations alone filed more than 2.193 million SARs in 2025, an increase of 7.66% over SAR filings in 2024. Seven groups in total file SARs, and during 2025, all seven groups…