The news: While bigger banks certainly lead in researching and setting new standards for AI implementation, two recent case studies by Tearsheet prove smaller financial institutions (FIs) can successfully innovate using the technology.
Here’s what the studies found:
AI can improve lending decisions: We’ve covered how AI can speed up lending decisions and approvals—which enhances the customer experiences. Prior to implementing AI in its lending process, Commonwealth Credit Union couldn’t compete with larger banks that use real-time data for lending decisions. That’s because manual underwriting was time-consuming and based on limited data, slowing approvals and increasing risk, and teams struggled to turn large volumes of customer and market data into actionable insights.
Then Commonwealth adopted LuLu Pulse by Zest AI, which:
- Enabled leadership and analytics teams to compare performance with peers and adjust strategy quickly.
- Significantly reduced decision-making time, helping the credit union lend to more members while managing risk effectively.
AI can enhance marketing efforts: Duke University Federal Credit Union faced resource constraints that limited its ability to create personalized, compliant marketing content at scale. With a lean team, the credit union struggled to balance brand consistency, regulatory compliance, and efficiency in content production.
Then it adopted COMPOSE by Vertice AI, which:
- Learned the credit union’s brand voice and ensured content complied with regulatory requirements.
- Enabled the marketing team to produce on-brand, personalized content faster and more efficiently, reducing reliance on outsourcing. And don’t forget—consumers actually like AI-generated marketing content.
- Improved campaign targeting and segmentation, helping the team focus more on member growth and content that drives engagement.
Our take: These case studies could inspire other small FIs to follow suit, which can help even the playing field and improve efficiency where AI is applied. But it’s important that FIs always ensure transparent communications with customers about how AI is used and never rely on AI without human oversight.