|
The CEO Clone
Half an hour into the earnings call for Customers Bancorp on April 24, CEO Sam Sidhu revealed that his prepared remarks had been read by a clone created through artificial intelligence. “The execution of this call itself is a live demonstration of what we mean when we say AI is not an experiment at Customers Bank,” said the clone. “We will be using it to transform our company.”
The stunt certainly got attention, earning headlines from CNBC and Fortune. But Sidhu — via his clone — outlined the steps that $26 billion Customers, based in West Reading, Pennsylvania, has taken since 2023. The company started by working with enterprise products from OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. Last year, Customers’ employees started piloting use cases and built AI agents. Today, AI-enabled workflows have saved more than 28,000 hours, almost on par with 15 full-time employees, according to Sidhu, who said he is personally leading the AI-powered transformation as CEO.
Recent earnings calls offered the leaders of the biggest banks an opportunity to share how they’re deploying AI within their organizations. William “Bill” Demchak, CEO and chairman of The PNC Financial Services Group, said automation has allowed head count to remain roughly flat despite the company’s dramatic growth. “AI allows that to continue,” he said. Zachary “Zach” Wasserman, the chief financial officer at Huntington Bancshares, said the bank is applying AI in several areas, including using AI agents to transform workflows. Both Demchak and Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman at JPMorgan Chase & Co., viewed AI as table stakes to achieving greater efficiency. “I’m going to do it, everyone else is going to do it, and the benefits will be passed on to the marketplace,” said Dimon.
Like those larger institutions, Sidhu said Customers has focused on enhancing productivity and the client experience. But he also said they’re eyeing ways to reduce risk and generate revenue. And on the heels of a big M&A year that brought scale back into the banking zeitgeist, Sidhu said AI represents “the biggest opportunity in a generation for a bank of our size and culture.” The bank has trained team members to build and manage AI agents, redesigned processes, employed developers and leveraged partnerships.
“We feel we can scale the company at significantly higher rates than our head count will grow,” the real Sidhu told analysts.
• Emily McCormick, vice president of editorial & research for Bank Director
| 
