Bankers remain optimistic despite growing fraud, tech concerns

Bankers are optimistic for the upcoming 11 months despite growing unease over fraud losses and the challenge of moving emerging technology into measurable results, according to Cornerstone Advisors’ 2026 “What’s Going On in Banking” report..Released Jan. 29, the report surveyed 416 senior executives at banks and credit unions with between $250 million and $50 billion in assets. The report analyzed how they are hastening their use of technology, along with the rising threat environment and increasing pressure from fintechs and crypto-centered companies.More than 80 percent of executives had positive expectations about banking this year, despite concerns surrounding deposit growth, efficiency, cybersecurity and fraud topping their strategic priorities. Nearly half of banks have deployed generative artificial intelligence, with substantially more planning investments this year. Executives or board members at more than half of institutions are considering agentic AI. More than 70 percent of banks have discussed stablecoin at the board level, according to the report, while the majority have considered tokenized deposits or blockchain. Despite only 29 percent of respondents citing crypto providers as a threat, nearly 4 in 10 American consumers between the ages of 21 and 60 hold crypto, said Cornerstone Advisors Chief Research Officer Ron Shevlin, author of the report. One-third “are very likely to purchase or invest in crypto” this year, he added. For those who hold crypto, 25 percent of their total investment portfolio is in the digital currency. More than 80 percent of banks plan to increase their spending on technology this year, yet continue to come up short on expected system deployments, which Shevlin said spotlights the continued disconnect between strategy and implementation. Forty percent of banks had higher fraud-related losses last year, and the majority expect losses to increase again in 2026. First-party fraud — when a fraudster uses his/her own identity to scam a bank — is more than 40 percent of total fraud losses. "AI, crypto, and fraud are no longer future-state discussions — they're reshaping banking right now," Shevlin said. "What separates leaders from laggards in 2026 won't be who experiments the most, but who operationalizes these technologies with discipline and purpose."