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How are traditional banks reinventing themselves for the fintech and AI era?

Izge Cengiz Ercan, Director of Strategic Innovation at Valley Bank, joins Ankur Patel to share how she’s bridging legacy banking with emerging technologies, from agentic AI to startup partnerships and responsible innovation frameworks. She reveals why speed and governance don’t have to conflict, and how collaboration with risk and compliance teams can actually accelerate adoption.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: AI in Banking

00:09 Future of Commercial Lending

00:18 Build vs Partner: The Next Five Years

00:28 Defining Innovation in 2026

00:37 Common Mistakes with Fintechs

00:49 Overhyped AI Trends

01:03 Key KPIs for Innovation

01:11 Challenges in Scaling Innovation

01:22 Misconceptions About Bank Innovation

01:34 Future of Strategic Innovation

01:45 Conclusion

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