Bank of America Promotes Execs to Champion AI and Crypto

Bank of America has reportedly promoted new leaders to guide its artificial intelligence and crypto efforts. Sonali Theisen has been named the bank’s head of global digital-assets platform and Kevin Milsom head of platforms AI transformation, Bloomberg News reported Friday (July 17), citing an internal Bank of America (BofA) memo later confirmed by the company. According to the report, Theisen will oversee the design, development, scaling and governance of BofA’s digital assets platform, while keeping her current position as head of global fixed income, currencies and commodities e-trading and markets strategic investments. With the new duties, Theisen will work with senior leaders across the bank to build and expand its digital assets capabilities, and help integrate those offerings with traditional financial infrastructure, the memo said. The report added that the bank has been increasing its digital asset focus as a more relaxed regulatory environment has led to wider institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and greater crypto demand among clients. At the same time, said Bloomberg, the bank is also concentrating on expanding its use of AI tools as the technology plays a larger role in the financial and other sectors. In his role as head of platforms AI transformation, Milsom will focus on AI adoption and implementation across platforms, advocating for wider day-to-day use of AI in the bank’s operations, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg. The news follows a week in which Bank of America and its Wall Street contemporaries all reported earnings. As PYMNTS wrote, AI “arguably occupied a larger share of earnings discussions than in previous quarters, but management teams generally avoided portraying it as a quick route to lower costs.” For example, JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank now has around 1,000 AI use cases under development companywide, though he cautioned investors against assuming that the economic benefits will remain inside financial institutions. “AI will have its give-and-takes,” Dimon said during the earnings conference call. “The ultimate beneficiary of AI will be our customers,” reflecting his view that rival firms will adopt many of the same capabilities as time goes on. BofA likewise described AI in operational terms. Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said the bank’s work centers on “growth, efficiency, risk management and resiliency,” adding that approximately 300 AI use cases have been approved and upwards of 100 have already been deployed throughout the company. Applications include software development and tools employed by relationship managers and financial advisers, “illustrating how AI is being woven into day-to-day operations rather than isolated inside innovation teams,” PYMNTS wrote.