Commercial Bank of California is partnering with California State University, Fullerton to explore how artificial intelligence can improve its banking operations.<\/p>\n
The Irvine-based bank and CSUF\u2019s College of Business and Economics this month launched an internship at CBC for AI-trained business students to identify where AI can help automate workflows and improve efficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe banking industry is very ripe for innovation and disruption,\u201d Ash Patel, chairman, chief executive and president of CBC, told the Business Journal.<\/p>\n
CBC is among a growing number of employers adopting AI, with 24% of U.S. businesses reporting using AI and another 28% expecting to adopt it within six months, according to 2026 U.S. Census Bureau data.<\/p>\n
As adoption grows, however, many employees say they lack the training to use AI effectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployers consistently tell us that they\u2019re looking for talent that can leverage AI and be able to help them when they join,\u201d Dr. Sridhar \u201cSri\u201d Sundaram, dean of CSUF\u2019s business college, told the Business Journal. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure our students are AI-literate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pilot program is scheduled to run through February, with plans of expanding it to other industries if successful, according to Sundaram.<\/p>\n
Program Targets Routine Banking Tasks
CBC will oversee the program\u2019s governance, while CSUF will provide student recruitment, faculty supervision and AI training.<\/p>\n
Students will work with CBC leadership to identify applications for AI in departments including lending evaluations, fraud detection, Bank Secrecy Act compliance and information technology services for customer service operations.<\/p>\n
Patel said AI could help speed up routine tasks, such as analyzing financial statements and opening accounts, delivering services faster to customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBanking is about personal relationships, which you can\u2019t automate,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you can automate the processes in which they are given.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because banking involves sensitive customer information, the program will operate under strict safeguards.<\/p>\n
Students will not be permitted to enter confidential customer information into public AI systems, and practice exercises will use fictional or approved sample scenarios.<\/p>\n
CBC plans to use a controlled AI environment to protect information and limit the risk of systems acting beyond their intended instructions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe large language models we have are closed loop, so we are very protective about information security,\u201d Patel said. \u201cOur goal is to be very conservative and try to utilize it with a keen eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pilot also could create a potential recruiting pipeline for CBC. Students who develop promising solutions could have the opportunity to continue working on their projects, transitioning from internships to part-time or full-time roles upon graduating.<\/p>\n
Bank, University Build on Decades-Long Relationship
The partnership grew out of an existing relationship between CBC and CSUF that spans more than a decade.<\/p>\n
The late Paul Folino, former chairman of CBC, was a prominent CSUF supporter.<\/p>\n
He organized the Folino Invitational, an annual golf tournament that reestablished men\u2019s and women\u2019s golf at CSUF after a 20-year hiatus. It raised more than $2 million, including $1 million to build an endowment for Titan men and women\u2019s golf programs.<\/p>\n
Patel also serves on the business college\u2019s dean\u2019s advisory board. Through the board, Patel and Sundaram discussed AI initiatives, including plans for an innovation and AI lab.<\/p>\n
The college launched the AI hub, funded in part by a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, under the leadership of Amir Dabirian \u2014 former university provost and vice president of information technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsh heard about it and said, \u2018Hey, there\u2019s a great opportunity for us to do something together,\u2019 and that\u2019s how it started,\u201d Sundaram said.<\/p>\n
The business college has been growing and now has nearly 10,000 full-time undergraduate students.<\/p>\n
Next fall, it\u2019s relaunching its Professional MBA, a two-year, cohort-based program designed for experienced managers and emerging leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have nearly 500 students that belong to the MBA program, so I think we have a strong presence already,\u201d Sundaram said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure that we\u2019re updating the program to be relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest change being made to the program is a hybrid schedule that will bring students back on campus every other Saturday. The $60,000 tuition for the program will additionally include a one-week international study trip, guest speaker series and other support services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel confident we\u2019ll have a cohort of 25 to 30 every year given everything that we\u2019re adding to this program,\u201d Sundaram said.<\/p>\n
The college is also preparing to open a $27.5 million building for business leadership next April or May.<\/p>\n
The 20,000-square-foot building, dubbed the Landmark Building, will house the Institute for Leadership Studies and the Giles-O\u2019Malley Center for Leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commercial Bank of California is partnering with California State University, Fullerton to explore how artificial intelligence can improve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-501245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}