Artificial intelligence

Zach Gipson, chief innovation officer at USAA, believes in putting new technology, like chatbots, out there and learning from customers' reactions.

At 4 feet tall and with a child's voice, Pepper won't replace tellers, but it can help bank customers interested in applying for a credit card or having issues with an ATM.

How the big banks fared in the Fed's latest round of stress testing; what's on new FDIC chair Jelena McWilliams' plate; why banks' biggest risk factor may be employees who don't speak up; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Jonathan Walker of the Center for the New Middle Class and Mark Schwanhausser of Javelin kick around ideas for helping women caught in a subprime trap.

Reconciling accounts, predicting market turns and their effects on portfolios, and even answering client faxes (yes, faxes) can all be done better with artificial intelligence, the custody bank says. Experts describe it as a cutting-edge program.