Citi is realizing the effects of AI tech within its operations as its multiyear technology modernization plan is nearly 80% complete. 

“We’re building AI into the processes that move money, manage risk and serve clients,” Chief Executive Jane Fraser said today during the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “We are shifting our focus to how we can use AI tools and automation to further innovate, re-engineer and simplify our processes beyond risk and controls to improve client experience whilst reducing expenses.”

The bank started by deploying AI for 50 of its largest and most complex processes, ranging from KYC to loan underwriting, and now plans a wide rollout to drive efficiency in all segments of operations, Fraser said.  

During the quarter, Citi reported: 

• More than 180,000 employees across 84 countries are using AI tools with total adoption at 70% of the employee base; 

• AI-powered tools facilitated 1.5 million automated code reviews, generating 100,000 hours of capacity weekly; 

• Employees submitted 600,000 requests to AI tools to aid them in their tasks; and 

• The Agent Assist AI chatbot recorded 2.6 million interactions each month. 

“Over the past five years, we’ve invested significantly in the transformation and technology to modernize our infrastructure, simplify and automate our processes, and enhance and streamline our data,” Gonzalo Luchetti, head of U.S. personal banking, said during the earnings call. Luchetti is to become the chief financial officer of Citi in March 2026, once Mark Mason steps down. 

BY THE NUMBERS: During Q4, the bank reported: 

• Tech and communication expenses of $2.4 billion, up 6.6% year over year; 

• Revenue of $19.5 billion, up 2% YoY; 

• Headcount of 226,000, relatively flat YoY. 

Multiyear modernization 

The $1.7 trillion bank reported it has completed 80% of its multiyear effort to modernize its tech stack and improve risk controls to boost the accuracy of critical regulatory reports. 

The New York-based bank in 2021 began focusing on modernizing compliance, risk controls and data layers in its tech stack and is near meeting those goals, Fraser said. 

“We’ve significantly accelerated progress over the past year, and some of that’s really been helped by AI,” Fraser said. “We’re seeing this translate quickly into both outcomes, and that’s including the detailed accuracy of our most critical regulatory reports and in the modernization of our underlying data.” 

Last year, Citi accidentally deposited $81 trillion into a client’s account. Experts said that embedding AI checks could reduce such errors. 

Record M&A quarter 

The bank reported “the best” M&A quarter in its bank’s history, Fraser said. 

M&A revenue increased by 84% YoY, Luchetti said, adding that “multiple lines of business in the economy are doing a lot of dealmaking.” 

Citi’s investment banking revenue, which includes M&A revenue, increased by 32% YoY to $8.2 billion, according to its earnings report. 

Banking and capital market dealmaking totaled $89.8 billion in 2025, up 23% YoY, according to a Dec. 16 report by consultancy PwC. 

The M&A momentum will continue in 2026 within financial services and other industries, Dan Goerlich, head of U.S. banking and capital markets at PwC, told FinAi News. “Many fintechs are looking at the market for good M&A deals which help them scale, add a new product to their portfolio or fill in holes in their existing services.” 

The regulatory environment is also friendly with the Trump administration at the helm, Goerlich said. 

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