Jay Budzik
SVP, Director of AI/ML Model Development and Operations Fifth Third Bank
Jay Budzik is SVP, Director of AI/ML Model Development and Operations at Fifth Third Bank. Prior to Fifth Third, Jay was CTO at Zest AI, where he led the data science, engineering and product management teams that pioneered the use of AI in consumer loan underwriting, serving clients such as Freddie Mac, Citibank, Truist, Discover, and over 100 regional banks and credit unions. Jay led the development of the first AI de-biasing methods used in lending. These and other methods yield significant increases in equity for protected groups that have been needlessly held back by traditional credit scores. Prior to Zest AI, Jay founded several successful AI companies. Jay holds over 40 patents in applied AI, earned a Ph. D. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, and holds a B. S. in Computer Science with honors from The University of Chicago.
2026 Agenda Sessions
How are AI agents coming for lenders?
AI agents are poised to fundamentally reshape the lending landscape. Unlike traditional automation, these autonomous systems can analyze credit risk, process applications, adjust pricing, and manage customer relationships with minimal human oversight.
This session explores how banks and fintechs must adapt as AI agents transform everything from underwriting to collections and examines whether lenders are ready for a future where their customers might be AI agents too. We'll cut through the hype to focus on how innovative lenders can position themselves to lead in this brave new world.
Takeaways:
• Learn how AI agents differ from existing automation and why this distinction matters for lending operations.
• Discover which lending functions are most vulnerable to agent-driven disruption and which represent the biggest opportunity for efficiency gains and risk reduction.
• Explore how lenders can prepare for both deploying AI agents internally AND serving customers who use agents to shop for loans.
Tuesday 31 March 09:35 - 10:15 Lending
AI & Agentic Systems
Data & Personalization
Infrastructure & APIs
This session explores how banks and fintechs must adapt as AI agents transform everything from underwriting to collections and examines whether lenders are ready for a future where their customers might be AI agents too. We'll cut through the hype to focus on how innovative lenders can position themselves to lead in this brave new world.
Takeaways:
• Learn how AI agents differ from existing automation and why this distinction matters for lending operations.
• Discover which lending functions are most vulnerable to agent-driven disruption and which represent the biggest opportunity for efficiency gains and risk reduction.
• Explore how lenders can prepare for both deploying AI agents internally AND serving customers who use agents to shop for loans. Lending US/Pacific
