The Albany–based New York Credit Union Association (NYCUA) announced it is working with an India–based financial-technology (FinTech) firm that will offer NYCUA-member credit unions access to fraud-detection technologies including artificial intelligence (AI).

NYCUA has partnered with Quatrro Processing Services (QPS), a Gugugram, India–based fraud and risk mitigation FinTech product provider. 

Utilizing anomaly detection via predictive analytic models, algorithms, and data-driven decision optimization, QPS provides a “competitive advantage and higher return-on-investment for credit unions with enhanced member engagement,” NYCUA contended in a news release.

“QPS is on the cutting edge of fraud prevention and risk mitigation, and they have a proven track record of success with credit unions of all sizes and complexities,” William Mellin, president and CEO of NYCUA, said. “Up until this point, many financial institutions have watched the artificial-intelligence (AI) revolution from the sidelines. Now, New York’s credit unions have a real opportunity to harness emerging AI and machine-learning technologies in ways previously thought unimaginable.”

QPS’ proprietary platform — known as fraud reduction early detection (FRED) — is driven by AI that enables machine learning to design and apply algorithms to learn things from past cases and automate at various thresholds to customize rules. However, the entire platform is overseen 24/7 by a human monitor to ensure no anomalies go undetected.

The platform also helps financial institutions comply with anti-money laundering regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act, as well as regulations imposed by the National Credit Union Administration, and the New York Department of Financial Services.

“As tech and human intelligence converge on common ground, there is no way to secure transactions without innovative AI and machine-learning technology and advanced data analytics,” Sriram Natarajan, president & COO of QPS, said in the NYCUA release. “At QPS we care about members concerns. Their No. 1 priority is to never fall victim to fraud while not get declined at the point of sale. FRED by QPS epitomizes false-positive management and will help NYCUA credit unions to further enhance their member experience.”

NYCUA is the trade association for the state’s credit unions, which collectively hold more than $83 billion in assets and serve 5.8 million members. 

Bank of America announced it has appointed Ted Janicki as small business banking manager for upstate New York.

He is a VP/upstate New York market manager for the small business banking team of Bank of America. For more than a decade, Janicki has been working with business customers in the Buffalo/Niagara region, and will now transition to leading a team of 11 banking professionals across the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Hudson Valley markets, according to a Bank of America news release.

Janicki is directly responsible for his team’s performance in prospecting for and acquiring new small-business clients, as well as maintaining and deepening existing client relationships. “His team’s main objective is to help business owners and leaders reach their goals and maximize their growth by increasing profit, improving cash flow, building capacity, developing sustainability, and obtaining a return on investment,” per the release.

Janicki has spent his 16-year banking career solely with Bank of America. He has served in a number of roles in the customer assistance division, financial centers, global commercial banking, business banking, and small business units. 

He was born and raised in western New York. Janicki is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, where he obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. 

DeWITT — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) reported that its net income rose more than 4 percent to $41.9 million, or 80 cents a share, in the first quarter from $40.1 million, or 78 cents, in the year-ago period.

The DeWitt–based banking company credited an increase in net interest income and decreases in the provision for loan losses and income taxes for the profit gain, offset in part by a decrease in bank noninterest revenues, higher operating expenses, and an increase in shares outstanding. Community Bank’s operating earnings per share, which excludes acquisition expenses and unrealized gain-on-equity securities, was 81 cents in the first quarter, up 3 cents from a year prior.

Community Bank’s results beat analysts’ expectations of 76 cents in earnings per share, according to Zacks Equity Research.

“Our improved first quarter 2019 operating results were driven by a combination of net interest income growth, increased financial services revenue and a continuation of excellent credit quality metrics,” Mark E. Tryniski, president and CEO of Community Bank System, said in his company’s earnings report. “We’re pleased with a first quarter performance that’s reflective of consistent and effective execution of our ongoing business strategy.”

Earnings details

Community Bank System posted total revenue of $142.6 million in the first quarter up 0.3 percent from the prior-year period. That topped the $142.2 million in revenue that analysts were expecting, according to Zacks.

Community’s net interest income gained 2.6 percent to $86.9 million on an improvement in the banking company’s net interest margin, while noninterest revenue decreased by 3.1 percent. It had a $3 million decline in banking noninterest revenue, due primarily to the impact of the Durbin amendment, a provision of federal law that limits the fees that banks can charge retailers for processing debit-card transactions.

Community Bank’s interest income and fees on loans increased by $4.3 million from the prior-year quarter due to both an increase in average total loans outstanding and a rise in the yield on all categories of loans, reflecting higher market rates. The results for the quarter benefitted from $1 million in one-time loan fees. 

Community Bank’s quarterly provision for loan losses of $2.4 million was $1.3 million lower than the first quarter of 2018, reflecting “moderate improvements” in the banking company’s credit-quality statistics. Non-performing loans dropped to 0.39 percent of total loans outstanding, compared to 0.48 percent of total loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2018. Delinquent loans to total loans outstanding decreased to 0.88 percent at the end of the first quarter, down from 1.01 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2018. Net charge-offs decreased by $0.6 million from the first quarter of 2018, due mostly to a decrease in net charge-offs in the business lending and consumer indirect-loan portfolios.

Community Bank System reported employee-benefit services revenue of $24.1 million in the first quarter, up by $1 million, or 4.6 percent, from a year earlier. The increase was driven by growth in the banking company’s collective investment fund administration and trust business, and growth in actuarial-services revenue. Community Bank System recorded $7.9 million in insurance-services revenue during the first quarter, a 6.8 percent increase from a year earlier, buoyed by “solid new business generation,” according to the earnings report.

The banking company posted wealth-management revenue of $6.3 million in the first quarter, down from $6.7 million in the first quarter of 2018. Banking noninterest revenue decreased by $3 million due to a net $3.1 million decrease in debit interchange fees and a $0.3 million decrease in other banking fees, including mortgage banking and deposit-service fees, offset in part by a gain on life insurance.

Community Bank System incurred total operating expenses of $88.7 million in the first quarter, up 2.7 percent from the year-ago period, due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits, data processing and communications, business development and marketing expenses, and acquisition expenses, according to the report. 

Those increases were offset by declines in occupancy and equipment expense, amortization of intangible assets, legal and professional fees, office supplies and postage, FDIC insurance premiums, and other expenses. Excluding $0.5 million in acquisition expenses, Community’s total operating expenses rose by $1.8 million, or 2.1 percent, from the year-ago quarter.

Community Bank had $6.27 billion in loans at the end of the first quarter, up by $39.1 million, or 0.6 percent, from a year earlier. 

The banking company took net charge-offs of $2.6 million in the first quarter, down from $3.2 million a year ago, as net charge-offs in business lending and the consumer indirect portfolios fell. Net charge-offs as an annualized percentage of average loans measured 0.17 percent in the first quarter, down from 0.21 percent a year before. 

Community Bank System has more than $10.9 billion in assets and over 230 branches across upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and western Massachusetts.