Small-business customers at New Jersey’s First Bank are getting a heavy dose of personal attention while large financial institutions pour resources into high-speed digital tools, American Banker reported.
As big banks dedicate considerable resources to agentic AI, embedded finance, and real-time payments, the $4.05 billion-asset institution in Hamilton is leaning on local ties instead of chasing the cutting edge. First Bank President and CEO Patrick Ryan explained the strategy in an interview with American Banker.
“We have to make sure we’re not making things inconvenient for [customers],” Ryan told American Banker. “But we’re not trying to win on bells and whistles.”
Founded in 2007, First Bank ranks as the 11th largest among 49 banks headquartered in New Jersey. The institution operates branches across New Jersey, the Philadelphia suburbs in Pennsylvania, and maintains a presence in Florida. Recent data shows total assets rose 0.5% from 2025, while deposits grew 4.9% to reach $3.32 billion, and loans increased 1.1% to $3.33 billion.
Most of the bank’s business is with small companies within its regional footprint. Marketing materials consistently emphasize local ties over technological capabilities.
“There’s a segment of small businesses that are making their decision based on relationships more than tech,” Ryan said to American Banker. “Our customers are a little bit older so we’re relying on those connections.”
The bank is not ignoring digital tools entirely. First Bank introduced AI applications that streamline online banking sign-ups and loan applications so clients can complete paperwork without visiting a branch. The institution also integrated new middleware from Cordex with its Fiserv core banking system. This enables First Bank to embrace embedded payments and prepares the network to support FedNow and the Clearing House’s real-time payment rails.
Adoption of those real-time networks is well behind the typical pace because client demand remains evolving, according to the bank’s leadership. Ryan described this deliberate pace as a prudent approach to modern banking.
“Being a fast follower is a prudent strategy,” Ryan said, as reported by American Banker. “Some of these changes will become table stakes.”
Wider industry data highlights similar caution among small financial institutions. A survey conducted by IDC on behalf of SAS shows that 64% of small financial institutions use AI in IT departments.
Adoption drops lower in other divisions: 47% use it in finance and risk, 44% in marketing, 42% in customer service, and 39% in product development. Furthermore, 39% of institutions cite infrastructure limitations or excessive costs as barriers to broader AI deployment, while 33% point to a lack of unified data, analytics and AI platforms.
Collaboration offers another path forward for smaller lenders navigating digital transformation. Speaking at an American Banker conference, Shawn Main, executive vice president and chief business architect for Vantage Bank, emphasized the value of operational partnerships. Vantage Bank, which holds $5.4 billion in assets, joined Custodia Bank to develop The Hazel Network. The platform helps community banks and credit unions develop new uses for emerging financial products like tokenized deposits and stablecoins.
“You need a way to more rapidly adopt the technology without taking on a lot of risk and really have a way to start to experiment and learn. And more than anything, I would say grow that operational muscle,” Main told conference attendees, according to American Banker. “That operational muscle is the most important thing.”
“At one $3 billion-asset institution we worked with, a single person supported marketing reviews on top of other compliance duties,” Gujral told American Banker. “A larger bank can staff that queue. A smaller one can’t, so faster content creation mostly means a longer backlog. An agent that acts on a customer’s signal in real time only helps if review keeps pace.”
Data connectivity demands significant time and resources as well. Cornerstone Advisors interviewed a $3 billion credit union that spent eight months connecting its analytics platform to core data and marketing systems before running basic campaigns.
Yet, smaller institutions retain one distinct structural advantage. They can restructure staff faster than a large bank can, allowing them to embed compliance personnel directly inside marketing departments to streamline reviews before formal approvals begin, Gujral reported to American Banker.
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