Photo Courtesy of Archana Pattabhi
Archana Pattabhi, Senior Vice President of Data Engineering Controls at a reputed financial institution, is a driving force behind modernizing consumer banking. With a doctorate from Azteca University and leveraging her education from MIT, her deep understanding of data, machine learning, and regulatory landscapes is transforming how financial institutions operate. Her work building systems for AI adoption enables firms to understand their risk appetite, while the controls her team established now handle regulatory compliance across 500+ applications. This proactive approach is critical as banks face increasing pressure to adopt digital tools.
Thought Leadership in Third-Party Risk Management
Pattabhi’s influence extends beyond her organization into the broader financial technology community. In her recent Forbes Technology Council article, “The New Era Of Third-Party Risk Management: Integrating Supply Chain Resilience,” she explores how banks must move beyond traditional vendor due diligence and actively integrate supply chain resilience into their third-party risk management (TPRM) strategies. Pattabhi emphasizes that as banks increasingly rely on a complex network of external partners for technology, data, and operations, TPRM must evolve into a lifecycle approach-covering planning, due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and governance. She advocates for leveraging advanced analytics, automation, and AI-driven tools to identify and mitigate risks, ensuring that risk management keeps pace with the speed and complexity of modern banking. This thought leadership, now featured in Forbes, positions Pattabhi at the forefront of shaping the future of TPRM. As Dr. Pawan Whig, Country Head at THREWS, notes, “Archana Pattabhi has been a driving force in digital transformation and risk management across global financial institutions. Her leadership in AI-driven insights and regulatory compliance is truly shaping the future of business and technology.”
From Legacy to Leading-Edge:
Archana Pattabhi points to a stark reality: Global banks spent $36.7 billion maintaining outdated payment systems in 2022, a figure projected to surge to $57 billion by 2028. As a speaker at technology events, she emphasizes how legacy architecture extends product launch cycles by 6-18 months, causing 3-8% revenue leakage annually. These outdated systems also lead to increased total regulatory fines. Banks paid $10.4 billion in non-compliance penalties annually, with legacy systems contributing to 37% longer implementation cycles and 29% higher error rates in reporting.
Throughout her 21-year career, Archana has consistently championed technology updates. A pivotal moment came in 2013 when she managed the replacement of ANZ’s outdated COBOL-based Cash Management Platform. “Every legacy system we retire isn’t just technical cleanup—it’s cognitive liberation for the next innovation cycle,” she states.
Embracing AI is no longer optional, as banks must modernize technology platforms and adopt new-age technologies to keep pace in this competitive market.
Challenges in System Modernization
Studies show that outdated banking systems could lead to $85 billion in losses by 2030. In response, banks are increasingly turning to cloud computing, with plans to migrate 56% of their operations to the cloud by 2025. Automation is expected to release 29% of banking jobs by 2030. These technological shifts have profound implications for banks and their customers, as 91% prefer digital banking services. However, 36% of banks face significant challenges in updating their systems, hindered by the costs of maintaining old technology and compliance with new regulations such as the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
High upfront costs, integration complexities, data migration challenges, stringent regulatory compliance, a lack of skilled talent, business continuity concerns, and security risks make the transformation journey arduous.
New Compliance Methods
A strategic vision, combined with a clear roadmap for digital transformation based on organizational priorities, is critical. As Pattabhi’s team develops strategies for AI adoption, they demonstrate that regulatory compliance and technological progress can work together. This proactive approach is evident in Archana Pattabhi’s data quality work on the 2025 Congressional Reporting. “Deep dive into our digital ecosystem, and maintaining transparency is the key to being compliant with regulatory requirements.” This ensures that compliance doesn’t remain a challenge, but an achievable goal.
Her team also delivered Machine Learning models in 2015, which comply with RWA calculations for Basel Regulatory and Risk Capital Models. As a member of the Forbes Technology Council and leveraging her education from MIT, these developments have helped lead her team through complex regulatory and modernization initiatives.
Her Model Execution Platform provides auditable and explainable AI for regulatory audits and ensures adherence to FASTEPS principles (Fairness, Accountability, Safety, Transparency, Ethics, Privacy, and Security).
Despite the clear benefits of automated systems, some banking experts remain cautious about full automation in the financial sector. The 2023 regional banking crisis highlighted the need for human oversight alongside technological advancement. Currently, 42% of banks use AI for credit decisions, reflecting a measured, risk-aware approach to adoption.
Banking Next Steps
Archana Pattabhi and her team formulate strategies for AI adoption that show how regulatory compliance and innovation can advance in parallel. Their systems remediate deficient controls, introduce new controls across cross-functional domains, aiding in risk reduction, and complete audits 45% faster than industry standards. By integrating modernized infrastructure with automation and AI tools, they streamline operations and free up talented staff to focus on innovation. Their use of Augmented and Agentic AI automates routine tasks while preserving human judgment for strategic areas.
As banks face critical decisions about modernization, Archana Pattabhi shares a bold vision: “The endgame isn’t frictionless transactions—it’s financial ecosystems so intuitive they fade into daily life.” She warns that without embedding ethics into every algorithm, ensuring privacy and transparency, the financial sector risks becoming a fragile “house of cards” by 2030. “Technologies like Digital Twins, Augmented AI, and Agentic AI hold immense potential to revolutionize banking, but their adoption must be guided by explainable and responsible AI practices”, she emphasizes.
The future of banking will depend on how well these technologies are implemented while adhering to ethical principles. By balancing innovation with accountability, banks can build secure, efficient, and customer-centric ecosystems that stand the test of time.
You can follow her journey at archaanaleads.com and on Archana Pattabhi’s LinkedIn! For more of her thought leadership, see her recent contributions on the Forbes Technology Council platform.
