Artificial Intelligence & Banking
Artificial Intelligence & Banking
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM) (EST)
Description
Artificial Intelligence and Banking
Event Description: Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to enterprise deployment across the banking industry. Community and regional banks are under increasing pressure to understand how AI can be used responsibly to improve efficiency, enhance customer experience, and strengthen risk management—while remaining compliant with evolving regulatory expectations. Join the South Florida Banking Institute for a timely panel discussion featuring industry leaders. This program will explore how banks are currently using AI, where adoption is accelerating, and what bank leadership should understand about governance, vendor risk, and regulatory scrutiny. This session will focus on practical applications, real-world lessons learned, and forward-looking considerations for banks operating in today’s fast-changing technological and supervisory environment.
Moderator
Asnardo Garro
Partner, Avila Law
Asnardo 'Nardy' Garro leads AVILA's Technology and Contracting practice, where he assists clients in navigating the intersection of law and technology. He is also a partner in the firm's Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions practice, as well as the firm's Banking and Financial Services department.
Mr. Garro strategically counsels financial institutions, Fortune 100, and startup clients on cutting-edge technology-related and vendor management matters. In addition to representing financial institutions, financial services companies, fintech's, money services businesses, and technology companies, Mr. Garro has emerged as a leader in guiding corporate clients through the complexities of their business and technology transactions. He has developed specialized knowledge of a wide range of commercial contracts, including technology contracts, and often serves as an extension of large and public companies in in-house legal teams to help them determine their level of tolerance and exposure and bridge the gap between risk and opportunity.
Mr. Garro has extensive experience in banking and financial services laws and regulations and routinely handles financing, corporate, transactional, IT, and regulatory matters. He often represents these institutions in complex financing transactions, sale and acquisition matters, and other complex business transactions.
Speakers
Daniel Torres
Vice President, Product Strategist, Mastercard
Daniel currently serves as Vice President & Cybersecurity Product Strategist at Mastercard, where he leads the development and deployment of the global public-private partnership strategy for Mastercard’s cybersecurity line of business. Prior to this role, Daniel served in different roles within Mastercard’s legal team, including VP & Senior Managing Counsel for Security and Cyber Innovation. Prior to joining Mastercard, Daniel held legal, risk & compliance, and commercial roles at Fortune 500 companies such as AIG, the AES Corporation, and Goldman Sachs portfolio companies, as well as European publicly-traded companies such as VINCI, Acciona, and Abertis, where he was instrumental in helping expand their global presence – particularly in the public-private partnerships and critical infrastructure space.
Daniel earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico and completed post-graduate studies in International Business Transactions at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Daniel is admitted to the Bar in Florida, the District of Columbia (D.C.) and Puerto Rico.
Dr. José A. Fernández-Calvo
Clinic Faculty and AI Center Leader, Miami Dade College
Dr. José A. Fernández-Calvo is a recognized expert in strategy, education, and artificial intelligence, currently serving as a Clinic Faculty member and AI Center leader at Miami Dade College (MDC). He holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Leadership in Higher Education.
Dr. Fernández-Calvo is the Principal Shareholder of Grovear LLC, a corporate training company he founded in 2013. Grovear is dedicated to providing end-to-end AI Adoption, training, and change management solutions, ensuring they are aligned with organizational KPIs and compliance needs. Grovear is specifically trusted for KPI-aligned implementations across the banking sector.
His expertise in AI adoption in banking focuses on enabling financial institutions to achieve growth and competitive advantage without adding headcount. Dr. Fernández-Calvo develops comprehensive AI adoption programs, which begin with customized training for the C-suite on topics ranging from AI security and compliance to tool categories and basic agent building.
He is known for implementing a hands-on, flipped classroom model to rapidly upskill entire staff bases, emphasizing practical proficiency covering AI Essentials and AI prompting. This training ensures every employee can master a curated set of tools and build their own basic AI agents or chatbots. His work emphasizes leveraging internal, no-code/low-code solutions to keep development power inside the organization and mitigate "shadow AI" risks. Crucially, he specializes in integrating change management strategies to motivate employees based on productivity gains through AI adoption.
Julio Valle
EVP, Chief Information Officer, Banesco USA
Mr. Valle brings longstanding experience in technology, with extensive experience in financial institutions. As the EVP and Chief Information Officer, he leads the bank’s technical operations, business intelligence, and innovative projects. Mr. Valle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Florida International University. With his extensive technological knowledge, he drives strategic initiatives and ensures the bank remains at the forefront of digital innovation.
Thank you to our Silver Sponsor!
Online Registration Event Fee
SFBI Members: $95.00
Non-Members: $145.00
At Door Registration Event Fee
SFBI Member: $125.00
Non-Member: $175.00
7695 North Kendall Drive
Miami, FL 33156 United States
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm - Networking Hour 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Dinner and Panel Discussion
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