Assumption Scenario
Your Institution
Annual loan originations ($M)
$500M
Operations FTE (back-office)
80
Avg. loan cycle time (days)
30 days
Annual compliance cost per loan ($)
$250
Avg. FTE fully-loaded cost ($K/yr)
$85K
Annual loan volume (# of loans)
5,000
3-yr net ROI
—
after all program costs
Year 1 benefit
—
at 25% first-year capture
Payback period
—
months to break even
Savings per loan
—
via automation & AI
—
days removed from avg. loan cycle
—
annual compliance cost reduction
Based on MeridianLink 2025 case study — 54% cycle time reduction; BCG 2024 — up to 40% compliance cost savings
Year 1 benefit breakdown (25% capture)
Labor automation—
Compliance cost reduction—
Cycle time value unlocked—
Rework & exception reduction—
Per-loan automation savings—
Total annual benefit—
Year 1 program investment
Optimus Insights fees
AI Diagnostic Snapshot—
CLEAR Roadmap—
AI Operations Retainer (12 mo)—
Implementation & change mgmt—
Subtotal — consulting fees—
Client-side investment (est.)
Internal staff & project resources$150K
Technology, platforms & data prep$75K
Total program investment—
Client-side estimates reflect median spend for a regional bank of this size. Consulting fees reflect Optimus Insights pricing. Schedule a call to scope your specific engagement.
3-year cumulative benefit vs. cumulative investment
Cumulative benefit
Cumulative investment
Breakeven: calculating…
Benefit ramp reflects partial first-year capture (25% Year 1 → 65% Year 2 → 90% Year 3). Based on industry research showing regional banks typically realize 20–30% of theoretical AI savings in Year 1 as implementation matures. Investment declines after Year 1 as one-time costs are replaced by ongoing maintenance and retainer only.
CoreLabor automation (15–28% of FTE cost): McKinsey Global Banking Annual Review 2025 — agentic AI projected to lower bank operational costs by 20% or more. Conservative scenario uses 15% floor of published range.
NewProductivity uplift (35% in 12 months): KPMG July 2025 banking transformation report — published case study of a bank implementing intelligent automation and straight-through processing, achieving 35% sustainable productivity uplift over 12 months.
CoreCompliance cost reduction (20–40%): BCG 2024 — institutions adopting AI with specialist teams see up to 40% cost reductions in compliance and settlement. Conservative uses 20% floor.
CoreCycle time reduction (25–54%): MeridianLink 2025 case study — application-to-approval time cut from 177 hrs to 82 hrs (54%). Fannie Mae: lenders using AI report 30–50% processing time reductions and 29% average decrease in operational costs.
NewPer-loan savings ($750–$1,500/loan): Freddie Mac May 2025 — enhancements to AI-powered Loan Product Advisor estimated up to $1,500 savings per loan for lenders fully utilizing automation.
NoteImplementation reality: Deloitte 2026 Banking Outlook — only 4 of 50 banks tracked by Evident in 2025 reported realized AI ROI. These projections assume process-first implementation. Technology deployment alone does not produce these outcomes.
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