Customers Bank CEO Sam Sidhu has signed a multiyear partnership with OpenAI, which will embed engineers at the company to help it automate lending and client onboarding. The move is part of Sidhu's strategy to get ahead of other banks in the industry's race to adopt artificial intelligence as a tool for transforming itself into a new digital workforce. The partnership aims to improve the bank's efficiency ratio from 49 to the low 40s, which could boost its returns starting next year. The collaboration is expected to be a significant first for a public company earnings call.