NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Well Fargo has

hired former BNY executive Bridget Engle as its new head of

technology, according to a release seen by Reuters.

Engle who will also be part of the bank's operating

committee, reporting to CEO Charlie Scharf, is tasked with

looking at technology across the firm.

Scharf said the appointment will be important as the bank

continues to modernize its platforms and invest in scale in a

bid to increase innovation across the company.

The bank also announced the appointment of Tracy Kerrins to

lead a new generative AI team to help drive its adoption across

the bank.

"Generative AI can help us transform our businesses, improve

our customer and client experiences and enhance the way we

work," Scharf said.

The fourth largest U.S. bank also emphasized investing in

technology in an attempt to grow its business during its second

quarter earnings earlier this month.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) still operates under a $1.95 trillion asset cap

that prevents it from growing until regulators deem it has fixed

problems from a fake accounts scandal. It still has eight open

consent orders.

While the bank has not revealed its technology budgets, some

of its larger peers such as JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) have set

aside a $17 billion tech budget for this year and have said that

implementing AI could add about $1 billion to $1.5 billion in

value for the bank.

(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York)