The Allied Angle

Mergers, a long-running high-rate environment and a tighter market for executive talent are all putting pressure on how credit unions plan for leadership. In this sponsored episode, Matt Jakubowski of Gallagher’s executive benefits team talks about how credit union boards and executives can attract, retain and prepare the leaders they’ll need five and ten years from now. Matt explains why “what ha...

In this episode of The Allied Angle, Allied Solutions President Bill Gould and OnPath Credit Union President & CEO Jared Freeman talk about what separates an M&A deal that looks good on paper from one that works and share what they've learned from credit union mergers, a credit union buying a bank, and an acquisition that has played out for more than 20 years.   In this episode:  01:54  –...

Members now walk into the branch with an answer already in hand. If every institution eventually runs the same technology and serves up the same information, does the tech stop being the differentiator? Robert Dozier, President and CEO of Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, and Mark Rodriguez, Senior Vice President at Allied Solutions, make the case that it already has. Their argument: as AI b...

Executive benefit programs are one of the biggest financial investments a credit union can make for its leadership team and most of the industry's attention goes to getting them implemented. But what happens after that is where things often go wrong. In this episode, Dale Edwards , Co-founder and CEO, and Matt Morris , VP of Client Relations, of Triscend NP talk about the ongoing servicing, relati...

AI is full of promise for financial institutions — but it also comes with real questions around governance, compliance, and trust. In Part 2 of this conversation, PortX CTO Jon Fancey shifts the lens from what AI is doing today to what it means for FI leaders making decisions right now. From building responsible AI frameworks in a still-evolving regulatory environment, to whether smaller community...

Auto loan risk used to come down to one question: did the borrower pay? Not anymore. Anne Holtzman, SVP of Risk Management Services at Allied Solutions, discusses how fraud, insurance gaps, and a strained recovery system compounds losses across auto lending, often long before recovery ever begins. Anne draws on nearly 40 years in insurance and lending to walk through what's changed, including the...

Financial institutions have been wrestling with integration challenges for decades — legacy cores, fragmented data, and costly point-to-point connections that slow everything down. But AI is starting to change the equation. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Jon Fancey, Chief Technology Officer at PortX, sits down to dig into what the integration problem really looks like on the ground, wher...

If your credit union is offering a 401(k), you're already familiar with the administrative weight that comes with it — the compliance, the fiduciary responsibilities, the vendors you're managing. But there's a newer plan structure that's been quietly gaining traction, and it might change how you think about all of that. In this episode, we're joined by Bob Edgar from The Standard and Morgan Steves...

How do you know if a partnership is actually driving growth — or just adding complexity? In this episode of The Allied Angle, Mark Bugalski , Allied's Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, breaks down what makes a strategic partnership a true force multiplier for banks and credit unions — and what makes it a distraction. Mark shares the framework Allied uses to evaluate every partners...

Credit unions have a built-in advantage that most financial brands spend years trying to earn — member trust. But trust alone isn't a strategy. In this episode of the Allied Angle, Dawn Goldbacher, GVP and Head of Market Strategy and Growth at Franklin Madison joins the show to explore what "member-first" really looks like in practice. Whether you're leading strategy at a credit union, bank, or af...

Credit scores like FICO have been the backbone of lending decisions for decades — but in today’s volatile environment, lenders are finding that a score alone can’t fully explain borrower behavior or forecast what comes next. In this episode of The Allied Angle, Jack Imes (Allied Solutions) and Dr. Joseph Breeden (Deep Future Analytics) break down where traditional scoring falls short — and what le...

In this episode of The Allied Angle, Allied Solutions CEO Pete Hilger reflects on a year that tested financial institutions on every front — from market volatility and elevated fraud losses to regulatory pressure and shifting member expectations. Pete shares candid insights on what 2025 revealed about risk management, leadership, and organizational resilience, and why incremental change is no long...

Fraud didn’t just grow in 2025 — it evolved. In this recap special, The Allied Angle revisits the top fraud conversations of 2025. We connect the big picture (third-party vs first-party vs synthetic) to ground-level fixes: stopping account takeover, hardening card channels, eliminating terminal fallback, and turning security awareness into behavior change. You’ll hear from fraud experts Patrick To...

Younger members expect speed, transparency, and personalization — and credit unions can deliver without chasing every shiny tool. In this episode, Allied's SVP Strategic Initiatives Charlie Peterson joins us to unpack innovation, “The Pizza Effect," and more.   In this episode:   1:01 – Get to know Charlie. 4:02 – Who’s actually walking through the digital and branch doors of credit unions today?...

 In this episode of The Allied Angle, we take an inside look at how executive benefit programs are helping credit unions strengthen leadership continuity, retention, and long-term stability. Joining us are H. David Wright, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, and Matt Morris, VP of Client Relations at TriscendNP, a firm specializing in executive benefit solutions for nonprofit organizations.  Dave...

On this episode of The Allied Angle, Zach Douglass, Director of Bond & Risk Management at Allied Solutions, joins the show to talk about the five loss trends hitting credit unions now. We cover what’s shifted in the last 6–12 months, early warning indicators, fast-acting controls, and the 30–60 day moves that actually reduce exposure.   00:35  Get to know Zach. 03:16  Top 5 loss trends: high f...

In this episode of The Allied Angle, Jeff Marsh, President at Millennium Capital and Recovery Corporation, joins the show to talk about the evolving world of asset recovery. Jeff discusses how lenders can navigate today’s challenges in skip tracing and repossession, the role of technology and compliance, and how Millennium’s award-winning approach helps clients recover assets with transparency and...

How effective is your security awareness training? In this episode of The Allied Angle, Josh Gideon, author and Director, Cyber Risk Management at Allied, joins us to unpack what most financial institutions get wrong about awareness programs and what to do instead. Drawing on decades of experience and research, Josh shares why traditional training falls short, how psychological safety and human be...

In this special Intern Edition of The Allied Angle, we hand the mic to three members of Gen Z — and Allied’s summer internship program — for an honest, unfiltered, and deeply human conversation about how their generation is navigating life, money, and digital fatigue.   Tune in as Kira Right, Alli Johnson, and Eli VanHaaren share their perspectives on what Gen Z needs from financial institutions,...

Allied Solutions’ Nikki Warner sits down with Jeff Kennedy, David Tuyo, and Steve O’Connell to explore strategies for attracting and engaging Gen Z members. From digital-first experiences to employee-driven community impact, and from authentic storytelling to trusted partnerships, these leaders share how they’re evolving to meet changing member expectations — without losing sight of the credit uni...

In this episode, Gabe Krajicek from Kasasa joins us to share how community-based financial institutions can grow, stay relevant, and keep a local-first mindset—no matter their size. We cover game-changing products like the Take-Back Loan, ways to boost engagement with innovative checking accounts, and how thoughtful product design can provide stability in uncertain times. Plus, Gabe offers practic...

In this episode of Client Voices, we explore the rising risks and evolving realities of auto lending in today’s credit union landscape. Joined by Dona Svehla (GTE Financial), Jose Iregui (CUautoFi), and Allied Solutions’ Jack Imes and Anne Holtzman, the conversation dives deep into: 🚗 The impact of extended loan terms and declining vehicle values 📉 Managing rising delinquencies and record-high d...

In this episode, The Allied Angle sits down with Rick Hughes, Senior Vice President, Program Division, from Equity Protection Powered by NFP to explore the latest trends and growth opportunities in home equity lending. Rick discusses how flexible underwriting, embedded loss protection, and member-friendly pricing empower lenders to expand responsibly, attract new borrowers, and demonstrate sound r...

In this episode of Client Voices: Weathering Financial Storms, Allied Solutions' Mark Rodriguez sits down with three seasoned credit union executives, Allan Prindle (Power Financial Credit Union), Brian Best (GTE Financial), and Mike Miller (iThink Financial), to discuss how they’re navigating today’s most pressing financial challenges. From rising delinquencies and risk management strategies to t...

In this episode of Client Voices, three credit union leaders — Jason Osterhage (Everwise CU), Mike Wilson (Members 1st FCU), and Steve Collins (Fort Financial FCU) — join Allied’s Bill Sarsfield to discuss how they’re navigating digital transformation while staying rooted in their mission. From AI adoption to strategic partnerships and mobile-first implementation, hear how these leaders are turnin...