Leaders in Lending

Customer needs are changing, and along with them, borrowing behaviors. How does this impact consumer lending and banking? Rich Longo, Investor and Growth Advisor at Nxtsoft, joins the show to share his insights into the trends that are reshaping the financial landscape. We discuss: - Where younger generations are getting financial advice - How Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and eCommerce are changing th...

In traditional finance, the system runs on a centralized infrastructure and the burden of trust falls on people. In decentralized finance (DeFi), the burden of trust falls on smart contracts and on code. According to today’s guest, Ryan Berkun, Founder & CEO at Teller Finance, financial institutions are going to dive into DeFi in a big way over the next 12 months. Do you need a primer on all thing...

We've talked about AI a lot on this show, but we’ve never explained what it is exactly. In this first part of a series of episodes explaining AI, we’re going back to the basics. Host Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Upstart, explains the key components of AI, the use cases in lending environments, and some common challenges with machine learning and AI. Topics covered...

Banks can no longer afford to play it safe when it comes to their digital capabilities. “Safe” is now risky. That’s why, in this episode, Tony Hejna, EVP, Consumer Bank Chief Credit Officer at KeyBank, joins the show to share the secrets behind moving fast (without breaking things) and maintaining an edge in a highly regulated and increasingly competitive landscape. Join us as we discuss: - The 3...

Financial institutions, particularly community banks, are experiencing a paradigm shift in the architecture of banking. While the idea of stitching together the banking experience has always been present, we’re finally seeing a truly connected ecosystem due in part to the technological acceleration that’s taken place in the past 3 to 5 years. In this episode, Nitin Mhatre, CEO of Berkshire Bank, d...

How we grow digitally and use aids such as AI to accelerate current processes have been hot topics in the finance space for a while. And through the conversations we’ve had on Leaders in Lending, we’ve gained some invaluable insights. In this special recap episode, Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President Business Development at Upstart, takes the time to discuss the show's biggest themes and some take...

Only 82% of the US population can be scored using conventional credit scores. That unscorable 18% is overwhelmingly comprised of marginalized communities—and that extreme disparity is unacceptable in this day and age.  However, things are changing. Alternative data sources are opening the door for lenders to offer credit products to marginalized communities in ways that do not create more risk. Le...

Connecting with new and existing customers for financial institutions has been a challenge to execute. But with so much opportunity, it’s something financial institutions can’t afford to miss out on. We speak with Jonathan Gagliano, EVP, GM Financial Services at Merkle, Inc., about what he sees, what works, and what to look forward to in regards to customer service. We discuss: - The right tech in...

Banking is changing.  The industry is at a transformation point. Consumers by and large have shown that they are ready to conduct their banking online. And the events of the last year have only accelerated this trend.  In this re-run episode, Richard Hunt joins us to talk about what all the changes mean for the future of banking. Richard formerly worked for SIFMA, a securities industry trade assoc...

In the modern world, financial institutions are looking to strike a delicate balance between offering consumers easy transactional interactions online and offering more relational services by phone or in person. The banks and credit unions that continue to adapt and to figure out how to add value in the way consumers want these days are the ones that will survive in the evolving landscape Nathanae...

Building trust and loyalty in the digital age is an ongoing challenge many businesses face. The question always comes down to: What investments should you be making to enable a digital experience that will leave your customers wanting more? Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Development at Upstart and the host of the show, shares his thoughts on what your financial institution needs to succeed...

As community-based institutions, credit unions are well positioned to truly understand the unique needs of their members. With digital platforms and evolving technologies transforming the landscape, credit union leaders have an opportunity to capitalize on the digital wave to grow and better meet the needs of their members - any time and any place. Yet, navigating this new terrain can be complicat...

Digital-only banks face a particular challenge: How do you create that human touch without having the physical human touch? As a branchless entity, Axos Bank has been tackling this tricky problem for the last 20 years. Anthony Capizzano, the institution’s SVP of Direct Consumer Lending, joins the show to share the different ways they maintain a high-quality, high-touch relationship with their cons...

Cash is up and loan demand is down. One way to navigate this challenge is by driving demand through personalized marketing. Personalization is especially effective for credit unions. After all, as community-based organizations, they’re most effective when they are interacting with their communities at all times. Chad Van Handel, Chief Lending Officer at Unison Credit Union, shares why personalizat...

The old paradigm in banking involved developing a product and turning to life-stage marketing to sell that product to customers. But that paradigm is evolving. Financial Institutions are identifying customer needs and providing solutions regardless of what the product is, rather than hawking a product In this episode, Ted Krus, Director o f Consumer and Indirect Lending at Flagstar Bank explains t...

Around 15 years ago, non-bank financials had about 20% of the share of mortgage originations. Today, they have over 60% of the share. Why? It’s because they are 100% focused on the quality of the experience. That’s exactly what banks need to do to get back in the game. Matt Cammarota, Head of Retail Lending at Liberty Bank in Connecticut, joins the show to discuss why process transformation, in an...

Around the time of the Great Recession, there weren’t many lenders originating educational loans. Most of them had exited the business because of the volatility of the market. This void opened up the perfect opportunity for credit unions to help consumers achieve their educational goals while lowering the average age of their membership at the same time. Vince Passione, Chief Execut ive Officer an...

Credit Union National Association , or CUNA, represents 5,000 credit unions in the United States serving more than 120 million americans. In partnership with a network of state credit union leagues and associations, CUNA advocates on behalf of its members and works to ensure that they are able to improve their members’ financial well-being and advance the communities they serve. Ryan Donovan , Exe...

Throughout history, most financial institutions have viewed loans as commodity products. Pricing and distribution — the economics of the selling model — have been the primary differentiators when bringing loan products to market. However, according to Richard Wada , Chief Lending Officer at Patelco Credit Union, there’s a huge opportunity to differentiate through exceptional experience, and more i...

It’s tough for smaller credit unions to compete in a digital transformation world. Most of the time, they just don’t have the IT budgets to play in that space. But with the help of credit union service organizations, or CUSOs, and fintech partnerships, credit unions can close the gap in the digital divide. In this episode, Drew Megrey, CEO of Ohio Teamsters Credit Union, shares how credit unions a...

No matter how many shiny advertisements fintechs put out, it would be a mistake to confuse them for omens marking the end of traditional financial institutions like credit unions. Credit unions have been building something for generations no fintech can compete with them on: trust. Fintechs won’t replace credit unions — but the successful ones from both camps will partner with one another. That’s...

When it comes to the future of banking, the best service may be no service at all. In other words, the best service may be self-service. Mark Pregmon, GM of Consumer Lending Line of Business at USAA, joins the show today to share his thoughts on why building things digitally requires a different way of thinking and why making processes fast, easy, and simple is the key to customer satisfaction. At...

In a digital world, legacy core banking systems just aren’t allowing banks to meet the demands of the modern customer. With the rise of digital banking, cloud core banking systems are entering the picture. Tyler Craft, SVP, Head of VirtualBank & Fintech at First Horizon Bank, shares why his team decided to transition the VirtualBank brand to a cloud core system and how the lessons from that experi...

With the shift to digital, people are coming into retail branches less often — but for more important things. Because of this transition, banks are making the switch to experiential banking — less focused on routine transactions and more on becoming trusted financial advisors.  In this episode, Jim Wechsler, Chief Retail Lending Officer at WSFS Bank, shares how his bank has been transitioning to t...

In modern banking, survival depends on meeting the needs of the modern consumer, whether that’s through digital transformation or through new products and services. But many banks don’t have the capabilities or the resources to manage that on their own. That’s where fintech partnerships can really help move the business forward. In this episode, Barry Cooper, Chief Sales Officer at First Federal B...