Leaders in Lending

Latest Episodes:

Forging Fintech Partnerships to Digitally Scale and Create a Holistic View of Data Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

More and more consumers are choosing to conduct their banking transactions online, and as such, financial institutions are adjusting their services to meet the digital moment.
The question becomes, how can smaller institutions create differentiated service offerings for their borrowers on a limited budget?
David Brand, Senior Vice President of Lending Operations at Sharonview Federal Credit Union believes fintech partnerships are crucial to helping smaller institutions, like community banks and credit unions, compete. He also foresees a future where in-branch associates help customers bridge the gap between the old and the new.
In this episode, he talks about the future of banking and the initiatives that Sharonview Federal Credit Union has launched to prepare for it.
We discuss:
The importance of educating customers on self-service capabilities
Applying automation and technology to back-end processes
Managing indirect and direct vehicle financing
Outsourcing financial services to partners
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

How Apple Bank Launched an Unsecured Consumer Lending with Upstart Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

As a long-standing financial institution on the east coast, Apple Bank has weathered the many waves of innovation in the financial sector.
Now that they have rapid digital transformation on their hands, they’re focusing their energy on standing up a best-in-class consumer lending experience.
On this week’s episode, Gordon Levy, Senior Vice President of Risk and Analytics at Apple Bank, joins the show to talk about Apple Bank’s decision to partner with Upstart to launch and scale a successful unsecured consumer lending program.
You’ll learn about…
Why Apple Bank chose to partner with Upstart
The benefit of partnering with a third-party provider
How to get the stakeholders on board
Expanding lending capacity prudently
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Maintaining the Value Chain through Front- and Back-Office Operations Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

The key to navigating the changing tides of customer preference and the digital transformation of the industry lies in understanding your value chain.
Understanding that makes finding the right partner easier, a third party who may be able to add value where it is needed along the chain.
Alex Balagour, EVP & Chief Information Officer at Citizens & Northern Bank, recommends that bankers not lose sight of that value chain because that knowledge can help you make bold choices that will propel your business forward.
Alex talks about the value chain and shares his thoughts on digital technology, customer experience, and the future of banking.
We discuss:
Offering fewer, more flexible banking products
Obstacles preventing a truly frictionless digital experience
Areas to invest in digital technology
The tremendous value of in-person customer interaction
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Cultivating Operations and Culture in a Digital-First Environment with Anna Counselman Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

Anna Counselman views operations through the lens of the customer – that is, understanding the customers’ pain points and ensuring solutions make it onto the product and engineering roadmap.
It’s all about uncovering how to make your product or service better by rallying the relevant teams—product, engineering, and ML—around the single goal of empathizing with the user and solving their problems.
As the Co-founder and Head of People & Operations at Upstart, Anna Counselman knows this process intimately. She shares how Upstart approaches product development and navigates the new era of hybrid work.
We discuss:
Anna’s journey to Upstart
The importance of understanding the customer problem in creating cohesive product and operations teams
Innovative approaches to hybrid work
Key lessons learned from Google
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Fostering Innovation in Credit Cards, BNPL & Credit Management Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

From credit cards to buy now pay later, Jerry O'Flanagan, EVP at First National Bank of Omaha, and his team are pushing the boundaries of what big banks traditionally offer their customers—and they’re overcoming the obstacles formed by legacy systems and processes to do it.
It’s all due to a willingness to go out on a limb and do something truly unique within the institution.
In this episode, we talk about Jerry’s philosophy on innovation and how he operationalizes it within the company. Plus, he shares his thoughts on some of the big trends in banking today.
We discuss:
Building and maintaining a team for a credit program
The impact of buy now pay later
Gaining inspiration for innovation from fintechs
The strategy behind standing up a national digital bank
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

A Fireside Chat with Upstart’s CEO, Dave Girouard Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

Dave Girouard, Co-Founder & CEO at Upstart, believed that young people were "potential rich yet cash poor"—and that dynamic caused them to make poor financial decisions for themselves and the economy as a whole.
There had to be a better way to provide people with affordable access to credit, on reasonable terms, when they needed it.
Using AI and machine learning provided that new way forward.
In this episode, Dave shares how the company came to be and how Upstart provides transformative access to credit for all.
We discuss:
The problem statement for Upstart and the choice to venture into unsecured consumer loans
The application of AI in the credit process
The choice to partner with financial institutions
Adding value in auto, small business, and mortgage loan spaces
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

How to Approve More Borrowers & Lower the Cost of Lending with AI Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

With the help of AI technology, the subjectivity with approving or denying borrowers for credit has been removed and replaced this with objective reasons that every person can work to improve if necessary.
In this episode, Margie Click, CEO & President at Agriculture Federal Credit Union, explains how lending has changed and how AI can help institutions lend more inclusively while minimizing risk.
We discuss:
The 4 Cs of lending & creditworthiness
Finding the right fintech partner
Seizing the opportunity in unsecured loans
The evolution of fraud
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

The Shift from Preventing Risk to Enabling Risk-Adjusted Rewards Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

There’s a delicate balance between balancing risk and reward. Michael Reed, Chief Risk Officer at WSFS Bank, emphasizes how risk managers can partner with business owners to achieve “risk-adjusted rewards.”
In this episode, Reed explains how to bring risk teams and business owners together to achieve an informed decision. He also discusses the importance of end-to-end digital transformation to create an optimal customer experience and evaluating the right fintech partnerships to help achieve this goal.
We discuss:
The philosophy of providing risk-adjusted rewards rather than preventing risk
The symbiotic partnership between banks and fintechs
How the industry is doing at delivering frictionless customer experiences
The interplay between risk and automated digital experiences
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Unlocking Financial Freedom for All: Pioneering an Ecosystem of Connected Financial Solutions Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Consumers have been adopting fintech solutions at an increasing rate. In fact, according to a Harris Poll conducted in conjunction with Plaid, the number of US consumers using fintech grew by 30 points last year to 88 percent.
The advent of open banking has enabled the flow of data from financial institutions into the fintech ecosystem. However, it’s not a one way street—that data is also enabling banks to gain a more complete picture of consumers.
In this episode, Raja Chakravorti, Head of Financial Access at Plaid, explains how this multi-directional flow of consumer data is moving the financial industry towards a world of interoperable financial solutions.
We discuss:
- How Plaid is unlocking financial freedom for all
- The evolution of open finance and open banking
- How banks benefit from a multi-directional flow of financial data
- The shift from data as the advantage to using data to improve the customer/member experience
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

The Steady Adoption of AI & Machine Learning in Credit & Banking Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

The more banks lend, the better they do and the broader their customer base becomes.
With AI & ML, banks can lend to a larger set of customers — those who are perceived as high risk — with a greater level of certainty that there won't be undue losses.
Despite this, many banks and regulators remain uneasy about the outcomes.
Tom Faughnan , EVP & Director of Consumer Lending at Associated Bank , is bullish on the potential of AI & ML. In this episode, he shares what needs to happen for regulators to give fintechs the green light.
We discuss:
- The opportunities and hurdles of AI & ML in credit decisioning
- How to find the right fintech partner in the space
- Aligning internal parties across business lines during the vendor management process
- Navigating the mortgage space as rates rise
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or on our website .
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

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