Leaders in Lending

"We should remember to always look back at ourselves and realize the power of what we can do if we push the ball forward," said Dave Girouard, Upstart's Co-Founder and CEO at Upstart's inaugural event - boosted. 
boosted was first in Upstart's annual conference to spur discussion around the future of AI and finance.
Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Upstart, gives an insider view on what took place at boosted, including the line-up of A-list speakers in the FinTech space.
Marc Benioff kicked off the 3 day event with a conversation about not just what business is doing for profit, but for changing the world for the better. Dave Girouard, Upstart’s CEO, discussed inclusive lending and how broader access to credit is key to unlocking the American dream for more borrowers.
Hear about these key moments and highlights from Boosted:
How many Americans are being left out of the credit system despite being creditworthy
Trends in the consumer lending space- including lending in emerging markets
Politics, the regulatory landscape and how that might impact financial institutions
The future applications of cryptocurrency
An inside view from Washington on emerging technologies like AI   


Upstart will be posting more from this event, so keep an eye on Jeff and Upstart’s social media.
More information about Jeff and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkeltner/
Company Website: https://www.upstart.com/  


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.

Member loyalty isn’t what it used to be. 
Once upon a time, loyalty was the product of proximity, or due to a family or friend recommendation. 
But loyalty has changed. It’s gone from loyalty to a provider, to loyalty to an experience. 
On this episode of Leaders in Lending, we sit down with Rick Jarrar. Rick is the Chief Lending Officer at Kemba Financial Credit Union, and our conversation was all about: 
How to gain and retain member loyalty
The evolution of the branch from transactional to advisory services
The surge in BNPL payments and its impact
The applications of cryptocurrency


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.

When you’re applying AI from scratch, there are a few lessons to keep in mind. One that stands out is to ensure the machine learning solution is well suited to the problem.
Here’s the story of how we evolved our ML strategy at Upstart.
Hear about how to apply AI in the lending environment from Leaders in Lending host Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Upstart:
Challenges to overcome at the beginning stage of the ML journey
Why feature engineering and first-party data build on each other
The evolution of Upstart’s underwriting model
Shifting from manual to automatic identity verification
How to attain more interesting predictions and apply them in the credit industry
Mitigating risk with creativity


More information about Jeff and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkeltner/ 
Company Website: https://www.upstart.com/ 
Ep. 41 - Back to Basics: AI Lending 101 w/ Jeff Keltner: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-basics-ai-lending-101/id1561389602?i=1000548218905


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.

Credit unions take pride in satisfying the needs of their members. However, many credit unions are overlooking a key way to bring more value to their members—partnering with fintechs. 
Charles Krawitz, Senior Vice President, Chief Capital Markets Officer & Head of Commercial Lending at Alliant Credit Union, joins the show to talk about how fintechs enable credit unions to innovate product offerings and better align with the needs of members. 
We discuss:
What it means to be an innovator in the credit union space
Building an organization that collaborates with fintechs
New product offering opportunities
Incubating innovative ideas with universities and educational institutions 


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.

There are two lending spaces that tend to be underappreciated by many financial institutions: unsecured consumer lending and auto refinancing.

Jay Fee, Vice President of Consumer Banking at PenFed Credit Union, has considerable experience with both. He joins the show to discuss the mechanics of unsecured consumer lending and auto refinancing, and why financial institutions should make the most of these opportunities.

We discuss:
The history of the unsecured consumer lending and auto refi space
How lenders and fintechs can create symbiotic relationships
Why auto refi is an excellent untapped opportunity
How fintechs can help lenders seize the opportunity 



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.

As the CEO & Co-Founder of Sandbox Banking, a company that connects financial institutions with fintechs, Ravi Balasubramanian has an excellent vantage point for all the innovation happening in the banking industry. 
In this episode, he shares the big trends he sees, his advice for banks making strides into digitization and his bold prediction for the future of cryptocurrency. 
We discuss:
How to gain the capacity for faster organizational decision making
The benefits of having different systems in Web3
Rising innovation in banking as a service
Common missteps in banking digitization 


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.

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.

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.

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.

In 2019, Apple Bank wanted to launch an unsecured consumer lending product.  

The demand from customers was there. However, the bank simply didn’t have the requisite experience to create that product alone. 

So, Gordon Levy, Senior Vice President, and the rest of the team at Apple Bank went in search of a partner who could provide both the technical capabilities and the incredible customer experience to really set the product apart. Through that process, they found and began a partnership with Upstart. 

Gordon shares how they came to the decision and how the partnership has panned out. 

We discuss:

The choice between building in-house versus leveraging a third party

The process of implementation and integration

How this product enables banks to serve their communities better

How Apple Bank approaches risk management 

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.