Blaine Rada, Senior National Trainer & Instructional Designer, Arch MI, joined us on the show to preview his upcoming webinar: "What Starts Well, Ends Well - 12 Steps to Ensure a Smooth Transaction," brought you by CU Members Mortgage continuing Educational Series this year.

​The free webinar occurs on September 9, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. (CST).

Blaine shares with us simple techniques you can use to set loans up for success. From setting realistic expectations, to understanding what drives borrower satisfaction, you’ll discover how to invest your time and effort for maximum return. As an added bonus, you’ll learn how to overcome common loan challenges and a formula for getting exceptions approved.

Some of Blaine's presentation objectives include:

• Learn 3 things that members and Realtors complain about, and more importantly, what you can do about it.
• Discover 6 factors that will likely make or break the loan decision.
• Understand the 3 skills needed to “make your case.”
• Discuss 6 traits of top originators.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And don't forget to sign up for the free webinar to learn much, much more.

Watch the clip above and be sure to check out the full episode located below the show notes.

Scienaptic’s VP of Partnerships, Kathryn Bonesteel and Chad Wilcox, SVP of Lending at Credit Union of Colorado, joined us on the show to share their insights on the rise of artificial intelligence in lending and how early adopters like CU of Colorado are setting the stage to reap the benefits well into the future.

Both Chad and Kathryn talked about what was going on at the credit union that prompted them to look to AI as a solution to enhance its lending efforts. In addition, they discussed the multiple benefits AI can have in the lending department, goals they look to achieve, and some really cool projects in the works -- again, leveraging AI's capabilities.

Fascinating conversation with Kathryn and Chad on how this technology is permeating every corner of a credit union now. Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Watch the clip above and be sure to check out the full episode located below the show notes.

We've been seeing it a lot lately -- credit unions buying banks, that is. Michael Bell, partner and co-chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group at Honigman, LLP, joined us to discuss this latest trend with credit unions and banks.

We asked Michael if this increase in activity is due to the pent up demand from the "hiatus" during COVID in 2020 or something else altogether. He also compared the numbers in 2019 and 2021 -- and credit unions are on par to match 2019's record activity this year.

In addition, Mike talked about the process of a credit union buying a bank. The banking industry portrays this business move as a kind of hostile takeover, when it couldn't be further from the truth. The bank being bought, which happens many, many times annually with banks buying other banks (178 times in 2020), must sign off on the transaction.

So if hundreds of banks are acquiring other banks each year (more than 120 in 2021 already) and there are only dozen or so credit union/bank purchases each year (16 purchases in 2019 -- up from 7 in 2018), what's the big deal here? Michael says, yes, it's news. But in the bigger picture, compared to bank-acquiring-bank activity, it's a drop in a bucket.

Lastly, we asked Michael why banks aren't turning the tables and buying credit unions. Based on merger numbers, there seems to be plenty of candidates -- which brings us to the underlying theme here and that's the continued uptick in consolidation of both banks and credit unions. That message by itself is concerning.

Great conversation with Michael on a hot topic in our industry. Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire interview below for all the details.

Watch the clip above and be sure to check out the full episode located below the show notes.

OneSpan’s Director of Security Solutions/Security Evangelist Will LaSala returned to the show to share his insights on the four technologies driving remote/mobile banking innovation and security. As usual, Will did a splendid job on detailing these technologies and why they are important to credit unions moving forward.

The four technologies consist of:

1. Mobile App Shielding
2. AI-Powered Banks Enhancing Data Aggregation
3. Blockchain Enabled Self-Sovereign Identities
4. Digital Identity Verification

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode with Will below for all the details.

​Text message scams are on the rise and in this Today Show segment, Jim Stickley demonstrates how easy it is from criminals to perform these attacks. Most people receive legitimate text alerts from their financial institution so a malicious text can be very believable. DON'T CLICK EVER. Simply open your mobile app or open a browser and sign into your account. If there is a real fraud alert, you will be notified once you are logged in.

This story originally aired on NBC's TODAY Show.