Frank Gargano

Leaders at the helms of organizations like Georgia United Credit Union, BayPort Credit Union, Blend Labs and more are adapting products such as "soft check" credit scoring, artificial intelligence-powered bots to streamline application reviewal and more.

Leaders of the Dallas-based crypto services platform BankSocial hope to further decentralized finance concepts throughout the industry by using distributed ledger technology to support the proposed Defy Federal Credit Union's offerings of a deposit account and cryptocurrency services.

Top tech news in November: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's appointee to the Office of Financial Technology comes into question, Mint's closure presents opportunities for banks, bank and fintech leaders look toward generative artificial intelligence for innovation and more.

In November's roundup of top banking news: Citigroup approaches newest wave of job cuts and managerial shifts, Truist Financial nearly doubles most-senior executive leadership team, JPMorgan Chase faces regulatory inquiries and more.

Diverse employee resource groups and skill set development programs for identifying rising professionals are key methods for enticing — and retaining — the next generation of tech and business experts, said executives.

Honorees on this year's list of the Most Powerful Women in credit unions have adopted tools powered by AI to help provide 24/7 support to members in a variety of languages, while also expanding access to vital capital for those from underserved communities.

New iterations of tools powered by advanced artificial intelligence will aid banks in generating new value for customers, but the lack of regulatory guidance in this area hinders deeper adoption of the technology, panelists and attendees said at The Clearing House's recent conference.

Experts across the financial services space hold that the White House's new mandates won't bring wholly new rules to the industry, but will hopefully explain what the path forward for governing agencies will look like.

As CEO, Gary Fukuroku has helped turn the Hawaiian-based institution into one of the largest in the state and has raised significant funds to help those affected by this year's wildfires.

Arkansas Federal Credit Union in Little Rock launched a branded calling solution in June through a partnership with First Orion, also based in Little Rock. It has helped reduce declined calls by 21%.

American Banker is proud to recognize the honorees for the second annual Most Powerful Women in Credit Unions.

Developers of lending and other banking tools powered by artificial intelligence say their firms are well positioned to weather regulatory changes, but remain mindful of how government agencies might respond.

Consumer appetites for new loans have slowed in the face of record interest rates, but Sunlight Federal Credit Union's partnership with Avana CUSO helps identify commercial real estate opportunities in markets both local and national.

In October's roundup of top banking news: Navy Federal's contract with the Department of Defense remains in limbo, check fraud takes a bite out of Regions Financial's third-quarter earnings, a Community Reinvestment Act rule gets finalized and more.

The fintech Greenlight Financial has formed a CUSO to expand access to its family banking app and educational resources after strong interest from credit unions.

Mergers may be shrinking the overall number of credit unions, but they have provided valuable scale to those that remain.

The "Get My Rate" tool, launched on Sept. 4 in collaboration with SavvyMoney, tells current and prospective members what loan rates they qualify for without adversely affecting their credit scores.

Amplify Credit Union in Austin provided funding for the construction of 28 tiny homes to create more affordable housing in Round Rock, Texas. Several banks had previously shot down the project.

Corporate One Federal Credit Union is working with CU*Answers to simplify other credit unions' integration with The Clearing House's RTP network.

A laser focus on intended outcomes and crystal clear communication helps maintain progress, according to banking experts.