GFA Federal Credit Union First to Fund Legalized Marijuana Industry in Massachusetts

GARDNER, MA (September 17, 2018) - GFA Federal Credit Union will become the first credit union to bank for the newly legalized marijuana industry in Massachusetts.

“When the Commonwealth legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis, we knew the multi-millions generated by this fast-growing industry would soon become a safety issue, if unbanked,” CEO Tina Sbrega said. “Our board of directors recognizes the need to provide banking services for the safety of our citizens in reducing the cash on the streets, and I applaud them for their vision and commitment to providing public safety.”

Read the entire article here.

Protecting Community Banks From Consolidation

NEW YORK, NY (February 22, 2018) - Consolidation in the banking industry may reap rewards for investors, but it also restricts access to financial services for many communities throughout the United States.

Community banks support many geographic areas underserved by larger banks; more than 16 million people, or one in three counties, rely exclusively on local banks and have no physical access to large banks, according to American Banker. Local banks fund over 60% of small business loans, while holding only 20% of all banking assets.

“Community banks are not only more highly capitalized than larger institutions and therefore better equipped for economic downturns, but their local focus and accountability make them distinctly pro-consumer. These local institutions operate a relationship-based business model that incentivizes customer service and stewardship... [they] reinvest their proceeds into the communities in which they operate, promoting economic growth that begins at the local level,” American Banker reports.

Read the entire article here.

Establishing Credit History for Immigrants: Uncovering an Untapped Market

NEW YORK, NY (February 21, 2018) - Recent immigrants to the United States face an enormous hurdle to building a new life: a nonexistent credit history.

Credit cards, bank loans, cars and real estate all require a solid credit score, and yet immigrants arrive with a blank slate in the American credit score system, regardless of their financial history abroad.

“You could be a billionaire in Australia, come over here and try to apply for a credit card. You're probably going to get rejected if you have no credit footprint in this country,” says Lend Academy founder Peter Renton.

A number of FinTech companies have evolved to serve this overlooked market and maximize opportunities for foreigners to contribute to the American economy. Nova Credit estimates that 10 million immigrants in the past decade would be categorized as prime to super prime if their international credit records were accessible.

Read the entire article here. 

Integrating FinTech and Community Banks

CHICAGO, IL (February 20, 2018) - Community lenders are increasingly finding success in blending the speed and efficiency of financial technology with the personal connection and attention of community banks, according to a new article in American Banker.

"Small-business owners typically want to do business with local financial institutions. At the same time, they don’t want to subject themselves to a longer and clunkier process,” Joel Pruis of Cornerstone Advisors says. Small business owners are “on the go and like to do things digitally, but they also like to have that face-to-face option as well.”

Chicago’s Marquette Bank successfully digitized its lending process and saw its credit memo creation time shorten by 25%.

Read the entire article here.

Is AI a Threat to Fair Lending?

NEW YORK, NY (September 14, 2017) — There are all sorts of legal and technical issues about how lending rules apply to the new breed of online lenders, but here’s a more fundamental one: How sure are they their automated technology is colorblind?

Even if a company has the best intentions of following fair-lending principles, it’s debatable whether the artificial intelligence engines that online lenders typically use —and that banks are just starting to deploy — are capable of making credit decisions without inadvertently lending in affluent sections and not in minority neighborhoods."

To read the entire article, read here.