Meet the AI lending officer: How algorithms are taking over credit decisions

The traditional lending officer is facing their biggest disruption in decades. Generative artificial intelligence is oozing into financial services quickly and deeply enough that it’s already impacting how we evaluate credit risk and make lending decisions.

This tension between human judgment and algorithmic precision is the latest focus in our ongoing AI series exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming financial services.

Joining us are Jonathan Kolozsvary, Global Head of Small Business at Visa, who brings insights on how transaction data can unlock lending opportunities that traditional credit models miss. And Patrick Reily, co-founder of Uplinq and Malcolm Baldrige Award recipient, whose AI predictive models are already being used by the Federal Reserve.

Together, they tackle a critical question: Are we witnessing the evolution of the lending officer, or are we approaching a future where algorithms handle what humans have done for generations? The answer will shape the future of lending and the broader relationship between technology and trust in financial services.

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AI as a solution to small business credit gaps

Traditional lending has left small businesses dramatically underserved despite their economic importance. As Patrick Riley explains, “small business makes up 44% of the US economy…but only about two and a half percent of loans on bank balance sheets are small business loans.” AI can address this gap by handling the complexity that has made small business lending so challenging for traditional methods.

The need for real-time data in modern underwriting

Traditional credit models rely on outdated, static information that doesn’t reflect the dynamic nature of small businesses. Jonathan Kolozsvary from Visa explains that banks have “historically been a traditional underwriting model…that has really only viewed small businesses either on their consumer history, first with a thin or flat file, or as the small business grows…static or transactional data alone, when in reality, a small business owner and the ebbs and flows of their cash flow is really predicated on more market dynamic data.”

Collaboration over disruption in financial services

Rather than replacing traditional banking, AI represents an opportunity for enhanced partnership between fintechs and established institutions. As Riley notes, “what you have now is much more collaboration…really taking advantage of what they do very, very well, and then equipping them with the tools to then reach deeper.” This collaborative approach leverages each party’s strengths rather than creating unnecessary competition.

Read the transcript (TS Pro subscribers)