The Allied Angle

In this episode of The Allied Angle, Allied Solutions President Bill Gould and OnPath Credit Union President & CEO Jared Freeman talk about what separates an M&A deal that looks good on paper from one that works and share what they've learned from credit union mergers, a credit union buying a bank, and an acquisition that has played out for more than 20 years.   In this episode:  01:54  – Meet Bill and Jared.  08:02 – How Securian’s acquisition of Allied influenced Bill’s approach to M&A.   11:36 – Jared’s experience guiding OnPath’s M&A journey.  13:54 – Why the best M&A strategies start with a specific problem to solve and aren’t necessarily about growth.  15:44 – "How should a leader should decide whether to build it, buy it, invest in it, or partner with it?"  17:13 – How leaders should factor technology into an acquisition, and when to bring in outside help.  22:19 – Why culture is the hardest piece to measure and the easiest to underestimate.  28:23 – How to know whether a deal delivered what it was supposed to.  32:24 – The difference between being ready to sign a deal and being ready to do the work that comes after it.  37:36 – The difference between a deal that closes and a deal that works.

Members now walk into the branch with an answer already in hand. If every institution eventually runs the same technology and serves up the same information, does the tech stop being the differentiator? Robert Dozier, President and CEO of Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, and Mark Rodriguez, Senior Vice President at Allied Solutions, make the case that it already has. Their argument: as AI becomes table stakes, trust becomes the scarce resource, and the institutions that own it will have something the technology can't replicate.   In this episode:   0:43 Get to know Mark and Robert  8:29 The AI modernization paradox: How leaders are navigating both opportunities and risks associated with AI adoption.  11:50 Building trust with the member when access to information stops being a differentiator.  17:52 Maintaining trust in communication in an age where deepfakes and impersonators grow in sophistication daily.  26:15 The impact AI and fraud have on member education.  28:46 Being top of wallet: How building trust is a growth strategy.  31:47 What does it take to earn the words trusted partner?  39:55 "The more technology we introduce, the more valuable authentic human interactions can become."  42:57 As AI becomes more ubiquitous, what separates the institutions people trust most from everyone else?  46:56 The one thing FIs should aggressively automate versus the one thing they should never automate.

Executive benefit programs are one of the biggest financial investments a credit union can make for its leadership team and most of the industry's attention goes to getting them implemented. But what happens after that is where things often go wrong. In this episode, Dale Edwards, Co-founder and CEO, and Matt Morris, VP of Client Relations, of Triscend NP talk about the ongoing servicing, relationship, and partnership standards that credit union leaders should be expecting from their executive benefit providers — and often aren't getting. From annual plan reviews to proactive check-ins to the "set it and forget it" failure pattern, this conversation covers the full lifecycle of an executive benefit program and why it matters far beyond the initial implementation.   In this episode:   00:00 — Intro  00:53 — Meet the Guests: Dale Edwards & Matt Morris 02:26 — Icebreakers: The Angle Accelerator Q&A 04:52 — What Does It Mean to Actively Service a Benefit Program? 07:15 — Setting the Cadence: Annual Reviews & Ongoing Check-Ins 08:20 — Where the Industry Falls Short After Implementation 10:32 — Leading with Product vs. Process: The "Hammer & Nail" Problem 11:47 — Vendor or Partner? The TriscendNP Philosophy 13:00 — What a Credit Union Needs to Bring to the Table 14:34 — The One Thing Credit Unions Most Often Lack 15:48 — How the Relationship Impacts Executive Talent Retention 17:05 — Key Takeaways for Credit Union Leaders 19:51 — Closing & Where to Learn More     Sponsored by TriscendNP.

AI is full of promise for financial institutions — but it also comes with real questions around governance, compliance, and trust. In Part 2 of this conversation, PortX CTO Jon Fancey shifts the lens from what AI is doing today to what it means for FI leaders making decisions right now. From building responsible AI frameworks in a still-evolving regulatory environment, to whether smaller community institutions can actually compete with mega-banks, to a sneak peek at what PortX is building next — this episode is where the technology story meets business reality.   In this episode:   00:59  Skepticism over governance of AI when it’s embedded in your integration and data platforms. 03:10   Building for compliance when the rules are still being written. 05:47   What does the integration layer of a financial institution look like when AI is fully embedded? 10:10   Is there a future where AI essentially makes integrations self-healing? 12:03   Does AI change the dynamic between community institutions and big banks when it comes to technology adoption? 14:13   The one thing the industry is getting wrong about AI and integration right now. 19:24  “You don’t have to understand everything about AI to lead the revolution.” 21:12   Final thoughts from Jon on the future of AI.

Auto loan risk used to come down to one question: did the borrower pay? Not anymore. Anne Holtzman, SVP of Risk Management Services at Allied Solutions, discusses how fraud, insurance gaps, and a strained recovery system compounds losses across auto lending, often long before recovery ever begins. Anne draws on nearly 40 years in insurance and lending to walk through what's changed, including the insurance signals that appear about 90 days before a missed payment, the rise in voluntary surrenders and $11,000 deficiency balances, how title washing and lost-lien fraud let borrowers slip away with the collateral, where AI helps and where human judgment still has to lead, and the one mindset shift that separates proactive institutions from reactive ones. A practical listen for risk, lending, and collections leaders at credit unions and banks.   In this episode:    00:53   Get to know Anne. 03:35   The different risks lenders are managing as opposed to just a few years ago. 06:52   How insurance is an early indicator of borrower trouble. 10:57    What’s driving the shift from can’t pay to won’t pay? 14:19    The underlying shift that explains why younger generations are more likely to skip their car payments. 16:25    How fraud that slips through at funding ends up resurfacing and compounding costs at the recovery stage. 22:41    Are lenders looking for a better strategy when it comes to fraud during the loan cycle? 23:55   When a vehicle enters recovery, how much loss has already occurred, and where did it happen? 27:22   How does AI help lending institutions see risk sooner, while still keeping leaders in control? 30:17   The mindset change that separates the institutions getting ahead of this, from the ones stuck reacting.