Fintech One•On•One

Vince Passione, CEO of LendKey, on digital network lending

May 1, 2025

Vince Passione, CEO and Co-Founder of LendKey, discusses innovative solutions for community banks and credit unions. He delves into network lending technology that alleviates customer concentration issues. The conversation highlights the evolution of digital lending and the expansion into home improvement loans. Vince also shares insights on changing education financing trends influenced by the CARES Act and emphasizes the importance of engaging younger generations through modern financial strategies. His expertise sheds light on the future of lending in a competitive landscape.

35:38

Episode guests

Vince Passione

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Network lending offers a collaborative approach for credit unions and community banks to efficiently share risk and access broader markets.

The rise in home improvement loans highlights a strategic shift for credit unions, capitalizing on the demand for instant financing at the point of sale.

Deep dives

Network Lending Overview

Network lending represents an innovative approach allowing credit unions and community banks to collaborate more effectively in lending. By agreeing to common underwriting and pricing, these institutions can reduce their entry costs and time to market for various loan types. This method provides a way to syndicate loans in real-time, enabling distribution of risk across multiple financial institutions, which enhances capital management. Overall, network lending fosters an environment where smaller institutions can collectively access larger markets and liquidity, driving mutual benefits.

Intro

2min

Evolution of Digital Lending: From Community Focus to Network Collaboration

4min

The Expansion of Home Improvement Loans in Digital Lending

2min

Evolving Lending Practices in Credit Unions

7min

Strategies for Engaging the Younger Generation in Finance

1min

Navigating Student Financing Dynamics

19min

One of the big challenges for community banks and credit unions is that they often have a very concentrated base of customers. The vast majority of their accounts could be with people and businesses within a 100-mile radius. While setting up digital tools can allow these banks and credit unions to expand beyond their home base, this comes with a lot of expense and complexity. When it comes to lending programs there is a much simpler alternative.

My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Vince Passione, the CEO and C0-Founder of LendKey. I last had Vince on the show all the way back in 2016, so a lot has changed since then. They have created this new technology they call network lending which solves for the problem of customer concentration for credit unions and banks, at least when it comes to the lending side of the balance sheet.

In this podcast you will learn:

The highlights of LendKey's evolution over the last nine years.
Their long partnership with Navy Credit Union.
How they have expanded into the home improvement market.
The impact of the CARES Act on their education financing business.
How the needs of credit unions have been evolving.
The changes that will impact the ParentPLUS and GradPLUS lending programs.
What differentiates those credit unions that can go after the younger generation and those that can't.
Why private student loans will have to take up the slack, particularly for graduate student loans.
How their network lending programs work.
Why network lending is a great way for credit unions to diversify their portfolio.
How they decide who becomes the lender of record for these loans.
Why they launched ALIRO in 2021 to allow others to set up their own lending networks.
What the next five to ten years look like for LendKey.

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