Prospecting in a cooling economy: find the borrowers still growing in 2026
When activity slows, the winners don’t “call more lists” – they target smarter. What we’re seeing in the marketRecent US data suggests business momentum cooled in December, with growth in activity and new business softening heading into 2026. Reuters At the same time, banks have reported tighter standards for commercial & industrial lending, and demand […]
Holiday season is a stress test for Main Street, and for bank credit teams, too.
Small retailers are dealing with a messy combination: tariff uncertainty, inflation pressure, and shoppers who still show up but buy less per trip. Tariffs don’t hit every category (or every borrower) the same way, and that unevenness is exactly why SMB underwriting needs better peer context. This article piece is a solid snapshot of what […]
Risk isn’t easy to embrace, especially when you’re the one signing the personal guarantee.
When a small business owner decides to apply for a loan, it feels like a straightforward moment: “I need capital to grow.”From a lender’s perspective, it’s a different moment: “Can this business repay through good times and bad, and can we prove it?” That gap creates most of the frustration on both sides. What’s actually […]
Lending Into the Next Rate Cut: Why Better Data Just Became Non-Negotiable
This week, everyone in banking is watching the same thing: What will the Fed do next – and what does it mean for lending? Markets are bracing for another interest rate cut, with expectations that the Fed will lower rates again at its December meeting, taking the funds rate toward the 3.5%–3.75% range. Reuters+1 At the […]
The New Standard: How Explainable AI Is Transforming Commercial Lending
For years, credit decisions relied on manual analysis, static spreadsheets, and an underwriter’s intuition. Today, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are accelerating every step of the lending process, from financial spreading to predictive risk scoring. But as AI enters the credit desk, a critical question has emerged: Can we trust the model’s decision and […]