Zest AI CEO Mike de Vere was thrilled to share insights with Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Michael Barr last week, just one day after his speech at the Financial Inclusion Practices and Innovations Conference, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C.
Vice Chair Barr described how the financial inclusion status quo needs improvement and how fintech innovation can be part of the solution. He noted that “... traditional credit models favor an applicant that already has a sufficient credit history and a file from a credit reporting bureau to qualify for lending. This leads to a catch-22 where lower-income applicants with scant credit history but ample ability to repay are denied access to credit because they do not have a credit history. As a result, many lower-income households, both banked and unbanked, end up using a range of formal and informal services outside the banking system that too often keep households in a cycle of debt.”
As Mike shared with Vice Chair Barr, Zest AI is committed to broadening access to equitable lending so that people aren’t stuck with predatory options. The AI we’ve built has supported $1 trillion in originations, and counting. We build AI lending technology for banks and credit unions who want to use better data and better math to assess all of their customers more effectively and to include borrowers who would have otherwise been left out.
It was a busy week last week, but Mike and Yolanda D. McGill found a moment to snap a selfie!
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It was such a great game! Thanks for hanging out Rob Montoya!