Blog · 15 posts
Insights for commercial lenders
Notes on underwriting automation, AI in regulated lending, examiner expectations, and the operational changes community banks and credit unions are working through. Field reports, not generic AI commentary.
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Tiered Ownership and Global Cash Flow in Commercial Lending
How lenders trace K-1 income through tiered LLC ownership, avoid double-counting distributions, and automate global cash flow with citations.
How Small Banks Compete With Large Banks on Loan Turnaround Time
How small banks compete with large banks on loan turnaround time by fixing manual spreading, memo prep, and credit round-trips without weakening credit discipline.
OCC Bulletin 2026-13: Community Bank AI Underwriting
OCC Bulletin 2026-13 does not create AI-specific underwriting rules, but it changes how community banks should classify, validate, and govern vendor models.
What Examiners Actually Ask About AI in Lending
The 5 AI lending questions examiners actually ask, what weak answers sound like, and what good governance looks like in practice.
Your Analysts Are Already Using ChatGPT on Loan Files
Your best analysts are pasting borrower tax returns into ChatGPT. The problem is not the analysts. The problem is that your institution has no governance around the AI tools already in use.
Your Loan Data and AI: What Banks Actually Need to Know
A practical walkthrough of how AI processes bank loan data, what the real risks are, and what controls matter - from the infrastructure layer to the examiner conversation.
Stop Ripping and Replacing Your LOS Every Time AI Gets Better
The AI landscape is moving too fast for 18-month rip-and-replace projects. Banks that win will layer intelligence with existing systems—so upgrades are seamless, not disruptive.
The Underwriting Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About
Legacy LOS vendors bolt on AI features while their users route around the problem with ChatGPT. The real solution requires software built for a world where AI exists.
Tax Return Spreading for Commercial Loans: How It Works, Why It's Painful, and What's Changing
Tax return spreading is one of the most time-consuming steps in commercial loan underwriting. Learn how the process works, why it's a bottleneck, and how AI automation is changing it.
How to Calculate DSCR for a CRE Loan: Formula, 1.20x Threshold, Examples
How to calculate DSCR for a commercial real estate loan, step by step: the formula, NOI build, the 1.20x minimum most lenders require, stress tests, and a worked global cash flow example.
Your Borrower Owns 7 LLCs. Good Luck With That Spreadsheet.
When your best borrowers are also your most complex, the spreadsheet becomes the bottleneck — not the credit. Multi-entity deals get killed by process, not risk.
Can We Get This Prioritized for Q2?
Why headcount is no longer an advantage — it's a liability nobody's marked to market. A CTO's case for why small teams with AI are eating large organizations.
The Ratios Are the Summary. The Notes Are the Story.
Audited financials tell two stories. The ratios give you the summary. The footnotes tell you what actually happened. Most underwriters only read one of them.
Lending Is an Information Logistics Problem
Why commercial loan decisions take weeks instead of minutes—and what happens when you treat underwriting as an infrastructure challenge, not an intelligence problem.
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