Freedom Bank has integrated Vine Financial’s commercial lending technology to improve its service to local businesses. 

Through Vine’s platform, the Columbia Falls, Mont.-based bank can automate financial risk spreading, customer loan workflows and document generation, according to a May 8 Freedom release. The automation enables staff to concentrate on building and maintaining customer relationships.

“Our bank was using two different platforms for financial analysis, simple Excel and a well-known underwriting platform,” Vice President Cameron Johnson told Bank Automation News. “Using two different platforms leads to inconsistency and inefficiency amongst our team members.” 

The flexibility of the platform has been a huge plus, Johnson said. “The other underwriting platform that the bank was using was very rigid and had a pretty steep learning curve, which left us very dependent on our credit analysts to perform reviews.” 

“The ability to have Vine scan tax returns and analyze them without the need for manual data entry has been a timesaver for us,” Johnson said. “Consistent output on each credit [report]  from each lender has also made our credit approval process more efficient.” 

An AI-driven financial analysis narrative feature recently released by Vine will lead to even more time savings because the lender or credit analyst won’t have to review and manually complete a summary of the borrower’s financial condition, Johnson said. 

Vine uses AI to read documents and extract data from the correct fields, including type of document and year, co-founder and Chief Executive David Eads told BAN.  

The fintech can customize its platform to meet FIs’ specific needs “because when the data reads in, it shows up in the familiar spreading format the lender is used to, so it’s easy to read and analyze,” Eads said. 

The $942 million bank began integration in November 2024 and launched the platform in February, Freedom’s Johnson said. 

Oracle launches AI-driven automated tool 

Tech giant Oracle has launched services to modernize FI lending and collections. 

The tool uses AI-driven underwriting to reduce institutions’ risk, Sovan Shatpathy, senior vice president of product management and development of banking, financial services and insurance at Oracle, told BAN. 

The solution will be available as a micro service on the Oracle Banking Cloud Service platform, which also offers services such as digital banking and customer relationship management, Shatpathy said. 

The solution can be used for mortgages, credit cards, auto and personal loans, he said, adding that it also helps in loan servicing. 

It uses AI to track potential delinquencies, called “proactive risk management,” by monitoring bank balances and payment patterns, Shatpathy said. 

The AI tool also boosts recovery rates on delinquencies because it can tell banks what kind of outreach a consumer should get for a higher likelihood of a response, Shatpathy said. 

Oracle didn’t disclose how many clients have been using the solution in its beta phase but told BAN that many of its cloud customers are inquiring about it as automated lending gains traction in the industry. 

Navy Federal Credit Union, Santander and HSBC are among Oracle’s clients. 

Banque Raiffeisen selects nCino for digital lending  

Luxembourg-based cooperative bank Banque Raiffeisen has teamed up with cloud banking solutions provider nCino to upgrade its loan and credit chain management. 

The $10 billion bank will use nCino’s loan origination system, which features tools for workflow automation, processing, real-time reporting, document management and digital loan filing. 

The tech provider is seeing significant demand for digital and automated lending solutions, Natalia Moose, global head of brand marketing and communications at nCino, told BAN. 

“Financial institutions are actively seeking smarter, faster approaches to meet evolving customer expectations while navigating an increasingly competitive lending environment,” Moose said, adding that AI is accelerating the trend. 

The convergence of data analytics, automation and AI capabilities represents a paradigm shift in lending, and forward-thinking institutions are moving quickly to capitalize on these advancements, Moose said. 

This year, nCino launched AI-driven solutions including:  

• Continuous Credit Monitoring;  

• Quick Quote; and  

• Mortgage Advisor. 

These solutions are designed to streamline lending workflows, improve risk management and accelerate decision-making, Moose said. 

“With tools like Banking Advisor, nCino is using AI to enhance every stage of the lending lifecycle, helping banks, credit unions and IMBs and other financial institutions deliver faster, more personalized experiences while improving operational efficiency and outcomes,” she said. 

Banque Raiffeisen offers credit cards, housing loans, personal loans, auto loans and student loans, according to the bank. 

The two platforms will be connected via APIs, and nCino will aid Banque Raiffeisen with maintaining regulatory compliance, Moose said.