Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used across many industries today, including banking. According to the American Bankers Association, 79% of banks with over $250B in assets worldwide are already using Generative AI or planning to. Meanwhile, 40% of smaller banks with assets worth less than $10 billion are either using the technology or plan to.
While AI has many applications, AI in digital lending is becoming more prominent as small business owners are seeking faster and easier ways to fund their business ventures. AI lending platforms are helping banks automate underwriting, accelerate the approval process, and deliver more personalized loan experiences for small and midsize businesses.
Let’s explore how generative AI is changing the banking industry.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI refers to a class of artificial intelligence models designed to produce original content—such as writing emails, summarizing documents, generating images, or composing music—by analyzing and learning from large datasets to identify and replicate patterns in language, visuals, and other forms of data.
Commonly used generative AI applications include chatbots and machine learning models, like ChatGPT, which use a combination of algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) to complete a wide range of tasks, including answering questions, writing texts, creating images, and so much more.
Banks have long used AI for tasks like chatbots and fraud detection, but today it’s playing a bigger role in lending and compliance. AI lending platforms streamline loan applications, evaluate borrower risk, detect fraud, and support compliance with evolving regulations.
While there is much excitement about AI in the business world, there are still skeptics when it comes to using it in industries like lending and finance.
As AI adoption grows, banks are becoming aware of its challenges. Some of the most common concerns are scaling AI in banking, integrating large amounts of data, complying with regulations, and infrastructure.
However, banks are quickly finding solutions, including adopting reputable AI lending platforms that use advanced analytics to minimize risks.
Why Small Business Lending Needs Generative AI
Commercial lenders are finding they must navigate away from manual underwriting. Reviewing loan applications, fact checking inputs, looking over financial documents, and determining the risk of a loan can take a lot of time when done the old way.
An added challenge is that many businesses don’t have a lengthy time in business or perfect records.
Generative AI solves these pain points by scanning large amounts of information very quickly. It then condenses important details, assigns how much of a liability a borrower might be to a bank, and can determine if a loan should be issued. The best commercial lending platforms can provide tailored lending solutions that fit specific business needs.
By streamlining workflows, Gen AI saves lenders a tremendous amount of time that can be used to provide better service to customers. Some AI lending platforms also update the loan application process in real-time to keep borrowers and key staff informed.
In the end, Gen AI can help banks approve and issue more small business loans faster by optimizing every step of the approval process. This can help your bank grow its loan portfolios while managing risks.
As larger banks adopt AI technology, smaller banks need to use it as well to be competitive.
The Benefits of AI Lending Platforms
AI in lending is radically changing how lenders operate and process small business loans. Whether you’re a regional bank or credit union, there are many ways an AI-driven SME lending solution can optimize your operations.
Here are some of the use cases for how AI is helping small business lending.
1. Loan Application Processing
AI lending platforms have an easier onboarding process than traditional underwriting. Rather than an extensive amount of time processing loans by hand, Generative AI quickly streamlines the process from end to end. By automating data collection, loan processing times can shrink from several weeks to just a few days in many cases.
2. Document Management
A common complaint from small business owners is the amount of paperwork associated with commercial loans. Generative AI offers several solutions to this by using AI models to sort through large volumes of documents and provide useful and concise summaries. AI-driven document management allows loan applications to be processed in less time, helping borrowers reach their financial goals faster.
3. Automated Risk Management
AI models can analyze a borrower’s creditworthiness using both traditional (credit scores, financial statements) and alternative data (cash flow, payment history, and online reputation).
Generative AI also identifies patterns and calculates risks and issues faster, more accurate credit decisions. Some AI lending platforms also have better credit scoring tools for potential borrowers, like Biz2x’s Portfolio DNA and Credit Scorecards. These advanced tools allow lenders to manage their entire portfolios to maximize protection against common risks.
4. Fraud Detection
Banks and lending institutions using platforms and software integrated with Gen AI increase fraud protection for their portfolios and their customers. For example, Gen AI flags suspicious transactions that don’t fit previous patterns. It also continuously updates fraud detection algorithms to detect new or advanced fraud schemes.
5. Regulatory Compliance
AI lending platforms can help lenders stay compliant with lending laws and regulations by automating documentation, creating audit trails, and ensuring lending decisions are fair and explainable.
6. Personalized Loan Offers
AI can recommend customized loan products based on a borrower’s business needs, financial health, and future goals. This leads to more relevant offerings and higher approval and acceptance rates.
7. Loan Portfolio Monitoring
The most effective AI lending platforms continuously monitor loan portfolios and borrowers for early warning signs of defaults and late payment. If a risk level changes, your bank can be alerted, and its loan servicing staff can reach out to borrowers to make recommendations before the problem worsens.
Strategies for Community Banks When Implementing Gen AI
An AI lending platform powered by Gen AI can help your bank streamline operations, improve efficiency, and modernize its approach to small business lending.
However, there are four strategies to consider to maximize the success of your AI lending platform.
1. Properly Train Your Loan Servicing Team.
Providing adequate training for your bank’s AI lending platform is vital to ensure it’s used effectively. AI can streamline the loan application process and improve efficiency. But if your team doesn’t understand how it works, it can have negative consequences.
Training can also help your staff understand AI’s limitations and determine when human oversight is necessary.
2. Monitor and Evaluate Your System Regularly.
Regularly monitor and evaluate your bank’s AI lending platform to ensure it uses the technology effectively and safely. Have a review process to determine how well it’s performing over time, checking for efficiency, accuracy, and alignment with your bank’s strategic goals.
Look for inconsistencies, compliance risks, and any signs of lending bias. Then, gather feedback from key staff and review the system’s performance to make adjustments and improvements to your AI lending practices.
3. Prioritize Compliance
When adopting an AI lending platform, banks must ensure compliance with regulations like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and fair lending laws. It’s critical to audit AI decisions regularly, provide transparent borrower disclosures, and monitor for bias or data misuse.
It’s also wise to monitor partnerships and third-party companies on your lending platform to ensure they operate ethically and meet regulatory standards.
Also, watch for regulatory changes and stay current with evolving laws and guidance around AI and automated decision-making.
4. Choose Reputable Fintech Partners
Selecting the right technology partners is crucial for the success of any AI lending platform. Prioritize working with Fintech partners and vendors that demonstrate an understanding of financial regulations and have a proven record of complying with laws that are relevant to banking.
Choose partners that have high standards for operational transparency, data security, and consumer privacy. Finally, your technology partners should allow third-party audits and ensure their system easily integrates into your banking systems.
Conclusion
AI lending platforms are helping banks automate underwriting and grow their commercial lending portfolios more efficiently. A commercial lending platform can offer your bank a way to process loan applications more quickly and distribute loan funds faster to borrowers.
Gen AI can also help your bank manage and mitigate risk while growing and managing a more inclusive loan portfolio.
With AI-enhanced capabilities, document management, and real-time insights to better support small businesses, your bank can underwrite more loans without taking on more risks. The best part about AI is that it is customized, so your bank can choose how much automation it wants.
FAQs About AI Lending Platforms
1. How is AI being used in lending?
By automating underwriting, AI speeds up lending while also helping tailor loan offers, spot fraud, and keep everything compliant.
2. What is Generative AI’s role in loan underwriting?
Gen AI analyzes vast amounts of borrower data to generate risk summaries and help banks make faster loan decisions.
3. Is using AI for loan decisions compliant with fair lending laws?
Most of the time, yes, but this depends on the Fintech provider or the platform used. It’s essential to ensure that any AI lending solutions your bank uses are aligned with fair lending practices.
4. Can Generative AI speed up SBA loan processing?
Yes. By using loan origination software, a financial institution can reduce the SBA processing time from a couple of months to less than a couple of weeks.
5. Which SMB lending platform is best for generative AI?
Biz2X is renowned for its tech-forward approach, scalable technology, top-tier AI-powered loan decisioning, and strict adherence to KYC requirements. But more than that, banks that partner with Biz2X for their AI lending platform receive invaluable guidance and training on how to leverage the platform for maximum success.
Contact Biz2X and ask for a demo to learn how Gen AI can transform small business lending for your bank and its customers.
