LEND360 is just weeks away (October 12-14) and we can’t wait to see you in Austin for one of the year’s biggest events for the leaders in online lending, where we explore fintech industry trends and new technologies impacting consumer lenders, small business lenders, service partners, investors, bank representatives, and more.
As has become one of our hallmarks, the agenda for this year’s event is loaded with premium-tier content sessions and speakers, providing our attendees with the strong, actionable, and relevant content they’ve come to expect. An overview of the agenda and breakout sessions is available here and there’s still time to register before prices go up after October 8.
You especially won’t want to miss the keynote address by Sherrie Rees, Chief Executive Officer of First Electronic Bank. Sherrie brings more than 30 years of experience in financial services leadership, and her career spans banking operations, financial management, and executive governance. She’s is recognized nationally for her ability to lead organizations through growth while maintaining a strong focus on regulatory discipline, operational excellence, and long-term sustainability.
We sat down with Sherrie to offer our LEND360 audience an exclusive preview of her presentation and her thoughts on how the industry is changing.
With more than 30 years of experience in financial services leadership, what do you see as the most significant changes in the financial services industry and what are the biggest impacts of those changes?
When I began my career, it was traditional banking—branches, traditional products, and banks were geographically constrained. Today, banking is digital, embedded, and increasingly integrated into consumers’ everyday lives.
Early in my career, as an assistant controller, the National Bank I was employed at began a program where the legal department handed accounting and treasury a contract for a program where we—the bank—funded loans and sold them back to the retail company two days later. We tracked the loans and all activity in Excel. There was no compliance officer or compliance department. The words ‘due diligence’, ‘oversight’, and ‘consumer protection’ were not used. You can see how the unsavory term, “Rent-a-Charter” was born.
Today, we call this Strategic Partnership, and 60 percent of my staff work in the compliance department. I consider us in the Oversight and Relationship business. The ability for banks and fintechs to combine their strengths has created opportunities that neither could have achieved independently. Fintechs bring innovation, speed, customer experience, and specialized expertise. Banks bring structure, transparency, risk management, and compliance. Banks and fintechs are now collaborating to create experiences, and consumers expect the experience to be seamless, instantaneous, and personalized.
Ultimately, the banks that will succeed are the ones that can combine innovation with trust.
Now, to take a forward-view, where do you see the market in this space going?
I believe we’re entering a new phase where the winners won’t be determined simply by who has the best technology. They’ll be determined by who can use technology responsibly to improve consumer outcomes.
AI will undoubtedly transform lending by helping organizations make faster decisions, improve fraud detection, enhance servicing, and create more personalized customer experiences. But I don’t think the future is about replacing human judgment.
We’re moving beyond the “grow at all costs” era toward an environment where profitability, risk management, and the customer experience matter just as much as innovation. But most importantly, I believe consumers will continue to demand credit products that are simple, transparent, and tailored to their needs. The bank/fintech partnerships that can deliver that experience responsibly will be the ones that thrive.
Are there any areas of the modern banking and financial services ecosystem that you think are important but that we aren’t talking about enough?
We’re not talking enough about financial health and consumer outcomes. Fintechs are getting very creative with new deposit and lending products. The industry spends a lot of time discussing technology, AI, regulation, and innovation, all of which are important. But at the end of the day, our success should be measured by whether we are improving people’s financial lives.
Access to credit, speed, and convenience matters, but so does helping consumers build resilience, improve their financial standing, and move closer to their goals.
I also think we need to spend more time discussing trust, which has always been the foundation of banking. But it’s easy to take for granted when we’re focused on technology and growth. Trust and transparency will become the greatest competitive differentiators.
In my view, the industry’s greatest opportunity is not simply to make financial services more digital. It’s to make them more meaningful, accessible, and beneficial for the people we serve. Technology will continue to change banking, regulations will evolve, and consumer expectations will rise. But the fundamental mission remains the same: helping people achieve their financial goals safely, responsibly, and with confidence. The tools may be different, but the purpose hasn’t changed.
I often think of It’s a Wonderful Life, where George Bailey explains that banking isn’t about money sitting in a vault. It’s about helping people buy homes, start businesses, and pursue their aspirations. More than 75 years after that film came out, that’s still true. The technology has changed dramatically, but the mission hasn’t. Our job is to connect capital to opportunity and to earn trust every single day. That’s as important in 2026—the age of AI and fintech partnerships—as it was in Bedford Falls in 1946.
Thank you so much for these initial thoughts. We can’t wait to hear the full exchange between you and Block’s Jer Wood on the keynote stage.
