As we wrap up the year, this special holiday episode of The Fintech Combine brings together industry leaders to reflect on where credit unions are headed and how innovation continues to shape the future of community-based financial institutions. From collaboration and technology to growth strategies and evolving member expectations, this conversation looks back on the lessons of the past year while offering thoughtful perspective on what lies ahead. It’s a timely, end-of-year discussion focused on progress, possibility, and the people driving meaningful change across the credit union ecosystem.

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In this episode of The Fintech Combine, host Kris Kovacs sits down with Kalyani Ramadurgam, co-founder and CEO of Kobalt Labs, to explore how AI is transforming third-party risk management and compliance for financial institutions. Kalyani shares how her background in AI research and fintech led to building an auditable, secure, and highly explainable platform that automates the most manual parts of risk review. Together, they discuss why spreadsheets are no longer enough, how credit unions of all sizes can benefit, and what the future of AI-driven compliance looks like.

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The Fintech Combine is Produced and Edited by Anson Beckler-Jones

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In this episode of the Fintech Combine, host Kris Kovacs sits down with Mitch Rutledg, co-founder and CEO of Vertice AI, to explore how community financial institutions can finally unlock the power of their data without massive teams or endless projects. Mitch shares his journey from leading advanced analytics at global giant SAS to building Vertice AI specifically for credit unions and community banks, and explains how smarter use of first-party data, AI-driven targeting, and intelligent agents can transform member engagement, lending and deposit growth, and indirect conversions. If you’ve ever felt “too small” to be truly data-driven, this conversation will change your mind.

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The Fintech Combine is Produced and Edited by Anson Beckler-Jones

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