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Credit Unions

Midwest Bank Partners With Lendsmart to Streamline the Entire Homebuying Journey

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Midwest Bank, a locally-owned community bank, providing loans, mortgages, financial planning and investment services throughout central Illinois, has selected Lendsmart, an AI-driven digital lending platform, to improve its digital lending and home buying operations.

With Lendsmart’s technology, Midwest Bank will own its customer journey end to end, helping borrowers acquire a loan and offering ancillary services to allow the borrower to move into a home in record time. At the same time, improving accuracy, minimizing lender risk, and reducing origination and operational costs.

Since its establishment in 1870, Midwest Bank has been committed to its customers and the communities it serves. The bank strives to offer innovative products and services and cutting-edge technology to its valued customers.

“Our business was built on the relationships we have with our customers, and partnering with Lendsmart will allow us to offer them a superior experience when it comes to applying for a loan or moving into a new home,” said Chris Gavin, President & CEO at Midwest Bank. “We’re looking forward to evolving our digital lending and mortgage capabilities with Lendsmart’s support.”

Lendsmart digitizes up to 70% of the lending and home buying processes, leveraging AI to autocomplete elements of the mortgage applications and validate data in real-time. As a result, providing instant approvals and helping customers acquire a loan in a matter of weeks. The platform brings all parties involved together to unify the process every step of the way.

“We’re pleased that Midwest Bank has selected Lendsmart as a digital lending and homebuying solution,” said AK Patel, Founder and CEO of Lendsmart. “With our technology, we’ll be able to help Midwest Bank significantly reduce loan origination processing time to close more loans and improve the borrower experience.”

About Lendsmart

Lendsmart, founded in 2018, is an AI-driven digital lending platform that automates and digitizes lending and homebuying operations to create a single, automated conversational experience for banks, credit unions, and non-bank lenders. Using artificial intelligence to digitize up to 70% of the lending and home buying processes, Lendsmart allows borrowers to get a loan, refinance, or purchase a home in record time. For more information, visit www.lendsmart.ai.

About Midwest Bank

Midwest Bank, headquartered in Monmouth, Illinois is a locally-owned, community bank, providing loans, mortgages, financial planning and investment services throughout several locations across central Illinois. Midwest Bank believes in making the communities that serve a better place to live and work. The bank strives to have a positive impact through community involvement both financially and philanthropically. For more information, visit www.mbwi.com.

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Banks Were Allowed to Give People More Access to Savings in the Pandemic

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Mike Schenk, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association, said he didn’t have comprehensive data on what credit unions were doing. But, he said, his calls to several credit unions found that “most don’t charge those fees anymore.” The association has long supported an elimination of the transaction cap as best for depositors, he said, and many credit unions routinely waive the fees anyway.

Nevertheless, some credit unions, including Alliant and PenFed, still cite the old federal six-withdrawal limit restriction on their websites. “If I exceed these limitations my account will be subject to an excessive transaction fee and may be closed,” PenFed’s general savings disclosure says.

Eliminating transaction caps may end up changing consumer behavior, said Simon Zhen, senior research analyst at MyBankTracker.com. Savings accounts typically offer higher rates than checking accounts because they are designed for money to remain there and grow. If the distinction between a savings account and a checking account is eliminated, consumers may have less reason to use checking accounts, and banks may have less incentive to offer better rates on savings accounts.

“If you take the limit away, what’s the difference between a saving account and a checking account?” Mr. Zhen asked.

Here are some questions and answers about savings account fees:

How can I avoid excessive savings withdrawal fees?

Set up text or email alerts to notify you when you are approaching the account’s limit. You can also consider using a line of credit, rather than linking your checking account to your savings account, to cover any overdrafts and reduce unnecessary transfers.

Also, savings withdrawal limits apply to the number of transactions, not the amount. If you know you’ll be needing some cash from your savings account, consider making one or two larger withdrawals instead of several smaller ones, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. (Separately, some accounts may limit the total amount of cash that can be withdrawn or transferred in a single transaction.)

What are current interest rates paid on savings accounts?

Even on “high yield” accounts at online banks, which typically pay higher rates because they have no branch network to maintain, annual percentage yields hover around 0.40 or 0.50 percent — far below what those accounts typically paid a year ago. Still, that’s better than the average savings account rate of 0.14 percent, according to DepositRates.

What if I need to withdraw money in excess of my account’s transaction limits?

Contact your bank to discuss your situation and ask for a waiver of the fee, Mr. McBride said. Banks are likely to be flexible, given the continued economic fallout of the pandemic.

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