Hosted By: Lorrie Wohlfeil with special guest Cheyanne Sutton
For 30 years, the University of Lending has helped credit unions strengthen their teams by teaching lenders to look beyond the application and uncover the story behind the member. In today’s lending environment, success requires more than reviewing a score or applying policy, it requires listening, asking better questions, and understanding the full picture.
As we head into the final stretch of 2026, there’s still time to strengthen your team’s lending skills, sharpen decision-making, and build a winning game plan for 2027. We are bringing Lending and Collections together for a deeper look at the decisions we make and what happens after the loan is booked.
The numbers tell you what happened. The right analysis tells you why.
This time, we’re bringing a Collections perspective to the playing field!
Course Objectives:
Designed for Loan Managers, Member Service Representatives, Loan Officers, Underwriters, and Credit Union Management, this industry-leading training equips teams with practical interviewing techniques, stronger underwriting strategies, and the confidence to look beyond the score to uncover opportunity. Strengthen performance, grow loans, improve ROAs, and elevate member service by helping more members succeed.
Attendees Will Learn How To:
• Ask the Top 10 questions not found on the application to uncover the story behind the member, elevate interviewing skills, deepen member relationships, and drive sustainable loan growth
• Use effective interviewing techniques to better understand repayment motivation, spending habits, financial stress points, and opportunities that may never appear on a credit report
• Read beyond the surface of the credit report to identify hidden risk, recognize real opportunity, and make smarter lending decisions
• Interpret FICO® and VantageScore® models with greater clarity and confidence, including the impact of utilization, trended data, and score movement
• Apply practical underwriting strategies that evaluate true repayment ability, not just approval eligibility
• Identify early warning signs of financial stress and potential delinquency
• Learn from collections trends and past loan performance to strengthen future decisions
• Build stronger communication and consistency between Lending and Collections
Tuition: Includes breakfast and lunch each day
$1495 per person
$1295 return attendees
$1000 CEOs
Don’t wait until next year to make your next winning move! Finish 2026 strong and head into 2027 with a stronger game plan. Need to defer payment until 2027? We can make that happen! Secure your team’s spot today and invest in the skills that will make a difference tomorrow.
Location:
Charleston Marriott
170 Lockwood Boulevard | Charleston, South Carolina
$184/night through 10/30/26
Please make your reservation by visiting: Book your group rate for University of Lending Room Block
Please contact Tracy Bruce at LSCI – 224-286-6067, tbruce@rexcuadvice.com with any additional questions.
Cancelation Policy:
All cancellations must be received in writing and submitted via email to tbruce@rexcuadvice.com. Cancellations received more than 45-30 days prior to the event are subject to a 25% administrative fee of the conference total. No refunds will be granted for cancellations received on or after 30 days prior to the event. Substitutions are accepted prior to the start of the program and may be submitted via email. Please provide the event name, current participant name, and the new participant and email to tbruce@rexcuadvice.com.
CLASSROOM AGENDA
DAY 1 – Loan Interviewing, Credit Reports & the Collections Perspective
7:30am – 8:30am Registration/Breakfast
8:30am – 9:00am Welcome & Program Overview
9:00am – 12:00pm Loan Interviewing
Learn techniques to go beyond the application and uncover the story behind the member through effective interviewing. Through real-world examples and the Rex Johnson approach, attendees will learn to ask better questions, understand repayment motivation, recognize financial stress points, identify cross-selling opportunities, and eliminate the “ping-pong” effect between departments.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm – 3:00pm Understanding the Credit Report
Learn how to read beyond the surface of the credit report to uncover risk, opportunity, and member potential. Discover The Power of the Dash and Beat the Clock, two practical strategies for evaluating payment behavior, identifying financial warning signs, and recognizing opportunities to structure stronger loans.
3:00pm – 4:00pm From Lending to Collections: What Every Lender Needs to Know
Featuring Cheyanne Sutton
What can collections teach us about making better lending decisions? Cheyanne brings a collector’s perspective to the lending process, sharing what happens after a loan is approved and what lenders can learn from loans that become delinquent. This session highlights early warning signs, repayment behavior, and how stronger interviewing, documentation, and communication between departments can help prevent future collection problems.
DAY 2 – Credit Scoring, Score Enhancement & Underwriting
7:30am – 8:30am Breakfast
8:30am – 12:00pm Scoring Models: FICO® & VantageScore® — What You Really Need to Know
Low scores can mean BIG profits when understood correctly. We’ll dramatically increase your team’s confidence with credit scores and show how approval ratios can reach up to 75% without increasing risk.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm – 2:00pm Score Enhancement
Learn how to move members from “E” paper to “A” paper in just a few short months. This session gives your credit union a powerful competitive edge, builds member loyalty, and positions you as the financial institution of choice.
2:00pm – 4:00pm Decision Making: The Fundamentals of Underwriting
Poor lending decisions cost credit unions millions in both loans approved and loans unnecessarily declined. Your team will learn how to identify inflated income, evaluate true repayment capacity, and make sound, defensible lending decisions.
Participants will actively underwrite loans during class to immediately apply what they learn.
DAY 3 – Subprime Lending, Debt Restructuring & Sales Opportunities
7:30am – 8:30am Breakfast
8:30am – 12:00pm Decision Making: Subprime & Debt Restructure Loans
Master the strategies needed to confidently approve and structure higher-risk loans while protecting the credit union and helping members succeed. Using real-life examples submitted by conference attendees, this session walks through practical scenarios and proven approaches to strengthen decision-making and risk management.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm – 2:00pm Decision Making: Subprime & Debt Restructure Loans (Continued)
Continue reviewing real-world lending scenarios, with an emphasis on structuring loans, recognizing repayment challenges, and making decisions that balance opportunity with risk.
2:00pm – 4:00pm Sales Skills & Cross Selling
Millions of dollars in cross-selling opportunities pass across your desk every year. Learn how to recognize these moments, save members money, deepen relationships, and significantly increase loan and product penetration.
Millions of dollars in cross-selling opportunities pass across your desk every year. Learn how to recognize these moments, save members money, deepen relationships, and significantly increase loan and product penetration.
©Lending Solutions Consulting Inc.