Orange County’s Credit Union has served members since 1938. Today it has approximately 135,000 members and $2.8 billion in assets. One of its guiding philosophies – “with you all the way” – shapes how the lending team shows up for members, and it’s a big part of why the credit union brought Clutch’s AI lending assistant, HAL, into its lending process.
“One of our big philosophies that we try to follow is with you all the way,” says Sarah Roman, Consumer Lending VP. “That means many things, but one of them is just being with the members throughout their lending journey. We want to be there to support them.”
Key Results
- Faster response times and less back-and-forth between members and loan processors
- Members get answers to common lending questions before they ever reach a loan processor
- Staff can grow loan volume without adding headcount
- HAL works around the clock, including nights and weekends
- Senior leadership is exploring HAL across additional departments given the results
Growing Without Growing Headcount
Like many credit unions, Orange County’s faced a familiar tension: members expect fast, personal service, but the budget doesn’t always allow for more staff.
“We’re not in the financial position that banks have [to acquire all of that technology],” Roman says. “So it’s about finding solutions that allow us to deliver that very fast service members are looking for, along with the handholding they want. Adding staff wasn’t in our budget. We were kind of at a crossroads: how do we grow those numbers without the staff to do it? Clutch came along at the perfect time to show us an opportunity, and we were excited to embrace it.”
Before HAL, the lending team’s pain points were familiar to any high-volume lending operation. “The phone tag, the back and forth, the lag time between the actual decision and the first phone call,” says Mayra Arredondo, Senior Consumer Lending Processor, describing what the process looked like before HAL.
Answers Before the Application Even Lands
HAL, Clutch’s AI-powered lending assistant, now handles much of that early back-and-forth automatically – answering member questions, collecting documents by text, and flagging issues before a human ever needs to step in.
“HAL saves time answering questions members might have before the loan even gets to them,” says Rebecca Marzan, Consumer Lending Manager. “For example: I’m purchasing a new car, what do I need to provide you? He’ll answer all those questions, so members are armed with the information before they get to the loan processor.”
That shift has changed how members interact with the credit union day to day. “It’s easier for people to just text it – upload this, text that,” says Anne Johnson, Consumer Lending Processor. “We’re seeing the engagement, and the back-and-forth between HAL and the member, way more frequently.”
For Arredondo, the impact comes down to eliminated phone calls. “It eliminates a lot of the back and forth,” she says. “If we can eliminate those two phone calls just by having a text sent with the proof of income we need, it saves them time. It gives them the feel that it’s in progress.”
HAL also catches the occasional honest mistake – including one Johnson still laughs about. “I had a member who was approved for a loan and needed to upload his paystubs. Instead, he accidentally uploaded his mom’s blueberry muffin recipe. HAL noticed the discrepancy right away – I don’t think this is a paystub, you might want to check. It’s something we can look back on and laugh about now, because that recipe definitely doesn’t verify your income, even if the lemon zest looks like it probably pops.”
More Time to Listen
With the busywork handled, the lending team says its role has shifted toward the part of the job that matters most: the conversation.
“Speed – the time frame. We want to service our members as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Johnson says. “With HAL, all the busy work is already handled, so we can literally focus on listening and making sure that whatever they end up going with is actually what they need.”
Asked what it would feel like to lose the tool, the team didn’t hesitate. “If you took HAL away from me, I would not like it,” Arredondo says. “I would feel like I was going backwards. I monitor the chat with all the conversations coming in, and I wouldn’t like having that taken away – it saves me a lot of time.”
“HAL does work overnight, all hours, and definitely helps us immensely,” adds Rebecca Marzan. “I appreciate HAL. HAL just feels like part of the team. That’s how we feel.”
Leadership has taken notice, too. “They are always impressed with the numbers and the efficiency gains HAL is able to provide,” Roman says. “They’re excited to see what other Clutch products we can take advantage of, and how HAL can start to work in every department, because the results are so impressive.”
For the team, what stands out most is the partnership behind the product. “It’s not just the technology,” Johnson says. “HAL didn’t just drop off a link and disappear into the night. Clutch rolled up their sleeves and worked side by side with us. That’s not common with vendors.”