In 2023, consumers balanced various financial challenges: the lingering effects of record inflation, rising credit card balances, and student loan payment resumption, among others, leaving many to explore financial products that help make changing personal budgets more manageable. In the same year, credit unions stepped in to fill gaps created by larger financial institutions and provide additional options for consumers currently excluded from the lending marketplace.

This week on The SCORE, we’re joined by Yazel Pardo, Vice President of Credit Risk at Patelco Credit Union. Patelco is a full-service, not-for-profit financial cooperative with 450,000 members nationwide. Yazel joins The SCORE this week to tell us how he expects consumers to manage the various headwinds expected in 2024, how industry consolidation among credit unions affects the consumer, and where new opportunities for increasing financial inclusion currently lie.

Listen in as Yazel explains how alternative data helps make credit accessible to local communities and furthers financial inclusion.