The credit system was built on a flawed assumption — that no score means high risk. For decades, the three-digit credit score has been the gatekeeper to financial opportunity, yet it ignores the consistent, responsible financial behaviors of millions. Join us for a deep dive into the “credit invisibility” crisis and an exploration of how we can evolve the financial ecosystem. We’ll discuss how utilizing alternative data—like rent, utilities, and subscription payments—can provide a more accurate and equitable picture of financial health, bridging the gap for those the traditional system has left behind. We’ll also unpack who the “Invisible Prime” borrower really is, why traditional credit infrastructure keeps lenders from seeing them, and how forward-thinking financial institutions are using alternative data to reach this generation — and grow their book — without expanding their risk.
What You’ll Learn:
- The Flaws in the Foundation: Understand the historical and systemic limitations of traditional credit scoring models.
- The Power of Alternative Data: Explore how non-traditional payment histories (rent, mobile bills, etc.) can prove creditworthiness.
- Impact on Financial Inclusion: Learn how modernizing the credit system can unlock economic mobility for underserved populations.
- The Future of Lending: Discuss how financial institutions can adapt their risk assessment to be more holistic and fair.
Christian Widhalm
Christian Widhalm
Christian is the CEO of Bloom Credit and has spent over 15 years working within venture-backed fintech providing innovative solutions to consumers and businesses in highly regulated industries. Prior to Bloom Credit, he was most recently at LendKey Technologies, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer and was responsible for the company’s relationships with over 300 banks and credit unions.
Darlene Johnson
Darlene Johnson
As Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Johnson oversees Suncoast’s Market Development & Lending, Enterprise Agility, Member Experience, Mortgage Lending, Digital Payments & Strategy, Marketing, and Community Development & Impact departments. In this capacity, she plays a pivotal role in shaping the credit union’s strategic direction, ensuring its offerings remain relevant and impactful in today’s rapidly changing financial landscape.
Dr. Rikard Bandebo
Dr. Rikard Bandebo
As a Chief Product Officer and strategy leader, I have a proven track record of using AI to transform value propositions and disrupting markets by creating innovative SaaS and DaaS solutions. My career spans FinTech, Risk, IP and HR Tech industries with a common focus on data and analytics solutions with recurring revenues in the range of $100m to $700m.
My career highlights include spearheading product, data science, and engineering teams to achieve significant growth. At VantageScore my teams have launched two industry-leading credit scoring models that have help grow VantageScore from a challenger to the most used credit score in the United States with a CAGR of 42% since 2022.
Many of my successes have stemmed from establishing and re-designing product, engineering and data science organizations to better drive innovation, execution and improved commercial integration. With experience leading large, geographically dispersed teams and a keen focus on execution, I am an analytical and pragmatic problem-solver who fosters collaboration and empowers teams to deliver exceptional results.
My experience also includes identifying and integrating several analytics acquisitions and leading the sale of Clarivate’s Anti-Counterfeiting, Anti-Fraud and Anti-Piracy businesses to Investcorp in 2019.
Carmina Lass
Carmina Lass
As Senior Director of Financial Services Solutions, Carmina partners with financial services companies to advance consumer financial health through strategy, product innovation, and impact measurement. She is committed to building a financial ecosystem that fosters resilience and wealth among communities who have been historically excluded from the financial mainstream.
At the Financial Health Network, Carmina leads advisory services, consulting engagements, and thought leadership initiatives that help people build financial stability and long-term security. She draws on her deep coalition-building experience to drive momentum for initiatives like the FinHealth Standards, and helps clients and partners responsibly harness innovations like AI to improve outcomes for their customers, workers, and communities.
Previously, Carmina served as the inaugural Director of Colorado’s Financial Empowerment Office, where she established and grew a statewide coalition to expand access to safe, affordable financial services. In that role, she built cross-sector partnerships that increased banking access and financial coaching for thousands of Coloradans. Earlier in her career, Carmina oversaw national capacity-building programs for Credit Builders Alliance and managed consumer lending, financial education, and affordable homeownership programs at the local level.
