In today’s commercial and community banking environment, syndicated and participation lending have evolved from operational necessities into vital strategies for growth, capital optimization, and risk management. Yet, many institutions remain hampered by outdated practices such as inconsistent deal tracking, siloed communication channels, and limited visibility across lending partners.

As borrower expectations rise and regulatory pressures intensify, manual workflows can no longer sustain scalable, efficient lending operations. According to McKinsey, banks that rely on such processes experience “suboptimal servicing efficiency,” placing both competitiveness and client relationships at risk.

At Lamina, in collaborative partnership with nCino, we’re helping financial institutions reimagine syndicated and participation lending through AI-enhanced digital platforms that prioritize trust, transparency, and repeatable success.

Why Collaborative Platforms Are Now Essential

The syndicated lending ecosystem depends on seamless coordination between lead banks and participant institutions. Yet, consortium lending often suffers from delays and misaligned incentives – all factors that erode participant confidence and limit the full value of what participation lending can deliver.

Our approach, combining Lamina’s syndicated lending expertise with nCino’s intelligent, cloud-based banking platform, is designed to solve these challenges head-on. By leveraging real-time APIs, automated workflows, and unified data architectures, our partnership enables:

• Faster deal execution
• Stronger lender-partner trust
• Greater transparency for all participants

These are not theoretical benefits. A study published in “Research in International Business and Finance” shows that while fintech lenders offer speed, traditional banks maintain higher overall efficiency due to structured processes and trusted partner networks. Collaborative platforms bridge this gap, merging speed with rigor.

How nCino and Lamina Use AI to Transform Lending Efficiency

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of the value that we deliver. Across financial services, AI investment is accelerating. The World Economic Forum projects that firms will increase spending from USD 35 billion in 2023 to nearly 97 billion by 2027. This surge reflects a clear demand for tools that can automate manual tasks, enhance risk insights, and streamline operations. At Lamina, in partnership with nCino, we bring that demand directly into syndicated and participation lending: using AI to eliminate reconciliation friction, automate document review, and provide real-time visibility across participants. The result is efficiency at scale - freeing up resources, strengthening compliance and giving banks the confidence to grow participation networks more strategically.

Our joint platforms apply these principles directly into the syndicated lending context. Specifically, we leverage AI and machine learning to:

• Automate complex document extraction and categorization.
• Eliminate manual reconciliation and data entry.
• Provide real-time risk and exposure analytics across all participants.

Lamina’s AI-driven Notice Management module has already delivered a 36% FTE efficiency gain – transformational savings that allow banks to reallocate staff toward growth while maintaining compliance and trust.

Building Scalable Participation Partner Networks

For many community banks and credit unions, expanding participation networks has historically been labor-intensive and slow-moving. The World Economic Forum highlights that modern banking platforms must integrate cloud technologies and standardized APIs to achieve scalability while meeting evolving regulatory demands.

Our combined offering allows institutions to:

• Do business with new and existing participant partners more easily.
• Handle larger deal volumes without expanding headcount.
• Maintain compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks.

By removing workflow friction and ensuring all stakeholders have real-time access to accurate information, we empower banks to focus on strategic growth rather than administrative overhead.

What Research Tells Us About Efficiency and Collaboration

The comparative study of lending efficiency published in 2024 offers several important insights for institutions considering digital transformation:

• Banks using structured, regulated processes exhibit higher efficiency than fintech firms focused solely on technological innovation.
• Efficiency gains are linked not just to automation but also to how well platforms integrate transparency, partner alignment, and compliance controls.
• Scalable ecosystems depend on balancing agility with governance, something collaborative platforms are specifically designed to support.

The findings align with broader industry observations. McKinsey notes that banks adopting modern operating models for syndicated lending report gains in customer experience, cost control, and risk management.

Looking Ahead

Syndicated and participation lending are no longer back-office functions to be optimized incrementally. They are strategic levers that directly shape how financial institutions allocate capital, serve their communities, and compete in a dynamic marketplace.

What both research and real-world experience show is this: the institutions that thrive will be those that blend trusted partner relationships with advanced, scalable technology. AI-enabled collaboration platforms are not simply optional upgrades; they are becoming essential infrastructure for the next generation of commercial banking.

At Lamina, we are proud to partner with nCino to empower financial institutions that share this vision — institutions that recognize syndicated lending as a critical area for innovation, growth, and leadership in serving their clients and communities.