The Lending Lab: Zest AI User Summit
Where lending teams get smarter with AI.
A one-day intensive workshop built for credit union professionals who want to get more out of AI in their lending and fraud workflows. Working inside LuLu, Zest AI's lending intelligence platform, you'll train on real scenarios, learn from peers carrying similar portfolios, and walk away with the skills to actually use it.
Not a conference.
A training day that actually moves the needle.
Most events leave you with a notebook full of ideas and no idea how to act on them. The Lending Lab is different. You’ll spend the day hands-on in LuLu to build a better understanding of how to close the loop on your lending ecosystem.
What you'll get out of it
Hands-on labs, not slides
Every afternoon session is built around doing — running real queries, testing real scenarios, and seeing outputs on real portfolio data.
Peer learning you can't get anywhere else
Hear how institutions like yours are rethinking their credit models, staying ahead of fraud, and putting AI to work in ways you can actually bring back to your team.
A certification worth putting on your resume
The LuLu Practitioner badge signals to your peers, your board, and your regulators that your team is ahead of the curve on lending AI.
Reporting that runs itself
Build and schedule the reports your finance, compliance, and lending teams need. Validate your Call Report. Set proactive alerts. Stop answering the same data questions every week.
A first look at what's coming
Attendees get an exclusive preview of the LuLu roadmap for 2026 — and a direct channel to influence what gets built next.
Content Tracks
The morning brings everyone together for shared context and peer benchmarks. In the afternoon, you self-select into the track that matches your day job. Every track is hands-on, not presentation-heavy.
Lending Credit Strategy & Portfolio Growth
Built for teams trying to grow volume and book more loans. You'll leave with a concrete plan for getting more out of every application that comes through your door.
- Session 1: Increasing Conversion
Booking rate analysis, stips, time-to-funding, and pricing: a full-funnel look at where applicants drop and how to keep them. - Session 2: Unfunded Analysis: Opportunities for Expansion
Get visibility into the approved-but-unfunded volume hiding in your pipeline. - Session 3: Pricing More Effectively
Use LuLu to find pricing sweet spots that win volume without giving up margin.
Finance & Analysts
For teams responsible for reporting, projections, and staying exam-ready. You'll spend the afternoon turning data questions into decisions.
- Session 1: NCUA Call Report Deep Dive
Prep, validate, and analyze your Call Report: pulling the right numbers faster and spotting issues before submission. - Session 2: Competitive Advantage: Peer Analysis
Benchmark against peers and spot where you're winning (and losing). - Session 3: Reading the Full Picture
The economy moves before your members do. Macro data gives lending teams an early read on where credit risk is heading, so you can adjust pricing, tighten policy, and flag at-risk segments before the losses land.
Risk & Credit Foundations:
Fast Track to Value
Made for teams who want to get ahead of losses instead of reacting to them. You'll leave with a clearer view of your portfolio and the tools to act on what you see.
- Session 1: Proactive Portfolio management
Learn how to review applications, and prevent a member from going delinquent - Session 2: Reducing Losses
Charge-off and delinquency investigation: finding root causes and acting before losses compound. - Session 3: Decision Rule Optimization with Simulation
Test rule changes before you ship them: simulate impact on approvals, losses, and volume.
Day at a Glance
The LuLu Practitioner Certification
Every attendee who completes the afternoon lab and passes the assessment earns the LuLu Practitioner badge — a credential that signals to your peers, your board, and your regulators that your team is ahead of the curve on lending AI.
Scenario-based assessment — tests real decision-making, not feature recall
Recognized across the Zest AI customer network
Annual renewal keeps your credential current as the product evolves
FAQs
Who should attend from my institution?
Directors and managers who are in LuLu regularly — lending ops, credit analysts, financial analysts, compliance managers, and fair lending officers. We recommend 2–3 people per institution, one from each functional area.
How should we position this internally for budget approval?
Frame it as professional development and certification — not a conference. The LuLu Practitioner credential is a tangible outcome your team brings back. At $650–$800 per attendee for early registrations, the event is designed to deliver practical workflows, reporting efficiencies, and portfolio insights your team can apply immediately.
What does the Practitioner assessment involve?
A 20-minute scenario-based assessment covering real lending situations — not feature memorization. You'll read a portfolio scenario, identify key signals, and write a short recommendation. If you attend the afternoon lab, you'll be ready.
What is your refund or cancellation policy?
During registration, attendees will have the option to add RegFox Purchase Protection, which offers the broadest coverage available in the event of unexpected circumstances. This optional service provides a full refund of registration fees if an attendee is unable to attend due to covered events, including certain health emergencies, transportation disruptions, crime incidents, and more. Refunds are issued directly to the registrant through Purchase Protection.
If Purchase Protection is not selected, the following cancellation policy applies:
• 90 days or more before the event — Full refund minus a $100 processing fee
• 30–89 days before the event — 75% refund of the registration fee paid
• Within 30 days of the event — No refund. Registration may be transferred to another attendee from the same institution at no additional charge.