Richard Wada
Patelco Chief Lending Officer
Richard Wada is the Chief Lending Officer at Patelco, the country’s 27th largest credit union with $9.7 billion in assets and over 500,000 members located in Northern California. In his role he is responsible for managing the growth of the consumer and commercial loan businesses. Prior to joining Patelco in 2018, he held executive roles within Citibank’s global and North American retail banking businesses including Global Head of Personal Lending and Head of U.S. Retail Consumer Lending. Previously he had various product management and marketing roles at American Express and the advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi.
Richard received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and his MBA from Columbia Business School.
2026 Agenda Sessions
How can Credit Unions win the innovation race?
Member-first. Tech-forward. Collaborative. Credit unions are surprising the industry with their digital transformation strategies, and fintech partnerships.
Hear from CU leaders pushing innovation in lending, personalization, and digital access.
Takeaways:
• See what makes CUs agile despite regulatory constraints.
• Learn how member data is driving smarter lending experiences.
• Hear real use cases of fintech partnerships in action
Monday 30 March 15:30 - 16:10 Lending
Data & Personalization
Partnerships & Ecosystem Play
UX & Customer Experience
Hear from CU leaders pushing innovation in lending, personalization, and digital access.
Takeaways:
• See what makes CUs agile despite regulatory constraints.
• Learn how member data is driving smarter lending experiences.
• Hear real use cases of fintech partnerships in action Lending US/Pacific
