Anna Serio is a trusted lending expert and certified as a commercial loan officer who’s published more than 1,000 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. A former editor of a newspaper in Beirut, Anna writes about personal, student, business and car loans. Today, digital publications like Business Insider, CNBC and US News and World Report feature her professional commentary, and she earned an Expert Contributor in Finance badge from review site Best Company in 2020.
Expertise
- Personal, business, student and car loans
- Building credit
- Paying off debt
Highlights
- Earned Commercial Loan Officer certification in 2020
- Named an Expert Contributor in Finance in 2020 by Best Company
- Author of over 1,000 articles on personal and business finance
- Featured on leading publications, including Business Insider, CNBC, U.S. News & World Report and more
- Interviewed key stakeholders in the lending industry, including Lendio Founder and CEO Brock Blake, LightStream Senior Vice President Todd Nelson and SoFi CEO Anthony Notto
Education
- Master of Arts, Near and Middle Eastern Studies | American University of Beirut | 2013–2015
- Bachelors of Arts, Creative Writing and Arabic | CUNY Macaulay Honors College, Hunter College | 2008–2012
Featured Publications
Industry insights from Anna Serio
We asked Anna to flex her expertise by answering a few questions about how COVID-19 has changed personal and business lending in 2021.
Do you predict a rise in business loans from both banks and online lenders now that multiple vaccines have been developed?
Experts predict that there will be a rise in business lending over the next 12 months. With a tight labor market and relaxed social distancing rules, businesses need to make adjustments to attract talent and a new set of customers.
Will it be easier for people to qualify for credit, now that credit scores have turned obsolete overnight?
The unreliability of credit scores have generally made it more difficult for people to qualify for credit because of the unreliability. In many cases, you still need to have good credit to qualify for a loan. But you also must have the cash flow, healthy spending and savings habits to get a loan. Lenders have also been more selective about who to work with because recovery is still unpredictable.
What are banks doing to protect information as they shift toward operating online?
While it depends on the bank, many have partnered with tech companies like Plaid to protect the information you submit online. Plaid in particular specializes in secure data transfers and is the reason so many banks have been able to shift to online applications during COVID-19. You've already used it if you've Venmo'd a friend for drinks or bought something using Stripe.
Featured videos
