Case Study: First Bank of Ohio achieves 40% instant loan decisions and reduced manual underwriting with MeridianLink Consulting

First Bank of Ohio - Customer Case Study

First Bank of Ohio, a family‑owned Ohio bank focused on auto and indirect lending, faced inconsistent, judgmental underwriting and limited automation even though they were already using MeridianLink’s loan origination system, MeridianLink Consumer (formerly LoansPQ). To improve efficiency and better serve dealership partners, First Bank of Ohio engaged MeridianLink Consulting to take a deeper dive into their lending and decisioning processes.

MeridianLink Consulting analyzed applications, approvals and denials, then implemented data‑backed rules and expanded automated decisioning from a single tier to six tiers. As a result, instant loan decisions rose from roughly 10% to about 40% of volume, manual underwriting work dropped, staff could focus on complex loans, and First Bank of Ohio strengthened its competitiveness — outcomes driven by MeridianLink’s consulting and platform.

First Bank of Ohio

Phil Loechler

VP of Lending