I love a good Lord of the Rings reference. Case in point, it may sound like fantasy, but have you thought how consolidating your multiple loan origination systems (LOSs) could bring all lending functions into fellowship?
See, there I go again!
Traditionally, different types of lending have been managed by separate groups within a bank or credit union, siloed as consumer, mortgage, and commercial lending. Occasionally, these groups journey together to help a mutual client, but for the most part they travel on separate process paths.
How different would things be if they always journeyed together within a single LOS?
For starters, you’d see reduced costs, greater efficiencies, improved communication, and deeper relationships. You might say, “Whoa! That’s a lot to expect from one change.” But hear me out, and you might just be ready to start your own “Fellowship of the LOS.”
Reduced Costs
Licensing fees aren’t cheap. Ask yourself:
- What are your financial institution’s costs for maintaining multiple systems for consumer, mortgage, and commercial loan origination and document prep?
- Do you have an end-to-end solution, or do you have additional middleware with its own licensing fees that’s required to make everything work together?
I can hear everyone tapping on their mental calculators right now. There are some potentially big savings here.
Greater Efficiencies
Vendor management has become its own beast in the last few years, and someone in your organization is likely spending a lot of time on it. How can the process be simplified? The easiest answer: fewer vendors.
Case in point, your lending divisions may currently use different flood determination vendors because their separate operating systems have limited – and different – provider integrations. That costly limitation might also apply to appraisal, credit retrieval, documents, e-sign vendor, e-closing, CRM, and other providers.
Now imagine the time to update all those contracts and collect due diligence. It adds up! With a single platform you can significantly reduce the ongoing burden and cost of vendor management across your lending departments.
Day-to-day administration of a loan origination system requires an individual well versed in the product. Done properly, it can be a huge time commitment. Your institution may even have multiple individuals trying their best to keep up with system updates and regulatory changes while managing other duties. A single platform, rather than three, will dramatically reduce the amount of time your admins spend coordinating and managing releases. Trust me, they will thank you for this.
Improved Communications
The benefits of a single system extend beyond consumer, mortgage, and commercial lending. Think of the many departments, like loan operations and internal audit, that work with loan origination. When all parties can have their specific needs met from one system, work is streamlined across the organization.
So is regulatory reporting between lending divisions. Imagine the reporting of HMDA, CRA, and Community Development from a single source. The scrubbing of the Loan Application Register becomes much quicker when there is one platform to pull information from.
Employee training can also be improved. With just one system to learn, cross-training between loan products is more easily achieved, making your entire organization nimbler. A universal system capable of managing each type of lending offered is the key to shared lender experience.
Deeper Relationships
The heart of lending is the relationship with your borrowers, which is why every financial institution should be working to provide an exceptional experience.
With the silos removed, borrowers will no longer be forced to navigate between departments for additional lending services. A single LOS facilitates a universal banker model, supports the entire lending cycle, and makes each phase of the borrower’s journey seamless and enjoyable. A unified singular technology can deliver more volume, reduce clutter, and streamline workflows to increase your profits.
.svg)
