Today, technology touches every aspect of our lives. There now seems to be an app for everything, from hailing a cab to having groceries delivered to your door. We have come to rely on these capabilities to help us better manage our time, expenses and effort. The same is true for lenders at institutions of all sizes.
Almost every aspect of the loan process can benefit from advanced automation. Today, lenders are facing increased responsibilities in the form of verifying ID, constricting underwriting guidelines, new disclosure forms and increased audit demands, which has led the cost per loan to increase dramatically. To remain competitive at a time when alternative and online lenders are winning increasing market share, lenders need to ensure that they are managing risk effectively and keeping their costs to a minimum.
With increased loan scrutiny, some institutions have fallen back on the traditional approach of hiring more staff to read line-by-line and ensure compliance, or outsource their ID verification processes to third parties to make costly phone calls. Not only does this waste unnecessary resources, but it also carries increased risk.
Automating as many processes as possible means limiting the likelihood of human errors, which besides from speeding up originations, also reduces opportunities for fraud. Lenders need systems that can directly access verified data via an electronic source without human intervention. This gives no opportunity for doctored bank statements or other assets to be submitted.
Automating the loan process reduces the cost of loan officer time inputting financial information while simultaneously improving accuracy and reducing exposure to fraud. Of course, it is also necessary to seek process automation solutions from a qualified vendor that will work with you to ensure your system is optimized for your specific operations.
