NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.–CUSOs have made more than $700-million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to date, according to numbers released by the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO).
In all, NACUSO said NACUSO has assisted more than 150 credit union in originating the loans, which have gone to more than 20,000 small businesses.
“We know that when credit unions collaborate through a CUSO to share talent and technology in lending, really great results will follow,” said Bill Beardsley, president of the commercial lending CUSO Michigan Business Connection and chair of NACUSO’s Business Services Advisory Group.
Added Jack Antonini, CEO of NACUSO, “Our MBL CUSOs have enabled many credit unions to have meaningful impact with their small business members and communities, by working together through a collaborative CUSO structure.”
Mark Ritter, whose Pennsylvania-based commercial lending CUSO MBFS has made nearly $150-million in PPP loans, said, “This was a mission to our credit unions and to us as a CUSO. We were all hands on deck, day and night, to make sure that these members got served.”
According to NACUSO, the CUSOs have been especially active supporting underwriting and SBA submission, with more than half of those responding to the survey also providing administration of the forgiveness portion of the program and ongoing loan servicing for the life of the loan.
CUSG, Abrigo Partner to Support PPP
In Livonia, Mich., CU Solutions Group (CUSG) announced it has partnered with Austin, Texas-based Abrigo in support of its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness and Administration solution, part of the Sageworks SBA Lending solution, in an effort to aid credit unions in streamlining the loan forgiveness and administration process.
The companies said the PPP forgiveness process is expected to be a time-intensive process for financial institutions as they work with borrowers to collect documentation and submit information to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
“The work of credit unions nationwide has been truly inspiring during this fast-paced and unprepared PPP rollout by the SBA,” said Dave Adams, president/CEO of CU Solutions Group. “Despite the lack of clear guidance and overall readiness by the SBA, credit unions have worked quickly and proactively to process applications and to prepare for loan funding. But due to capacity restraints and concerns about fraud exposure, most credit unions and banks have focused on existing client relationships and needs. By partnering with Abrigo, CUSG will be able to help credit unions extend these critical services and address the needs of new small business borrowers as well.”
Increased Speed
In addition to increased efficiency and speed on the front end, CU Service Group said Abrigo's solution also gives credit unions the ability to calculate the forgiveness amount based on the provided PPP guidelines to ensure compliance and accuracy. Lenders can also generate Form 1502 within the platform to request their loan processing fees from the SBA and for ongoing monthly servicing.
Regardless of whether or not an institution used Abrigo for PPP loan origination, any financial institution can utilize Abrigo's PPP loan forgiveness and administration solution. Credit unions that filed with other vendors or directly through the E-Tran portal can easily import the data from their core to streamline the forgiveness process, CUSG said.
More than 175 community financial institutions used Abrigo's automated PPP loan origination solution, with E-Tran integration, to quickly and efficiently process over 110,000 PPP loans, totaling more than $11.1 billion in loan volume, since the program was first launched on April 3, 2020.
WECU Adds Branch Appointment Scheduling
In Bellingham, Wash., WECU said it has partnered with Coconut Software to offer more streamlined appointment scheduling to its members and non-members as a direct response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“As the news about the coronavirus and the governor’s stay-at-home directive rolled in, we had to step back and figure out how to best serve our members during this time,” said Jerimy Saldivar, director of member experience at WECU. “We realized, very quickly, that a solution like this would be beneficial in providing our members the access they need. As a result, we streamlined this project to roll out several months early.”
According to WECU, the new platform allows people to easily schedule appointments with loan officers in-person or online. Confirmations and reminders are sent out automatically, notifying both the member and the WECU representative of the upcoming appointment.
The scheduling option is available for all 11 WECU branches.