AUSTIN, Texas—The integration of new tools into LOS systems is making ordering services like flood certifications, appraisals and property reports simpler, allowing credit unions to better compete with a primary sales point of fintechs: quick loan closings.
Last year FirstClose, a provider of end-to-end technology solutions for refinance and home equity lenders nationwide, integrated its FirstClose Report into MeridianLink’s LoansPQ consumer lending loan origination system for second mortgages, home equity loans, and HELOCs. FirstClose CRO Tim Smith said this partnership is helping CUs battle the growing fintech competitors.
“Credit unions, as well as banks, face the challenge of meeting the changing expectations of their members, particularly around service delivery in lending,” said Smith.
Analysts have stated that it’s not just the fintechs changing consumer expectations in service delivery, but also large retailers such as Amazon, which are ramping up the need for greater speed and efficiency.
Smith said that integrating its FirstClose Report, a comprehensive refinance and home equity loan solution with capabilities to deliver title, flood, valuation and other important data elements in one report, into MeridianLink’s LoansPQ platform is cutting loan turnaround times in
half and improving efficiencies by about 50%.
Complete Reports In 30 Seconds
The integration allows credit union loan officers using the LoansPQ platform to quickly order, complete, bundled reports in about 30 seconds Smith said.
“A user not only orders the report from within LoansPQ, but the completed report is delivered back to the user in LoansPQ so the user never needs to leave the system,” said Smith, who added the report is customizable. “The integration eliminates duplicate data entry on the front and back ends, while significantly reducing the chance for human error by auto-populating data.”
Smith said the time and efficiency savings comes from loan officers not having to “go outside” the LOS system for these reports.
“Previously, if the loan processor had to get a flood zone determination on a property, determine the value of the property, or have an appraisal done, or title work, for example, they might have to fax a title company or go to a website to place an order, which can take a great deal of time. Now they just push a button and it’s done. The solution allows credit unions to offer their members a better application-to-closing experience. The big reductions in time, money, and risk enhance any credit union’s ability to satisfy their members and compete in an arena loaded with compliance requirements and red tape.”
No Extra Work
Doug Glagola, vice president of enterprise solutions at MeridanLink, said it doesn’t make sense for loan officers to continue to do all this kind of “extra” work.
“Through the integration with the MeridianLink platform, the user can easily get into the FirstClose environment, make their order and seamlessly bring the document back into the LOS, eliminating the need for multiple data entries,” explained Glagola. “These efficiencies contribute to savings that can be passed along to the borrower’s and the lender’s bottom line, closing the loan faster and making the credit union more efficient.”