As one of the largest credit unions and most prominent consumer lenders in the country, executives at Delta Community Credit Union recognized the need for loan process improvement. The loan origination system it had been using lacked the functionality and user-friendly interface needed to reach high levels of automated decisioning. As a result, roughly 85% of the applications the credit union received each month were decisioned manually.
With approximately $4.97 billion in assets, 26 branches in Georgia and cities such as Cincinnati, Dallas, and Salt Lake City, as well as more than 330,000 members, Atlanta-based Delta Community Credit Union is the largest credit union in Georgia and one of the 25 largest in the United States.
Typical application turnaround times for a decision did not meet the service standard Delta Community desired of less than 24 hours, and heavier delays were common during periods of higher volumes, such as around the holidays. With seven loan officers routinely trying to play catch up at its Consumer Lending Center, the credit union knew hiring more staff wasn’t the right move and would be far too costly. Instead, it recognized a larger need to overhaul its entire approach.
Due to so much of the old process having to be done by hand, including redundant data entry and pulling of several reports, it was very laborious, said Bob Walsh, executive vice president and chief lending officer at Delta Community. When people have to wait an extended period of time for a car loan, let alone a decision, they will simply go somewhere else. We knew we had to find a decision engine that could handle our volume, deliver higher levels of automation, and really simplify the process.
After comparing five other loan origination systems to the CRIF ACTion platform, Delta Community decided that ACTion provided the best fit for its operations.
ACTion’s decision engine was really the biggest difference and what sold us on making this move, said Kelley Martin, the credit union’s assistant vice president of consumer lending. It gave us the power to customize the solution without compromising ease of use. We could import all of our members’ data from our core processor with a single click.
The ACTion solution is a powerful all-in-one loan origination that creates an efficient loan experience wherever a member applies by handling all sales channels including online access, branches, and call centers. The highly configurable, user-friendly design of the system allows it to provide end-to-end automated processing of all types of loans including direct, indirect, online, and business loans.
Despite strictly offering its lending programs on the direct side, Delta Community depends on its call center to assist members in an efficient manner. From ACTion Online for an increased mobile and digital presence to DocuSign for electronic signatures, Carleton loan calculation and document generation, and Symitar core integration for funding needs, ACTion’s robust functionality could meet Delta Community need for more streamlined operations and added growth potential.
In a call center environment where every minute counts, ACTion’s ability to eliminate redundant data entry has made a world of difference, Martin said. Automated decisioning has jumped from 15%\to 37 percent, and we feel very certain that will go as high as 60 percent in the near future.
Delta Community Credit Union also now operates with five loan officers instead of seven, which has added to the cost savings associated with increased automation. In the two years since implementing ACTion, average monthly volume has increased almost 35%, and Delta Community Credit Union’s portfolio has also grown by 26%.
All decisioning and funding now occurs at the credit union’s Consumer Lending Center rather than at individual branches. This eliminated the heavy reliance on manual decisioning and increased consistency and accountability. Another key benefit of leveraging ACTion for its loan origination needs was going paperless. The only paper documentation the credit union deals with now includes the documents brought in by its members.
More About the CRIF ACTion Suite of Products
CRIF ACTion is an advanced suite of products for all of your consumer and business lending and deposit account opening needs. ACTion Consumer, ACTion Business, and ACTion Deposit Account Opening are designed to work separately or together to help you streamline processes and grow volumes with leading-edge automation, efficient underwriting, and configurable end-to-end functionality while maximizing accuracy, productivity, and compliance efforts. For more information, please click the button below.
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