5 Things Loan Officers Should Stop Spending Time on Today

This article was originally published in CUInsight.

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Gone are the days when getting a loan meant putting on your finest duds to meet with a loan officer. With the digital transformation of banking and fintech on the rise, many lenders have transformed the loan cycle into an online, paperless process where borrowers can now apply for a loan from the comfort of their homes.

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And yet, so many lending models still support the old way of doing things. What's stopping today's lenders from embracing the modern way? Credit unions must empower their loan officers to originate, cross-sell and serve members at higher, faster levels. By embracing digital lending, credit unions enable their staff to do much more, while at the same time boosting employee satisfaction.

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To elevate the lending experience for both the borrower and the lender, it’s time to make tedious processes, duplicate work and menial tasks a thing of the past. Here are the five things loan officers should STOP spending time on today:

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#1 Prospecting for leads

There is a time and place for cold calling and networking, but these methods for generating new business can be very time consuming. The truth is, your credit union or community bank has the information it needs to more effectively identify new opportunities through the utilization of data analytics and automated valuation models (AVMs). Using these tools, you can quickly create your own target audience that matches the lending goals and lending guidelines.  

#2 Inputting applications

Using digital applications to process the loans online and without involving manual input, gives the lender and borrower the fast and simple experience they demand.

#3 Manual underwriting

Automated underwriting moves the loan process forward leaps and bounds in terms of efficiency with automated workflows that are adaptable to your policy and applicant situation.  . A credit union or community bank can set its own policy and automated workflow  criteria and deploy collateral decision engines to underwrite and process the loan while keeping borrowers automatically informed along the way.  

#4 Preparing and reviewing documents

Implementing paperless lending processes with electronic document signing saves much precious time (and trees!) in the way of preparing, handling, checking and redoing paper documents. This change alone significantly increases a lending team’s capacity to process loans with the same amount of staff. Some credit unions are doubling and tripling their volume! Even more, it eliminates the risk of errors, such as missing information, and creates a personalized and seamless experience for the borrower.

#5 Closing loans

Remote technology, like Remote Online Notarization (RON), provides a completely digital and secure closing process that can be completed from anywhere and eliminates time spent on paper handling. Implementing a modern, digital lending process doesn't mean you remove the human touch, instead, it enables your loan officers to spend time with the borrower that add value into the process..

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Today’s technology not only can help simplify the lending process, but allows you to create a positive brand experience where loyal customers return again and again.
If loan officers stop spending valuable resources on tasks that can be automated and digitized, they can start finding more time to create valuable, meaningful experiences for members and the community.