Adelaide Bank has unveiled a new loan origination system with benefits for brokers, including a simpler process and faster turnaround times.
The platform LendFast has been built by Sandstone Technology and is currently being rolled out to different broker groups associated with the lender, said Damian Percy, general manager of third party banking at Adelaide Bank.
The last broker groups will come online later on in July, he told
Australian Broker.
“It’s a fairly contemporary, straight-through processing model and is an upgrade to the way that we’ve traditionally done business. This is the next iteration. It goes from end to end so the broker data and documents, once uploaded, go through the system with relatively low touch. The whole idea is to remove variability and cost and deliver a much faster turnaround time.”
Percy said that Adelaide Bank was already known for its fast turnaround times – a couple of days for deals that were clean and without delay – and that this platform would take things to the next level.
The rollout has been gradual across the bank’s broker network to ensure that service levels remained the same while bank staff were being trained in the new system, Percy said.
“What the Sandstone system does is it automates to a large extent many of those elements of the process that can cause delays today. It is about getting things like LMI and valuations, including automatic valuations, done near enough to instantly.”
“These kinds of systems tend to have a fair degree of emphasis on making sure that everything is tikkediboo and in place before lending staff and assessors look at it.”
LendFast will allow brokers to upload files in an ordered fashion and would act as a LIXI gateway that connects with current platforms such as LoanConnect and ApplyOnline+.
“You want to be agnostic as to the tools that brokers and others may be using at the front-end,” Percy said.
Brokers should require very little training when first using the new system too with the vast majority of access through familiar systems such as
NextGen.Net, he added.
“There are some changes from the old models though, such as asking brokers to take their supporting documents and break them up into component bits so it’s clear before the deal is submitted that all the necessary documents are there.”
For the most part, it is just the back office mechanics that will change, Percy said.
“That’s the stuff that matters to brokers and customers if it doesn’t go well. But if it’s going well and promises are being fulfilled, brokers shouldn’t and need not worry about it.”
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