When you hear the term multi-channel LOS, you likely think about the four origination business channels such a platform traditionally supports: retail, call center/consumer-direct, correspondent and wholesale.
But if you’re interested in competing in a dynamic market, or any market for that matter, and want your underwriters and loan officers to access to different loan types, you’d be smart to explore the benefits of a multi-channel LOS that also includes home equity loans and lines of credit as well as Assumptions (assumable mortgages) — two areas where we are seeing continued growth.
Expanding for future business
With some LOSs, underwriters and loan officers working across loan types are required to log out of one instance of the system and into another, adding time and stress to their workday. A true multi-channel LOS, on the other hand, is a single platform able to support multiple channels, giving users one login to the channels they are authorized to access, and your business one system of record. You don’t have to host or maintain separate instances of the LOS for your loan officers to work on multiple channels, and you don’t have to add or build another system for each channel.
The Empower® LOS is a scalable, high-performance platform that supports retail, call center/consumer-direct, correspondent and wholesale channels, home equity and assumptions — pretty much all the mortgage types most IMBs, banks and credit unions need.
Lines of credit
You may currently lump your home equity/HELOC products in with consumer lending (i.e., auto and personal loans). But for the sake of your team and customers, wouldn’t you rather handle mortgage lines of credit in the same automated environment as other loans that are collateralized with a home?
Home equity loans and lines of credit require a lot of origination, underwriting and compliance expertise that is consistent with first mortgages, and originating them with the same teams and technology as other mortgage products is more efficient and cost-effective than originating them in silos. Because the Empower LOS platform offers a built-in decision engine for home equity that automates a recommended decision, lenders give their teams the support they need to manufacture home equity lines of credit just as they would any first mortgage product.
Assumptions
There’s a lot of interest these days in reducing the time and cost associated with processing assumable loans, but at many financial institutions handling assumptions is a very manual process that takes a lot of time — frustrating buyers, sellers and their real estate agents.
The Empower LOS is the market’s first and only LOS with built-in functionality for assumable mortgage services and support for all assumption circumstances, including the addition or removal of a borrower as seen with marriage or divorce, as well as more traditional assumptions such as those that may occur on FHA and VA loans.
An automated workflow supports lenders in completing assumptions by providing the specific data fields required and performing the correct calculations without altering the original loan terms. Additionally, the features are integrated into top servicing platforms, ensuring that assumable mortgage processes can be well-coordinated with servicers.
A smarter choice
The Empower LOS delivers an intelligent workflow underpinned by an advanced decision engine and task automation to support home equity and all other origination channels. Aiva® Rules, specifically, provides a business logic framework for loan production that helps you improve decision-making. We also have an integration with Optimal Blue for real-time product and pricing and eligibility (PPE) data.
These features give the Empower LOS the depth to support your business lines and reach to span multiple channels, delivering seamless connectivity and optimizing your team’s productivity.
Why settle?
As the market evolves, these channels will likely continue to grow in importance and are something you should be considering now — whether you have 100 or 2,000 clients. It’s all about providing a great customer experience, having an efficient workflow and minimizing costs. If you get boxed in with an LOS that only supports retail originations or just home equity originations, you’ll have to scramble to add what you don’t have when the market shifts as it has very recently.
When it comes to choosing an LOS, you need one able to meet your current requirements and give you some growing room should your business model change. Even if you’re not a multi-channel lender now, a multi-channel LOS will give you the ability to unlock more potential futures.
Marie Perkins and David Nielsen are both senior vice presidents, Empower sales.