TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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28 | Th e M Rep o RT Feature and that is actually why the industry is investing in so much technology right now," Weaver said. "We have gone back to full documentation and yet people ex- pect it to take the same amount of time or shorter." While some lenders are still shyly dipping their toes into the electronic mortgage processing world, Weaver thinks 2014 could be the tipping point in e-contract- ing. She anticipates that in the very near future, all lending doc- uments will be produced using the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) v3 format. She believes it will happen because the industry needs a dependable electronic sys- tem that can standardize data, formatting, and communication and exchange information and documents between the servicer and borrow. "From our perspective, it is really about lenders using technology to support the consumer experience where the consumer is going to want to interact with the lender in different ways at different times during the loan application, through processing, closing, and servicing," Weaver said. To accommodate that end-to- end service, Fiserv's technology allows lenders to have a core system of records for all infor- mation whether starting in an electronic format or as paper with an electronic counterpart. The company has also aug- mented its technology so that it can automate the exchange of information from a workflow perspective to an automated review "We want to have an accurate and complete record of all the interactions of all the parties so that the lender can use automa- tion as much as possible for the review and analysis of that data," she said. "Keeping it in electronic format allows for collaboration in real time whether it is the loan officer interacting with the underwriters, or the consumer and the loan officer, or the loan officer and the closing agents and the consumer." The software also has the ability to automate, synchronize, and compare information with multiple sources and documents to the primary source of loan data, taking that responsibility off the loan processor. But the real emphasis today is putting the consumer in charge of their loan. "I think the technology play today for the lender still is the automation and the efficiencies so they can serve their customer and allow their customer to decide how they want to be engaged with it," Weaver said. "It's re- ally about the customer being in control and understanding the process." Hyland's Harbinak-Shapiro agrees that 2014 is the year that electronic mortgages go main- stream with emphasis on the enhancement of customer input. "Most banks have been using imaging for awhile now," she said. "It is really taking imaging to the next level where it runs end to end with workflow and mobile access for folks on the go. That's really where OnBase comes in." OnBase gives lenders the ability to set up an electronic workflow that can mesh with the company's core platform and address its specific needs. The software also removes time-consuming manual labor, eliminates loss documents, and ensures that each loan is complete and compliant with regulations. It ensures that every checkpoint along the process is hit and includes timers set up to alert a loan officer if something is about to expire. Because the software integrates with Microsoft Outlook, emails can be attached to help with compliance traceability. "The solution is adding vis- ibility for those checkpoints to make the process as smooth as possible," said Harbinak-Shapiro. "It makes sure that all the forms are 100 percent complete and all the signatures are where they need to be." The summer's new release of the software will add further enhancements that streamline the process and increase visibility to customers who will be able to check on the status of their loan. The final piece of an end-to- end electronic mortgage is the e-closing. The e-closing has been around since 2006 but still isn't common. But the technology continues to improve. Add to that CFPB's endorsement of e- closings, and it may not be long before it becomes a mainstream reality. "There are certainly additional efficiencies to be gained with wider adoption," Himebaugh said. The final push to make e-clos- ings the way of the world may simply be time and demograph- ics. As younger, first-time buyers reared on the Internet, mobile media, and instant access to data enter the housing market, they will simply demand e-closings. "What will almost certainly push them [e-closings] toward being the norm is the next generation of borrowers," Himebaugh said. "I think once the upcoming, younger generation begins to enter the mortgage market and begin purchasing homes, an arrival presently being delayed by a number of factors, we will have the final catalyst that brings e-closings into the mainstream." "From our perspective, it is really about lenders using technology to support the consumer experience where the consumer is going to want to interact with the lender in different ways at different times during the loan application, through processing, closing, and servicing." — Kim Weaver, Fiserv