Going Paperless from Start to Finish

Action Mortgage Company

Action Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Sterling Savings Bank, is a full-service mortgage banking company that has been serving the Pacific Northwest for more than 11 years. While the company’s 26 branches are stationed throughout four Northwestern states, Action’s centralized loan processing and underwriting take place at the company’s headquarters in Spokane, Washington and an operations center in Boise, Idaho.

The Challenge – Improve efficiency, reduce cycle times

As their services were expanding, Action representatives knew the company needed to streamline its cycle times and had to do it with minimal risk and virtually no expenditures for hardware and software. The company undertook a thorough analysis of their internal business processes to identify primary areas of inefficiency. Action discovered two areas of concern.

Paper Loan Files Waste Time

First, it was taking far too long to pass paper loan files from person to person. “Files were touching too many peoples’ hands,” says Melanie Whalen, Systems Administrator. “We were dealing with too much wasted time waiting for files to go from destination to destination.”

Start with Paper, Stuck with Paper

Secondly, Action realized that a simple way to increase efficiency would be to prevent paper from getting into their system at the front end. “We looked to the future to find the best solution for today. Imaging from the point of sale (POS) was the best choice even though no one else was imaging this way. We knew that starting the imaging process from the POS would give us the edge and increase in efficiencies we were looking for,” Whalen explained. She also knew that imaging at the point of sale would reduce the costs associated with loan shipping, document usage and storage, and on hardware needed to move the loans from their branch offices to their Spokane-based headquarters. Their ultimate goal was to make the entire loan process paperless.

Strategy: Improve Efficiency without Changing Processes

Action knew that any change of process would require training, especially when new software is involved. Action had been using SwiftSend Delivery to deliver closing packages to title companies for several years. Since they were familiar with the technology and the company, they looked to see how SwiftSend Inbound and the eLoanFolder feature could help them achieve their paperless goal. In many cases, Action was able to simply replace existing paper-based processes with paperless processes using SwiftSend, greatly reducing the level of retraining required. They found that SwiftSend technology and functionality provided the capabilities they needed. As well, since the features were available as part of the existing SwiftSend service, they could implement the new features without any upfront costs and add new business process solutions at their own pace.

The Solution—SwiftSend Enhanced Service Platform

Action embarked on an incremental transition from their current paper intensive status quo to a paperless workflow. Starting with their use of SwiftSend to deliver closing packages, they added SwiftSend business process solutions one at a time to incrementally improve the overall efficiency of their loan processing workflow. As Whalen explains: “SwiftSend is the first—and best—choice because it not only had the features we needed but also allows us to make an orderly, manageable transition to paperless. With SwiftSend, it’s the same process as before, just without the paper and much more efficient.”

eDisclosures—Start Paperless

Their first step was to use SwiftSend to deliver electronic disclosures to applicants. They print the disclosure documents from their LOS to the SwiftSend Publisher virtual printer using the same process they use to print closing packages. The disclosure package is automatically uploaded to the SwiftSend service and delivered to the applicant. SwiftSend's SwiftReceive feature ensures that any recipient with an Internet-connected PC and a browser can view their disclosures. Action then added SwiftSign®, SwiftSend's eSignature feature that allows applicants to sign the disclosure document electronically.

Add eLoanFolders and SwiftSend Inbound Upload Features

Next, Action started using SwiftSend eLoanFolders to replace their traditional paper loan folders. Action loan officers begin by creating new eLoanFolders for each new loan. When the loan officer prints the eDisclosure to SwiftSend, the eDisclosure is automatically copied into the eLoanFolder. Disclosures that are printed and mailed are printed or scanned directly to the eLoanFolder. Once the loan file is ready to be processed and underwritten, the loan officer sends an internal notification to their colleagues

Add SwiftSend Inbound Secure Inbound Fax Feature

To prevent traditionally paper documentation, such as pay stubs, W2s and bank statements, from adding paper to the loan processing workflow, loan officers send a customized fax cover page, created and delivered using SwiftSend, to the borrower. Using the fax cover page, the borrower faxes their loan documentation directly into their eLoanFolders. Borrowers who are not able to fax in their documentation deliver it to the branch office where it is scanned and uploaded directly into the borrower's eLoanFolder. “We’re committed to keeping paper out of the process,” Whalen explains. “SwiftSend helps us start paperless and stay paperless.”

The Results—Reduced Cycle Times, Saving Money on Every Loan

According to Whalen, Action has noticed immediate dividends. “One of the top inefficiencies was the lag time between a loan getting from one person in the process to the next. SwiftSend has removed this completely. Now loan docs are available any time, from anywhere, via an Internet connection. With SwiftSend, we’re cutting our cycle time in half!”

The success of SwiftSend at Action has been noticed throughout the company: a 50% reduction in loan cycle times, a reduced investor delivery process time which has lowered the cost by 10 basis points, and a drastic drop in overnight packaging. Action calculates that they save up to $387 per loan. “When you factor in how many loans we do a month,” Whalen says, “that amount adds up pretty quickly.” Next up, Action is beginning to use SwiftSend to deliver closed loans to investors electronically and for archiving. They are also using SwiftSend technology to automate many of the manual steps in their current loan processing workflow. They expect these solutions will save them even more time and money, and allow them to processes more loans without investing in software, hardware, or other additional resources. As Whalen says, “Easy to use and easy to implement, SwiftSend is the only way to go.”

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