City Bank Mortgage Facilitates Expansion, Operational Efficiency with DataTrac, DataTrac Web, DataTrac EDM
Company
Company City Bank Mortgage, based in Lubbock, Texas, is a $265 million mortgage banker with ten retail branches throughout Texas.
Challenge
In 2006, City Bank Mortgage, a division of City Bank Texas, was unsatisfied with its workflow automation platform. Anticipating the future growth of its lending operation, City Bank began to search for a more robust system that would allow the company to efficiently expand its business.
Solution
In Q4 2006, City Bank Mortgage discontinued the use of its original platform and implemented DataTrac, Del Mar DataTrac’s (DMD’s) mortgage lending workflow automation tool, and DataTrac Web, DMD’s Web-based interface to DataTrac. In 2007, City Bank Mortgage also implemented DataTrac EDM, DMD’s electronic document management solution.
Results
Within a year of implementing DataTrac and DataTrac Web, City Bank Mortgage grew from a one branch operation that originated approximately 50 loans per month to a ten branch operation that originated more than 200 loans per month as a result of acquiring nine other Texas lenders.
According to Tom Couture, Secondary Marketing Manager for City Bank Mortgage, DataTrac and DataTrac Web provided operational efficiencies that supported the sudden increase in production volume while minimizing the need for additional back-office staff. “Had it not been for our implementation of DataTrac and DataTrac Web, we would not have had enough capacity to say ‘yes’ to the growth,” said Couture. “These systems provided the automation necessary to support such an increase in volume that was nearly quadruple the amount we were used to. Because of this, we did not have to add many people on the back-end.”
Additionally, DataTrac Web and DataTrac’s integration with City Bank’s front-end point-of-sale application, Calyx, provided additional efficiency through increased monitoring capabilities between branches and the institution’s corporate office. Originators were able to view real-time loan status online, upload loan data from any branch POS, manage lock requests, and exchange notes on loan files.
Impressed with these results, City Bank Mortgage decided to implement DataTrac EDM to further increase productivity and efficiency as a paperless institution. This implementation proved to significantly bolster underwriters’ productivity, providing City Bank with major cost savings.
“Before going paperless, both of our underwriters spent a lot of time sifting through paper loan files that were faxed or shipped from all over Texas,” said Couture. “Not only did they have to examine every single piece of paper they received, they had to document the results and fax them back to the branches along with the underwriting conditions. This faxing back and forth continued until files were cleared to close. With DataTrac EDM, underwriters were able to work more quickly and efficiently since files were imaged and sent directly to and from the branches online. Because of this, we only hired one additional underwriter as opposed to the extra three we would have needed had we not gone paperless. This is quite an accomplishment considering we pay our underwriters a yearly salary of more than $60,000.”
In addition to faster underwriting, DataTrac EDM reduced the number of days needed for City Bank Mortgage to settle loans with investors–enabling the company to quickly turn warehouse lines.
“Prior to the DataTrac EDM implementation, it would take us as long as 20 days to settle loans with investors,” said Couture. “This was problematic considering that the bank requires us to turn our lines 2-3 times per month so as not to tie up funds. Now, because files are shipped electronically to investors, we are able to settle loans in less than 10 days.”
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