Keynoter: Online Lenders Should Reach Out

Internet lenders need to adopt new consumer-friendly policies to capitalize on the new online borrower, a keynote speaker told the 6th Annual Mortgage EC Conference Dec. 7 in Las Vegas.Catherine Muriel, chief marketing officer at E-Loan, noted that the average person spends 12.5 hours a week on the Internet and that 80% of Internet users have been on the Net for over three years. In order to attract this consumer, Ms. Muriel argued that online lenders have to provide a more detailed pre-approval letter that actually means the consumer is pre-approved, communicate more often with the consumer, and provide each consumer with a personal loan adviser for the entire lifecycle of the loan. In addition, they should give the consumer real closing fees that don't change, and keep the scheduled closing date without any adjustments, she said. "The Internet has settled and is no longer a gamble," Ms. Muriel concluded. "It's a great time to be an online lender."