MeridianLink acquisition helps lenders recapture denied leads

MeridianLink is acquiring a financial wellness platform, marking the start of accelerated technology investment by the company.

The loan-origination software provider bought Credit Mountain, which helps financial institutions transform loan declines into opportunities through personalized credit education, digital coaching and actionable financial improvement plans, for an undisclosed amount last week. 

The acquisition builds on MeridianLink's lending lifecycle strategy, enabling institutions to engage with borrowers before, during and after the lending decision, it said in a press release Monday.

In partnership with Credit Mountain, the company now offers MeridianLink Pathway, which will help lenders provide declined borrowers with a personalized and compliant route to loan approval. MeridianLink Coach, which uses AI-powered guidance to help consumers improve their credit profile and eligibility for the products they need, will be available later this year, according to the release.

"Through MeridianLink Pathway and the future launch of MeridianLink Coach, we're helping community financial institutions transform the loan decline experience," MeridianLink CEO Larry Katz said in the release. "Together, these solutions help financial institutions create more paths to yes, improve financial outcomes and build trusted relationships that extend far beyond a single lending decision."

When a borrower is declined, MeridianLink Pathway delivers a customized adverse action experience that helps applicants understand why they were denied and what steps they can take to eventually achieve their financial goals. Pathway provides supplemental information, actionable guidance and ongoing engagement opportunities, helping lenders stay in touch with borrowers, according to the release.

Benefits of the product include: 

• Turning declines into future funded loans;
• reducing the cost of reacquiring borrowers who might otherwise seek financing elsewhere;
• and automating and digitizing traditionally manual and expensive adverse action processes.
  

Credit Mountain's capabilities have already been integrated into MeridianLink Consumer, a loan origination system, according to the release.
MeridianLink agreed to integrate with Optimal Blue earlier this year as well. The collaboration gives mortgage customers using MeridianLink's loan origination system access to Optimal Blue's product, pricing and eligibility solutions directly through the origination platform.

The Credit Mountain acquisition begins a new era for MeridianLink, one only possible with the resources of investment management firms Centerbridge Partners and Silversmith Capital Partners, which purchased the company last year.

"With the support of our partners at Centerbridge and Silversmith, we're accelerating our technology and innovation investments at a pace we simply couldn't before," a company spokesperson told National Mortgage News. "In fact, we're increasing our investment in innovation and service by 300x year over year."