Lenders are looking for efficiency, transparency, etc. How are they getting there? By at least taking steps toward adopting e-mortgages. And vendors realize this need. So, they’re stepping up as well. And in stepping up, they’re starting to step on each other.
For example, Xerox Mortgage Services integrated with Wave last year to allow its clients to do e-signatures and e-vaulting. Now Xerox is taking it a step further by integrating with Docu Prep as well. Docu Prep’s EESS (Entire Electronic Signature Solution) provides e-disclosure, e-signature, e-modifications, e-closing, and e-vault services for lenders looking to implement a full range of e-processes.
Specifically, EESS gives lenders the ability to deliver complete loan packages or selected documents electronically. EESS makes it easy for borrowers to review and sign disclosures and documents online, while allowing the lenders to monitor the borrower’s progress and timing in e-signing. EESS also allows lenders to open the electronic signing room as “view only” to closing agents or attorneys, and makes a seamless transfer to the e-vaulting services, including MERS. Lenders can use EESS to complete transactions within the XMS eMortgage Suite by ordering loan documents through Docu Prep.
And Xerox isn’t the only vendor fleshing out its “e” offering. SigniaDocs and World Wide Notary, a leader in electronic notarization, have integrated their platforms to support e-signatures and e-notarizations for any mortgage document or document set. The seamless integration of data, from LOS through MERS registration, eliminates many errors that result from fragmented paper-based systems. The resulting blend of capabilities means that lenders essentially never have to print mortgage documents requiring signatures by borrowers, so mortgage transactions remain electronic from start to finish.
Using SigniaDocs eVault, all documents that are traditionally “papered out” and laboriously reviewed during the closing process are now available in advance of closing. Borrowers can review and click-to-sign the majority of documents at their leisure and then the few that need to be e-notarized or witnessed by a notary are passed to World Wide Notary’s DigaSign system to complete the documents. After the closing is complete, lenders and title companies are notified, the e-signed and e-notarized documents are deposited into the lender’s e-vault, and the e-note can be registered to MERS for transfer to Investors.
And I could go on and on providing even more examples of vendors stepping up their “e” game. It surely is getting crowded. I wonder how long it will take services like this to become just a commodity. If only the mortgage industry was at that point today, maybe the mortgage crisis could have been avoided.
Nonetheless, lenders realize the value now and these “e” players are getting traction. There’s a real market out there. BB&T Corp., has chosen the Secure Lending solution from Fiserv to electronically deliver initial disclosures and other pre-closing documents, with an electronic signature option, to borrowers.
Using the Fiserv solution will enable Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T, the nation's 11th largest financial holding company with $152 billion in assets, to easily manage workflow with compliance best practices by tracking and retaining all versions of RESPA three-day disclosures and other pre-closing documents sent to borrowers. In addition, BB&T will be able to further enhance customer service with a competitive advantage in potential turn-around times by delivering the documents immediately to their clients and allowing them to instantly execute the documents using electronic signatures.
"Implementing Secure Lending is part of our overall paper-free lending strategy," said Matt White, Senior Vice President and mortgage technology manager, BB&T. "In addition to lessening our environmental impact by replacing paper-based methods with electronic procedures, we expect to see cost savings and increased customer satisfaction from borrowers using this quick and convenient process. By working with the automated workflows that we already have in place in our loan origination system, Secure Lending will allow us to respond to our customers faster and easier."
So the move to everything “e” is happening for sure. I look forward to a day where I can look back and say I was there when lenders finally started to get it and adopting this stuff. I just wonder how long that’ll take and which of these “e” vendors will be the winners and which will not make the cut. Want to place any bets?
