2003 Is "The Year of the Browser" For Financial Analysis and Decisioning
By Gary L. Kruse For BankNews February 2003

Lenders from across the country are warming up to the idea that the Web isn't just a place to go, nor is it just a new delivery channel. When lenders think of the word "browser" these days it's in regard to an IT solution or infrastructure that is weaving its way into every nook and cranny of their institution. Even though these lenders are showing more interest in browser-based technology, many still do not have a solid grasp on exactly how it will benefit them, but most feel it is something they do need.

Today software applications are migrating toward the more uniform browser-based workstation and away from the Windows® pc-based workstation. This easy to use, easy to install and easy to update technology is enabling lenders to not only operate more efficiently with less chance of human error, but also to better manage their portfolios and cut costs by streamlining operations and eliminating redundant systems.

How do I know these things to be true? Because my company has been responding to the needs of the lending market since 1985. You may be familiar with our Equity Manager software as it is used by over 2,500 lending institutions throughout the U.S. for ag and commercial loan analysis, risk rating, data mining and portfolio management. For the past 13 years our software products have matured based upon our ability to truly listen to our customer's feedback and by keeping up with information technology innovations. Today this experience tells us that our customers cannot accomplish their ever-changing goals using today's pc desktop computing environment.

Why do you suppose that is? In a nutshell, bankers and technologists both love to over-engineer things. Need a database? No problem. Here's a gazillion different fields. Need work flow? No problem. Here's a gazillion ways to setup a loan. The results have been techno "Taj Mahals" that are under used because they're too complex for the needs of most software users. Although the complexity of matching up the right analysis with the right customer at the right time may never really change for the better, the technology has.

What we have been able to do over the last 18 months is create a browser-based solution called Web Equity Manager® that let's our customers dictate how the system works, not the other way around. You make the loan applications look the way you want. You decide the workflow for a loan. You choose the scoring and rating methods that match your underwriting standards. It's your analysis. It's your system. It's all done your way. We simply control the necessary integrity and standardization elements that rarely ever change like industry ratio calculations, indicators, comparisons and codes like SIC/NAICS.

In the past, it was common for institutions to run several systems simultaneously. This situation often required dual entry of data, making the systems extremely inefficient. Today, an institution can use one browser-based solution to store all their information. In this way, all internal participants in the lending process, from the loan officer to the analyst to the administrator, view the same information. Any changes propagate throughout the system in order to maintain data integrity. This is what lenders can expect from a browser-based solution like Web Equity Manager® for their financial analysis and decisioning processes.

With Web Equity Manager® all your loans are created, processed and maintained in the same system. No more redundant data entry chores across fragmented systems or in spreadsheets. Not only that, but you can customize the chart of accounts (Balance Sheets / Income and Expenses) for every loan flavor at any point in time: Agriculture | Commercial | Small Business | Consumer.

You can design multiple workflow checklists to track the progress on each loan decisioning procedure. Every step of the way can be validated with e-signatures (date/time/user stamping) that make electronic loan committees a reality. Approve loans any time from anywhere with all the relevant information at your fingertips in a user id and password protected environment.

Lenders can automatically pull credit bureau reports for inclusion in their scoring and rating systems. You can pull from the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union) or combine a report from all three. In the coming months the lenders who rely on validated scorecards in their analysis will be able to use the Fair, Isaac LiquidCredit® analytic and decisioning service for small business lending, including the industry-leading Small Business Scoring ModelsSM (SBSSSM) within Web Equity Manager®. This solution will allow these lenders to quickly and confidently process loans up to $250,000 with little or no financial data.

On the agricultural analysis side of the system, users can seamlessly integrate the popular Red Wing Perception Accounting software data with Web Equity Manager®. The interface between the two programs allows producers and lenders to evaluate risk versus reward, cash flows, and future net worth projections when considering changes in business plans they may be working on together.

The Web Equity Manager® system is installed, maintained and updated on a single server (a Web server) connected to an Internet-based network (Intranet / VPN / Internet). Users can access the data on the Web server from any designated computer on the network using a Web browser at any time. The institution is in total control of who accesses what information and when.

Whether you are part of a larger lending institution that makes lavish technology investments or the small to medium sized community lender that runs lean and mean, you both share a need for affordable and capable solutions that are easy to acquire, learn and use. For this reason we provide two hosting solutions for our browser-based product.

Our "Enterprise Solution" lets the institution host and support every facet of the technology. Our "Application Service Provider (ASP) Solution" lets us take care of all the techno-hassles for the institution in our world-class data hosting and co-location facility. It's interesting to note that half of our Web Equity Manager® customers have chosen to outsource this technology using our ASP Solution.

The bottom line with this technology is productivity. The use of one lending solution within an institution for all loan types facilitates cross-functional teaming and enables loan officers to better manage and monitor their loan portfolios. When all players have access to one solution, it is easier to track the status of pending transactions and redundant tasks are eliminated.

To that point, I want to share with you a recent study conducted by Benchmark Consulting International that found American workers spend almost 500 hours a year (25%) of their time on the job searching for files and information. It also concluded that a single misplaced document costs $120 in expenses and lost productivity. Based upon their calculations, a four-drawer file cabinet costs $25,000 to fill and $2,000 annually to maintain, with 80% of that cost attributed to labor.

While a large part of the lending process is too complex to automate and requires human brainpower and reasoning, the costs associated with information management can be cut and /or eliminated using browser-based technologies like Web Equity Manager®.

Gary Kruse is Chairman/CEO of ECI, developer of Equity Manager financial analysis and decisioning software for lenders. If you have any questions about this story you can contact ECI at 1-800-264-0787 ext. 200, emailing them at inquire@eci-equity.com or by visiting their Web site at www.eci-equity.com.

© ECI | All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us | Privacy Statement