Stroud and Swindon now produce mortgage illustrations at all 22 branches using Initiate and all branches are now live with Frontline. Mortgage applications are processed in the centralised Lending Centre using Activate. New mortgage regulations have been the main business driver behind Stroud and Swindon's IT infrastructure changes, with the AttentiV systems replacing a system that had been developed in-house. The new systems will be integrated with the existing AttentiV Summit system in the back office.

Commenting on the project, Keith Henley, Senior Manager - Business and Information Systems, explained " Although we were reasonably happy with the level of functionality offered by our previous system, the forthcoming mortgage regulation changes had necessitated a fresh look at our IT infrastructure. We decided that it would not be cost effective to develop our existing system and we decided to standardise on AttentiV Systems products. It made sense to have a front office system that was fully integrated with the AttentiV back office. With more regulatory changes planned for the future we are now confident in the knowledge that AttentiV can support the necessary changes and additionally we are able to share development costs with the rest of the AttentiV customer base."

The Initiate and Activate modules will automate the work involved in processing a mortgage application from initial customer enquiry and quotation through to completion. Following completion, the mortgage will be administered by the main AttentiV Summit system for its full operational life. The branch system, Frontline will be used both by branch cashiers and by back office staff to support over 200,000 customer accounts.

Stroud and Swindon have seen a number of benefits since the two systems went live.

A consistent product offering and consistency of information given across all branches is achieved - an essential requirement when complying with FSA regulations. A single system, with a standard approach will eliminate local variations in information given to customers.

A reduction in the admin effort required to process each mortgage application via Initiate and Activate will enable the Society to process more applications without increasing headcount.

Frontline allows all types of customer interaction, such as new account opening, printing of tax forms and updating of accounts, to be performed over the counter within one set of screens and with immediate updating of the customer's account. Previously, many day to day admin tasks required the cashier to switch between front and back office systems or to handwrite forms. Customers benefit directly from a more efficient service in the branches.

David Webber, Managing Director of AttentiV Systems commented, "I'm delighted that the Stroud and Swindon has chosen both Initiate and Activate for mortgage application processing and our branch system Frontline, giving true 'end to end' support for the mortgage process. Impending mortgage regulation changes are placing huge pressures on banks and building societies. I'm pleased that we can alleviate some of those pressures by providing systems that can comply with regulatory changes."