Laureate Capital rolls out Hyland ECM software

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Laureate Capital, with a $9.7 billion servicing portfolio balance, chose to implement OnBase in its loan administration group to eliminate paper loan files and provide greater connectivity between the corporate location and its 17 production offices. The announcement was made at the Mortgage Bankers Association's 94th Annual Conference & Expo in Boston.

As Laureate Capital began to expand its number of branches and increase production, administrators within the company realized the institution's use of paper loan files was rapidly becoming inefficient. Documents would sometimes be lost or damaged, and with the growing number of branches, sharing files between the branches meant employees had to either courier or ship files. With the help of its parent company, Laureate Capital began looking for a solution that would create a paperless environment where documents could be safely stored, shared and fit Laureate's boutique lending atmosphere.

"OnBase was one of several products we considered, and the main driver for adopting OnBase was seeing the application in use in a lending environment similar to ours at our peer company," said Joseph Lovell, senior vice president of loan administration at Laureate Capital. "Many of the other solutions we considered were more rigid, industrial-type solutions. We were looking for a system that could be easily configured to the way we operate, and OnBase fit the bill perfectly."

OnBase is an ECM software suite with applications that include document imaging, workflow, electronic document management, COLD/ERM and records management. OnBase allows financial institutions to manage all digital content, including scanned paper documents, e-mails, faxes, print streams, application files, e-forms, Web content and multimedia files.

Using OnBase, Laureate Capital streamlined operations within its loan servicing department by scanning all documents contained in and associated with a loan file into OnBase. This paperless environment eliminates the need to print and store multiple copies of loan files while increasing file accountability and enhancing communication among employees and between branches — all of which saves Laureate Capital valuable time and money.

"Before we began imaging loan files with OnBase, it seemed that information and documents would sometimes get lost in the shuffle, and the paper loan files made it extremely difficult for employees to share needed information from the files," said Lyndell Elam, vice president and manager of document administration for Laureate Capital. "Since the implementation began, our employees have been extremely pleased and impressed with the ease in which they can access needed documents at any time through the OnBase system, regardless of who else is accessing the document at the time."

Another deciding factor for Laureate Capital was that OnBase could be installed by KeyMark, an Authorized OnBase Solution Provider located in Liberty, S.C., near Laureate's headquarters in Charlotte. KeyMark also provides Laureate Capital's employees with training and technical support for the OnBase system. "KeyMark is committed to providing our customers with the technology and best practices to solve their individual business issues and concerns," said Victoria Newman, marketing manager for KeyMark. "Working with partners like Hyland Software, KeyMark is able to provide customers with quality solutions to streamline and automate business processes, measurably increase productivity and reduce costs, all while providing personalized service and support that our customers have come to expect."

Since the implementation of OnBase, Laureate Capital has experienced significant cost and time savings. While currently used for imaging and indexing loan files, Laureate Capital is looking to leverage OnBase's workflow capabilities to automate several processes within the institution. In addition, the company plans to expand its use of OnBase into its treasury management group, with the goal of creating an entirely paperless work environment.

"The largest pain point for any successful lending operation is how to manage the volume of documents and files that the lending process creates. Given the current lending climate, it is now more important than ever to invest in technology that will make your operations more efficient, as well as save time and money," said Jason King, director of financial services for Hyland Software. "Using OnBase, lenders of all sizes are able to image, store and manage documents in a way that suits their individual business need and provides significant return on investment in a short period of time. In addition, electronic document access speeds internal review and approval procedures, which creates greater process efficiency."