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Paperless process promotes market testing
Since the beginning of the year, $2 billion Summit Credit Union, Madison, Wis., has used paperless applications for many of its loans, and the CU's mortgage lending department has offered the option of completing the entire process digitally. The results have been liberating.
"Members can lock interest rates online, upload pay stubs, send documents securely, and see if they're approved over the weekend," says CUES member Christine Haroldson, VP/mortgage lending at Summit CU. "That's given us the extra flexibility we need. It allows us to focus on member needs rather than courier routes."
The digital process means loan officers can work remotely with a centrally located loan processor, allowing the CU to test new markets around the city. Summit CU is taking advantage of this low-risk opportunity to expand, opening its third mortgage loan office in October.
"[Mortgage loan offices], like the one opening in Verona in October, are meant to go in areas where we don't have a branch yet. It's a great way to get into the market to make sure we're servicing members while also reaching out," Haroldson says. "While the focus is mortgage loans, we can open new accounts and service all other types of loans as well. In Verona we'll also be adding a deposit-accepting ATM."
The new ATM will make the new mortgage loan office in Verona, Wis., multi-purpose, allowing many existing Verona-based members access to some basic teller services, and the new, eye-catching building will expand the CU's reach.
Summit CU is known for its creative construction, winning two InBusiness Commercial Design Awards in 2013 for its Fitchburg, Wis., "Inspiration" branch and, most recently, a CUES Golden Mirror Award for Branch Design and Positioning. The new Verona mortgage loan office is no exception, and will feature a backyard design, complete with a porch and picket fence.
"We thought it would be fun to make it look like a place where you want to spend your time," Haroldson says. "It's meant to make you feel like you're in the back yard of your own home. It's meant to excite people about that feeling of home ownership."
The mortgage loan office will have no set hours, doing most business by appointment, although walk-ins will be welcome. Because of the varied hours, one of the main focuses was to have the new loan office be set in a high-traffic, well-lit area that is welcoming, day or night. Before long, Haroldson hopes to see Summit CU loan officers embedded in the community.
"We think it will improve our reach in Verona," Haroldson says. "We don't want to just put a branch in. The intent is that the loan officer and the financial service representative will start outreach. We'll start home-buying seminars out there. We really count on (team members) to be a part of the community and to participate."
Seminars and community investment are two simple ways for Summit CU to maintain its commitment to financial education, and the goal, according to Haroldson, is to work with prospective home-buyers from start to finish.
"We walk [buyers] through the whole process. [At seminars] we bring in experts like home inspectors and loan officers," Haroldson says. "The main idea is to give people a non-threatening environment where they can come in and learn. If they want to go to the next step, they have familiar names and faces that they can go to. We want to celebrate with them. We want to be a part of the experience."
Kait Vosswinkel was a CUES editorial intern.
Photocredit: Summit Credit Union
