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This article is sponsored by D+H.
Established in 1958 to serve the needs of military personnel at Vandenberg Air Force Base, $840 million/60,000-member CoastHills Credit Union, Lompoc, Calif., now serves the entire Central Coast region of California, from Santa Cruz County all the way to Ventura County. Not only is this financial institution known for its excellent member service, it is also equally known for giving back to its community.
"Our CEO and board of directors believe in making a difference in peoples' lives--both in our members' lives and the lives of the individuals in the communities we serve," explains Suzie Contreras, business services manager for CoastHills CU. "We're also a credit union that's big on efficiency. We find the best way to get the job done, whether we're serving a member or volunteering in the community. That's our culture."
That focus on "doing things the right way" is what brought Contreras to CoastHills CU, and what brought CoastHills CU to D+H.
"CoastHills was ramping up its commercial lending activity in 2008, when they recruited me from another institution," Contreras says. "With my professional experience, I wanted to help the credit union build its commercial loan process from the ground up."
Initially, CoastHills CU used a third-party CUSO to handle its commercial loan processing and document creation, but soon, the institution's needs outpaced the CUSO's ability to deliver. It was definitely time for a change.
As a commercial lending veteran, Contreras was very familiar with LaserPro from D+H. In fact, she started using the DOS version of the solution back in 1994. Although she looked at other options, nothing compared to LaserPro for handling the application and closing phases of a commercial loan request, while maintaining document compliance.
"I've always liked the way LaserPro navigates. It's very easy to use and learn," Contreras says. "You can do a lot of things with it, but it's extremely user friendly." Like most institutions, compliance is a top priority for CoastHills CU. LaserPro scores high points in that area, too.
"We don't have an in-house commercial lending compliance person; those responsibilities fall to me. LaserPro helps us generate documents that are compliant with the regulatory requirements in the state where the loan is written, where the property is located and where the collateral is held," Contreras says. "The software also sends out different alerts, ranging from advisories to 'critical error' which helps prevent missteps along the way."
CoastHills CU is an SBA Preferred Lender, which requires the credit union to submit specific forms and documents to the SBA for loan approval. The SBA Lending Solution for LaserPro ensures the credit union's lending team processes SBA loans according to requirements, and completes an SBA loan package within a single solution.
"The SBA Lending Solution module has all of the required forms built in. It also links to the SBA's E-Tran website, updates authorizations and confirms we're using the latest version of the required documents," Contreras says. "Additionally, it prompts our staff to fill in the right information to accurately produce the documents we need. It's a nice program."
Although Contreras was sold on LaserPro, she was not familiar with CreditQuest(r) Rating Manager, a risk rating management tool, until her D+H representative showed her a demo.
"I had used two different underwriting products in the past, and we did consider these for the credit union. However, we were so impressed with CreditQuest that we knew it was the best choice," Contreras says. "The combination of CreditQuest and LaserPro provides one solid, tightly integrated process. We don't have to worry about managing multiple vendors or how one vendor's software change would impact the interface."
Today, CoastHill CU's commercial loan origination process begins with lenders using CreditQuest Financial Analyzer to perform the financial statement spreads. This action kicks off a seamless workflow that moves the loan through the required steps to the actual booking of the loan.
As much as Contreras appreciates the value of LaserPro and CreditQuest, she is equally impressed by the support and service at D+H. To her, that makes all the difference. She says, "for me, it's the perfect combination: the best software, reliable support and the peace of mind that comes from having an entire compliance team staying on top of things for us. LaserPro and CreditQuest are well worth the investment. They certainly have paid off for us."
