| [February 18, 2008] |
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Mortgagebot Defies Industry Trends with Record Sales and System Usage in 2007
MEQUON, Wis. --(Business Wire)-- While the subprime mortgage-market meltdown is certainly having ripple effects throughout the mortgage industry, there are still many bright spots: an outstanding example is the latest news from mortgage-technology provider Mortgagebot LLC of Mequon, Wis. (www.Mortgagebot.com), the industry leader in consumer-direct online and enterprise-wide point-of-sale mortgage-origination solutions. Mortgagebot wrapped up 2007 with a record number of clients, record volume on its Mortgagebot PowerSite(R) solution, and record market penetration among commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions.
In fact, while the overall mortgage market was down 15 percent in 2007, "same-store" mortgage originations at Mortgagebot clients were up an average of 22 percent!
"Research into consumer shopping patterns continues to verify that the online mortgage channel has truly 'arrived'," said Scott Happ, Mortgagebot President and CEO. "Interest rates are at near-record lows, and people continue to shop for low mortgage rates. One leading research firm reports that more than 70 percent of all consumers who shop for mortgage loans begin their search online."
"The fact that banks, savings institutions, and credit unions are implementing our technology at such a record pace means they understand how vital it is in 2008 to meet their borrowers online," Happ noted. "These lenders realize that the market has changed; and to be competitive, they must wholeheartedly embrace the online mortgage-origination channel."
Mortgagebot's client base? 20 percent growth.
During 2007, Mortgagebot added 140 new customers (or "Partners" as Mortgagebot likes to call them), meaning the company began 2008 with a total of more than 750 Partners. That's an increase of more than 20 percent in a single year.
It's also worth noting how many commercial banks have recently adopted Mortgagebot technology. "Of our new Partners in 2007, nearly 80 percent of them were commercial banks--and 15 percent of those banks have more than $5 billion in assets," noted Dan Welbaum, Mortgagebot's Chief Marketing Officer.
"Credit unions often implement new technology to be competitive, and the primary business of many savings institutions is mortgage lending--so it's not surprising that we count hundreds of those organizations among our Partners," Welbaum observed. "What's truly exciting to see is how many commercial banks are now using Mortgagebot solutions to extend their lending efforts onto the Internet, increase the productivity of their employees, and grow their mortgage businesses."
An example of the banks that selected Mortgagebot in 2007 is First Interstate Bank of Billings, Mont. First Interstate, a $5 billion organization that operates 50 branches and more than 120 ATMs across Montana and Wyoming, chose Mortgagebot technology to simplify the online application process for online borrowers and improve its loan officers' productivity.
A First Interstate representative said the Bank will use Mortgagebot solutions to "enhance our product offerings, improve the usability of our mortgage Web site, streamline our lending processes, and equip our staff to provide superior service; (all of which) will give us a stronger competitive position and thus an improved bottom line."
Mortgage market? Down 15%. Mortgagebot clients? Up 22 percent.
Mortgagebot's PowerSite family of mortgage-application solutions is a hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) product suite that is deployed via the Internet, so Mortgagebot Partners have no software to install or maintain. This also means that Mortgagebot can easily track the overall volume of mortgage applications that flow through its systems.
And Mortgagebot is pleased to say that while the overall mortgage market is down, its Partners' business is trending up.
Recent statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America indicate that the overall mortgage market was down 15 percent in 2007 (vs. 2006). Yet in 2007 Mortgagebot Partners on average saw a 22 percent increase in "same-store" mortgage originations!
"Now that cut-rate brokers have exited the scene, regulated financial institutions like banks, thrifts, and credit unions are finding their place in the sun," said Happ. "Regulated lenders have better fiscal controls, and they typically lend to prime and near-prime borrowers; so they've largely been able to avoid the subprime crisis. And as subprime lenders have disappeared, consumers have turned en masse to trusted, local lenders to meet their home-financing needs. That's one reason why our Partners' business is up--and why mortgage applications are flowing through our PowerSite platform at a record pace."
A good example of that kind of increase in productivity is Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (BFSFCU), headquartered in Washington, DC. The $2.2-billion-asset credit union has used PowerSite products to boost efficiency, provide members with same-day approvals, and reduce the time it takes to complete an error-free mortgage application to less than 20 minutes.
In a recent news release, BFSFCU reported that its application-to-close "pull-through" rate for mortgages originated via its PowerSite online channel has climbed from 40 percent to 80 percent. And a BFSFCU spokesperson said that the online mortgage channel is not just about completing more loan applications--it's a key part of the organization's commitment to provide outstanding member service.
"The fact that Mortgagebot PowerSite enables (our members) to complete mortgage applications online--from anywhere--meets a critical need for us," the BFSFCU representative stated.
Mortgagebot market leadership: Exceptional origination solutions deployed enterprise-wide
In 2008, PowerSite remains the industry leader in every market it serves. That's because Mortgagebot Partners include nearly half of America's 100 largest banks, savings institutions, and credit unions--a claim no other competitor can make. But Mortgagebot solutions are not just for big lenders: Fully half of Mortgagebot Partners have assets of less than $500 million.
What's driving those lenders to Mortgagebot? The Mortgagebot PowerSite platform.
The award-winning PowerSite is a fully configurable, private-labeled, consumer-direct solution set that enables lenders to take mortgage applications enterprise-wide: over the Internet, through the branch, via the call center, or from a remote loan originator's laptop. PowerSite's intelligent, interactive functionality enables borrowers to complete an entire mortgage application, get pre-approved, and receive disclosures in 20 minutes or less. PowerSite is increasingly being deployed to associates throughout the branch or even the call center, enabling lenders to immediately increase their "application-ready" mortgage staff with virtually no additional training or cost.
Mortgagebot's PowerSite Pro solution is an increasingly popular version of PowerSite that is specifically designed to make professional loan officers more productive. This innovative tool gives experienced lenders the ability to take mortgage applications, obtain tri-merged credit reports, and get automated underwriting approval right at the point of sale, from wherever they have Internet access.
"More and more lenders are turning to Mortgagebot because they need a common, enterprise-wide POS solution to efficiently unite all of their origination channels," said Welbaum. "For example, many of our Partners deploy PowerSite to all of their branch associates. That way walk-in borrowers aren't turned away because a loan officer can't get free to meet with them."
About Mortgagebot
Mortgagebot LLC (www.Mortgagebot.com) is the industry-leading, Inc. 500 company that provides PowerSite, the direct-to-consumer, Web-based loan-origination solution set that can be deployed enterprise-wide. Mortgagebot blends extensive mortgage experience with leading-edge "software-as-a-service" (SaaS) technology to create robust, scaleable, and affordable Web sites for more than 750 mortgage lenders nationwide. And with the launch of its mortgage-shopping Web site, Mortgage Marvel(R) (www.MortgageMarvel.com), Mortgagebot has created a revolutionary, easy-to-use way for borrowers to instantly obtain and compare accurate, low mortgage rates--from hundreds of lenders--without revealing any personal data. Mortgagebot, Mortgagebot PowerSite, and Mortgage Marvel are registered trademarks of Mortgagebot LLC.
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