successes
Guaranty Bank Increases Efficiencies Nationwide by Implementing Electronic Document Delivery
Who:
Guaranty Bank (Brown Deer, Wis.)
Key Figures:
Del Januchowski, vice president of Mortgage Training & Development Guaranty Bank
When:
July 2003 – Present
What:
Increased volume through implementing technology that allowed for decisioning at the point-of-sale and brought ease-of-use and convenience to its customers with Internet-accessible approval anytime, anywhere.
Challenges:
Brown Deer, Wis.-based, Guaranty Bank operates more than 50 retail bank branches and three subsidiary mortgage companies: Shelter Mortgage, GN Mortgage and Guaranty Bank Home Equity.
In 2003, approximately 20 percent of the bank’s total loan volume was generated through online applications. The closure rate, however, was not up to par.
As a result, Guaranty wanted a way to increase the percentage of online loan applications, as well as increase the number closed loans that were initiated online.
Solution:
The bank began its search for a technology that could provide a quick and effective way to turn online applicants into customers and selected Cincinnati-based eLynx, Ltd and its electronic approval service, eLynx uSignä to fulfill its requirements.
Guaranty Bank was an existing eLynx customer, having utilized its Web Posting Service document delivery and tracking solution since August 2000. According to bank officials, eLynx had proven its technological dependability with a consistent percent downtime with its closing document services. So, when the bank learned about uSign, the decision to implement uSign was easy. Guaranty Bank was the first to pilot the eApproval technology in July 2003.
According to Kim Russo, a mortgage trainer for Shelter Mortgage, it was because of the partnership relationship with eLynx and the company’s real attention to customer feedback about uSign, that Guaranty Bank’s seven (and growing) mortgage companies are able to easily implement the technology. “They trusted our input on ways to make uSign easier to understand by our users, and because of that,” said Del Januchowski, vice president of Mortgage Training and Development for Guaranty Bank, “produced a solution that is easily implemented into our daily business processes, and enabling a quick training time so that the benefits of uSign can be realized almost immediately.”
The bank first implemented uSign at its mortgage company, Guaranty Mortgage, in December 2003. The bank realized an almost immediate impact on its lending processes with improved time and cost savings, as loan officers no longer needed to make copies and wait for faxes to go through, nor needed to pay for overnight delivery services.
Result:
Since its initial implementation of eLynx’ technology, Guaranty Bank has implemented uSign in six additional mortgage branches across the United States. According to bank officials, the training requirements are simple and easy to understand, allowing for almost immediate service upon signing on with uSign. In fact, the bank now reports that 75 to 90 percent of the loans applied for online with Guaranty, are closed with Guaranty.
About Guaranty Bank
Guaranty Bank was founded in 1923 and is based in Brown Deer, Wis. The bank has established a strong presence in Southeastern Wisconsin and currently has more than 50 retail bank branches and three subsidiary mortgage companies, Shelter Mortgage, GN Mortgage and GB Home Equity. The bank and its subsidiaries have offices nationwide and provide a number of financial services to customers such as retail mortgages, wholesale mortgages and Home Equity loans and lines of credit.
For additional information about Guaranty Bank, refer to the Web site at www.guarantybanking.com.