IIB invests €2m in mortgage processing system


14 Jun 2004

Mortgage provider IIB Homeloans is to spend €2m on a new mortgage application processing system. The contract was awarded to IT services firm Kainos following a competitive tender.

Belgian-owned IIB holds 12pc of the Irish mortgage market and advanced €2bn to 10,000 borrowers last year. The new system will take over management of the mortgage application process from the mainly paper-based system used previously. In so doing, it is expected to increase the throughput of mortgage applications.

“The big advantage is that there are no paper files; it is all electronic. Several authorised users can access the system at the same time, speeding up the mortgage application process,” Noel Crowley, account manager at Kainos, told siliconrepublic.com.

The system, the first part of which is already in operation, uses Meridio document management software, supplied by the company of the same name that was spun-off from Kainos two years ago. Mortgage applications received from IIB brokers are scanned into Meridio using a separate scanning and indexing system, Kofax. The third element of the overall system is a Kainos-developed workflow product that controls the end-to-end mortgage application. Advanced auditing and control features have also been built into the system to ensure full regulatory compliance. In addition, missing documents can be identified and brokers can be notified automatically by email at any stage of the process.

“It’s all about the efficiency of processing mortgage applications so that they can be turned around from application receipt to cheque issue as quickly as possible,” said Crowley, who added that the system could quickly and easily be extended to IIB’s broker network if required.

Kainos previously installed a similar mortgage application processing system at another big home loans provider, First Active.

Commenting on the deal, John Delaney, director IIB Homeloans, said: “This system will revolutionise the way we do business, significantly enhancing our service to customers and the broker network, and consolidating IIB’s position in the Irish market place.”

By Brian Skelly