Bots could replace humans in parts of the mortgage process, says tech firm

Jaidev Hasija, general manager of Intelenet,said: “Our focus is also to try and bring in much more artificial intelligence into the mortgage space, making it quicker. We want to get to a stage where a mortgage offer can be given instantly."

Bots could replace humans in parts of the mortgage process, says tech firm

Bots could replace humans in parts of the application process,Jaidev Hasija, general manager of Intelenet, has declared.

Intelenet Global Services, which works with a UK mortgage lenderas well as others in India, has been in the mortgage business for over 12 years. In the first three to four years it took about 20 to 25 daysto transacta full mortgage application but now it takesthe firm7-10 days.

And now its latest project isimprovingartificial intelligence.

Hasijasaid: “Our focus is also to try and bring in much more artificial intelligence into the mortgage space, making it quicker. We want to get to a stage where a mortgage offer can be given instantly.

“From a mortgage perspective, we are currently developing bots that could replace a human. For example with the appointment booking, the bot will be able to book these appointments on its own. There are so many situations in the entire mortgage journey where you could replace a human with a bot.”

Tony Antenucci, vice president, global directorbusiness development atIntelenet, added: “From typing a password to fingerprint ID, artificial intelligence is happening so quickly. What happens last month may be old today.

“It’ll change the face of how people do banking. We want to help the bank be prepared with that technology and capability.”

Intelenet introduced Spectrum 360, a tool that brings information into one systemwhere lenders and brokers can view it all.

It also developedRadius, an‘uber-in-mortgage’ appthathelps the frontline sales team connect with the customers and complete the mortgage interview.

The tool provides features like uploading documents, an electronic signature and a control room to provide colleague support.

In terms of offers, some 75% of customers are given offers in just 48 hours. This is via introducing many tools for brokers and lenders alike, which they can use irrespective of the other using.

Hasija added: “Being in business for such a long time,we have the right experience needed to bring in changes.We have studied the processes so simple, repetitive processcanbe automated to make it quicker. For example, a valuation report filling in details manually used to take a while but now gets sent automatically on a system.

“Speed is an integral part of our business. In terms of the mortgage industry, speed is the most important. With new technology, companies need to move with the times quickly.”

The underwriting process can be long because of calculating affordability, looking at income multiples, studying credit reports, and valuation reports.

He said they implemented the concept of case ownership whereby one underwriter is used for the whole process. RISE is a workflow tool within underwriting that provides greater flexibility in real-time to operational leaders and helps them manage high volumes with less manual work.

Hasijia said: “This is unique workflow tool where we extract data and identify what unique case number and anything that comes in throughout the application process, and goes directly to that underwriter.

“The RISE tool, coupled with the entire process change, overall sourced 43% efficiency in about 9 months.”

Older affordability calculators made the process longer, looking at credit and salary slips and on average took 14 minutes to use.

So Intelenet brought in similar calculators where users put in the property value, the amount the client is asking for and what they earn. Then it automatically gives the amount the client can borrow, reducing the time it takes to use to three minutes.