Texas-Based Bank’s New Origination System Adds Safety Net

City Bank is upgrading its loan origination system in part to strengthen its compliance management, Brent Couch, senior vice president of indirect lending, told Auto Finance News.

“There are a lot of safeguards and safety checks you can build into it, so it’s very, very preventative — that’s the big thing,” Couch said. “I think what it’s going to do is help lenders be more consistent” in pricing and in making exceptions, a key component to avoiding the potential appearance of discrimination, Couch said.

The Lubbock, Texas-based bank will soon be upgrading to Teledata Communications Inc.’s (TCI) DecisionLender 4.0, from version 3.5, Couch said. TCI Founder George Nagrodsky told AFN the revamped LOS lets lenders make changes to systems and alter workflow, and moves control closer to where loans are being structured. The new system highlights discrepancies before the offer is sent back to the dealership, Couch said.

“You want to stick to your policy as close as you can, so when information is entered, it will highlight areas that are maybe out of your policy,” he said. “So all of that’s taken care of at that time, instead of going back after the fact and trying to explain why the contract or loan has an exception here or there.”

City Bank processes an average of 500 auto loan applications a month and works with a network of about 50 dealers in its local area.