Equifax Helps Credit Unions Simplify Lending Process with CUNA Mutual Interface

ATLANTA, Oct. 12 (allCUnews.com) -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced the launch of an industry-first solution that gives credit unions a new way to leverage critical information for consumer and business lending. Now, credit unions can benefit from an interface that connects Equifax's APPRO loan and account origination solution and CUNA Mutual Group's LOANLINER® Document Web Service. With this interface, credit unions can quickly access the most up-to-date, compliant loan documents - enabling them to address key compliance needs, reduce processing times and deepen customer relationships.

APPRO and LOANLINER® customer Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union recently integrated this solution to further automate its lending applications.

"With an ever changing financial, regulatory and economic environment and with a continuing need for efficiency while not sacrificing service, the CUNA Mutual Interface comes as a timely tool to help us accomplish that," said Jay Caldwell, consumer loan manager, Merrimack Valley FCU.

"This partnership and solution will help us provide a higher quality service to our members while streamlining and making a more efficient loan process for staff."

A fully automated solution, APPRO provides simplified loan and account origination by using one system for all account opening, business and consumer loan origination needs. CUNA Mutual's Document Web Service is an application service provider (ASP) offering that offers credit unions a central location for compliance documents and information to support all of their business and consumer lending efforts. Leveraging both of these industry-leading solutions through an interface helps credit unions ensure that they are using the appropriate documents for various loan products while eliminating the need for manual processes.

"Despite continued economic and regulatory changes to our financial markets, credit unions that stay focused on identifying new efficiencies and streamlining lending processes will be well positioned to improve ROI and drive future growth," said Rajib Roy, president, Equifax Technology and Analytical Services. "The addition of this APPRO feature demonstrates our pledge to innovate and deliver technologies that can help credit unions and other types of financial institutions strengthen their lending portfolios while managing risk in the midst of strong market headwinds."

Compliant documents can be sent with the new interface and borrower and collateral data can be seamlessly transmitted from APPRO to the Document Web Service for processing. Instead of manually re-entering application data, lenders can rely on the interface to automatically select and pre-populate the right loan documents with accurate information. Automated document selection based on criteria such as product requirements, loan parameters and the number of borrowers not only reduces the likelihood of errors but helps ensure a credit union's compliance with key industry regulations.

In addition to streamlining the lending process, the new interface offers features that provide credit unions with added benefits and conveniences. Its flexible, Web-based model allows lending and deposit documents to integrate seamlessly with credit union loan origination and data systems. Credit unions using the Document Web Service can now rely on CUNA Mutual to manage specific document compliance issues throughout the loan cycle and beyond. Another advantage, the new interface makes it easy to electronically transport documents securely to all loan parties for signatures and filing - sometimes a complex process for mortgage and commercial loan requests.

The interface to CUNA Mutual's LOANLINER Document Web Service is the latest addition to Equifax's Technology and Analytical Solutions, which include loan origination, credit risk decisioning, fraud prevention [1] and account opening solutions. APPRO helps automate every phase of the loan processing workflow - from data acquisition and decisioning through a range of post-approval functions. For more information about APPRO and other Equifax technology solutions, visit www.equifax.com/consumer/risk/account_opening/appro/en_us [2].

About Equifax Inc. (www.equifax.com [3])

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

About CUNA Mutual Group
CUNA Mutual Group is a leading provider of financial services to credit unions, their members and valued customers worldwide. With more than 70 years of market commitment, CUNA Mutual's vision is unwavering: to be a trusted business partner who delivers service excellence and customer-focused, best-in-class products and market-driven innovation. More information on the company is available at www.cunamutual.com [4].
SOURCE Equifax Inc.