It’s been a long time coming, but banks are in the process of ramping up the digitization of their commercial lending business.  Why now? With the Covid pandemic and unsteady markets, banks have begun to see more clearly that an end-to-end transformation is what’s needed to remain competitive, gain operating efficiencies, and deliver a superior customer experience.

While other areas of the banking industry — both retail and institutional—  have been moving towards full-scale digitization, the commercial lending space has been generally left behind until now, cut off from the rest of the bank and unable to share data and information across business lines.

But now, with borrowers increasingly seeking ways to view their loan portfolio in real-time and gain operational efficiencies, players in the commercial lending space now view digitization as the best approach to to retain current clients and attract new ones. Along with providing better service to their borrowers, commercial banks stand to see mitigation of risk and higher revenues as a result of embracing technology.

For both lenders and borrowers, digitization will help in these key areas:

• Automation of Workflow and Processes– With borrowers initiating transactions, the ability to achieve automation increases dramatically.
• More Opportunities – Banks can more easily interact with and sell more effectively to their customers, allowing them to cross-market their services to other channels. Borrower can also interact with their loans more efficiently.
• Integration From Start to Finish– Integration with other areas of the bank will provide lenders with the ability to fulfill customer requirements for other bank services, while delivering these products and services flawlessly and consistently.

By focusing on delivering their services in a faster, more efficient way, commercial lenders can provide full automation of crucial processes for their customers, while growing their loan revenue without increasing risk or constraining current resources.

– Lending Practice Editorial Staff