US-based Harmony Bank has joined forces with financial technology provider Baker Hill to streamline and scale the bank’s commercial lending process.
Through the collaboration, the bank will utilise Baker Hill NextGen commercial loan origination system (LOS)’s preconfigured version Baker Hill NextGen Accelerate.
Baker Hill NextGen is a configurable, single platform software as a service (SaaS) solution for commercial, small business, consumer loan origination, and risk management.
The preconfigured version offers community financial organisations a world-class framework for digitally transforming the commercial lending process, said the financial technology provider.
Baker Hill NextGen Accelerate includes guided workflows, automated checklists, and other features of Baker Hill NextGen coupled with a streamlined implementation timeline of 90 days.
Baker Hill NextGen Accelerate is tailored to address financial institutions on their digital transformation journey and scale as commercial lending requirements change.
Baker Hill president and CEO John Deignan said: “Given the significant role that Harmony Bank serves in financing loans for businesses and commercial enterprises throughout Dallas, choosing the right loan origination solution was an important decision.
“We are proud this renowned institution chose Baker Hill NextGen Accelerate, which is built on 40 years of commercial lending expertise. We look forward to supporting Harmony Bank’s continued growth for years to come.”
Locally owned and operated, Harmony Bank possesses over $715m in assets. Last year, the US-based bank merged with Texas Brand Bank, which is said to have instantly doubled Harmony Bank’s commercial portfolio.
Harmony Bank senior portfolio manager and vice president Evan Briscoe said: “Our merger was the catalyst that led us to consider a new loan origination system. Prior to our partnership with Baker Hill, our lending process was sufficient, but still manual.
“We utilised Word and Excel for underwriting, credit memos and exception tracking, leaving us in need of a loan origination platform to help us improve and centralise workflows, which would also help us better define tasks and roles within the lending process.”
Baker Hill aims to support Harmony Bank’s team members in efficiently closing more loans and better addressing the financing needs of local borrowers by optimising commercial lending workflows and automating manual tasks like data entry.