OLYMPIA, Wash., Jan. 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- ET Financial Services announced today the expansion of OSCAR(r), its powerful loan origination, funding and servicing outsource tool, into the small business loan market for use by community and mid-size commercial banks.
"With OSCAR(r), community banks and mortgage bankers can accept, approve, document and fund small business loans in as little as ten minutes and at one-half the cost of existing approaches," said Darcy Huffman, ET's Vice President-Marketing. "Customers, particularly small business customers, expect rapid responses. That's one of the key ways they define 'good service.' A year from now, any lender, no matter how large or small, who can't provide real-time approvals and funding for small business loans will be operating at a serious handicap."
"As one of the first Banks in Washington to implement OSCAR's automated consumer lending systems, we have already realized strong results," said Susan Horton, CEO and Chairman of Wheatland Bank in Spokane, WA. "Our customers love the valuable car price shopping capabilities and user friendly convenience of the program. Adding the Small Business Loan System to our toolkit will help us attract and profitably retain the quality business customers we value so highly."
OSCAR(r) can accept applications in the banker's office, in the lobby or directly from the customer through the bank's website. Typically in less than one minute, OSCAR(r) will perform the necessary credit investigation and analysis, integrate the hundreds of data points; and decision and price the loan or line in accordance with the bank's standards. In less than ten minutes OSCAR can fully document the loan; fund it; and, report on the quantity and quality of the loans it produces.
"We've spent months evaluating OSCAR(r). It's just about brilliant," observed Rob Dwyer, Senior Vice President of First Keystone Bank, Media, PA (NASD:FKFS). "We looked at the alternatives and none come close for ease of use, flexibility and elegance, not to mention its cost-effectiveness. OSCAR(r) does it all: the approval, pricing, documentation, funding, reporting. We're very excited."
If ET services the resulting portfolio, all the actual loan performance data is integrated with the origination information, creating a powerful feedback loop for loan quality and pricing purposes, as well as for follow on marketing.
"We already use OSCAR(r) to originate and service our installment consumer loans," added Bob Perry, President of Washington Business Bank in Olympia, WA. "Adding an equally powerful small business lending capability will save our business customers, the folks we really concentrate on, enormous amounts of time, empower our lenders and markedly reduce our costs of originating small business loans."
"Many bankers continue to underwrite their small business loans with resources -- time, money, people -- better used to underwrite larger accounts. OSCAR(r) allows a good banker to see more customers, build better relationships and even approve deals on the spot," said R. W. Christensen, Jr., President of ET. "OSCAR allows the bank's corporate underwriting and servicing specialists to focus their energy doing the larger deals, while allowing the branches do more -- and more profitable -- business with their bread and butter good business customers. It creates a win-win-win environment for the customer, banker and bank.
"OSCAR(r) is now the most powerful bank lending tool available to community and mid-sized commercial or mortgage bankers. OSCAR(r) can seamlessly originate installment or personal loans, HELOCs and second mortgages and now small business loans," he added. "This creates a very powerful tool; OSCAR(r) is incredibly fast, consistent and flexible while it produces better results at up to 75% lower out-of-pocket costs to our bank clients. It's a win for the customer and a win for the bank. We've seen substantial increases in business at individual banks, with superb quality and robust margins."
About Enhanced Technology Financial Services, Inc.
ET Originates, Services, Collects, and Reports on private label consumer loans, HELOCs and small business loans for community banks and mortgage bankers using its proprietary OSCAR system and team. By combining ET's risk-related pricing and best-in-industry servicing, ET's client banks can generate higher margins and more volume with lower risk and less volatility, simultaneously. Headquartered in Olympia, Washington, ET's client banks range in asset size from $35 million to $500 billion.