Lender LoanDepot is streamlining its online loan approval process, allowing borrowers to get faster approvals even when using their smartphones to apply for a mortgage or personal loan.The Foothill Ranch-based lender announced Monday it has launched its latest “digital lending platform,” a new and improved version of its web-based lending program that speeds up loan approvals, the company said.
Eighteen months in development, the new platform lets consumers upload documents, sign forms electronically and communicate with loan officers. Once borrowers give their permission, an automated process verifies their income, bank statments, employment and other financial data, enabling them to quickly get quotes, prices and prequalification letters.
“Later this year, you’ll be able to do a full application within minutes,” said LoanDepot spokeswoman Julie Reynolds.
And they’ll be able to access everything through web browsers on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. The system for mobile loan retailing currently is in beta testing, the company said.
The new platform is part of an $80 million investment in technology, the company said.
The investment also includes plans to open a new 65,000-square-foot technology campus in Irvine, where more than 400 employees will continue working on ways to transform the loan application process.
Despite 17 years building online mortgage businesses, LoanDepot Chairman and CEO Anthony Hsieh said his industry has “largely remained devoid of modernization.”
“The digital disruption that changed the consumer experience in online books, home entertainment and consumer goods is just now impacting financial services,” Hsieh said in a statement. “We are building a tech ecosystem that enables us to quickly venture into ancillary services and markets unknown to us today.”
LoanDepot plans to continue investing in developing and advancing its technology, Hsieh said.
“We are very committed to innovation through technology as a core basis of our business strategy,” he said.
