Situation

As part of a bank-wide continuous improvement initiative, the Consumer Lending Division took on the challenge of growing revenue from home equity loan operations by streamlining the application process and reducing the fallout rate on applications.

Team Engagement Strategy

Consumer Lending Division staff members and Branch Loan Officers were brought together and empowered with Rapid Action, an “all in one” team engagement toolkit for accelerating results.

Rapid Action Project Charter

How can we improve the end-to-end HELOC application process in order to improve the funding rate for approved loans, while simultaneously reducing external service provider-related processing costs?

Sample of Solutions Implemented

• Interviewed Loan Officers to identify reasons for customers withdrawing HELOC applications after approval for funding, analyzed common causes of withdrawal, and designed and communicated new withdrawal prevention actions to Loan Officers.
• Documented the current HELOC application process, identified non-value-added activities, and eliminated or redesigned process activities to reduce delays.
• Developed an improved process for communicating HELOC interest rate changes to both Loan Officers and customers in order to ensure accurate and competitive quoting of rates.
• Developed a formal system for tracking HELOC application escalations to ensure timelier review and resolution.