Associated Bank, headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has successfully implemented Mortgage Cadence Orchestrator, Harmony, and Finale, solutions offered by Denver, Colorado based Mortgage Cadence, Inc., a leading provider of Enterprise Lending Solutions (ELS) for the financial services industry. To maximize efficiencies across Associated Bank's operations and enable the company's rapid response to changing market conditions, these solutions work with one another from origination, processing, underwriting, and closing through secondary marketing.

While focused on purchasing conforming, government and jumbo first mortgage loans from approved correspondent lenders in the upper Midwest, Associated Bank also has a strong retail lending channel that is supported in this implementation. From construction to perm loans, Associated Bank operates as a full-service mortgage conduit, servicing all major secondary market investors as well as their balance sheet products. Currently, the bank's business model calls for servicing loans aggregately totaling in excess of $8 billion.

"The agility that Mortgage Cadence Orchestrator grants us is unprecedented, and it allows us to get products to market faster," said Scott Fecteau, SVP and director of mortgage and consumer finance for Associated Bank. "This provides us with an enormous competitive advantage considering the state of the industry and the constant changes in regulations, especially when dealing with FHA loans. By streamlining point of sale processes throughout our loan officer network, Mortgage Cadence Orchestrator helps to increase our customer service levels while workflow tools speed the lending process."

Fecteau said Associated Bank is fully realizing the benefits of the solutions offered through Mortgage Cadence. The combination of Orchestrator and Finale will give Associated Bank the ability to dynamically create initial disclosures and closing packages, and these will be delivered securely to the borrower and settlement agent, Fecteau explained. He believes this will allow the bank to drastically cut down its process times and take a big leap toward back office automation.

"Associated Bank will also be leveraging Mortgage Cadence Harmony for their correspondent Web portal," said Chuck Kimball, EVP of consulting services at Mortgage Cadence. "The portal enables Associated Bank's aggregators with direct integration from their origination channel to their trading desk while leveraging advanced pricing, eligibility and underwriting technology to increase efficiencies throughout the channel."

According to Mortgage Cadence, aggregators have the ability to upload loan data, register and lock loans, and automate the pricing analysis and purchasing of loans. Users are able to view real-time loan status information and receive feedback on adjustments and correspondent pricing tiers.

"The forward thinking mindset of Associated Bank makes them an ideal customer," said Michael Detwiler, CEO of Mortgage Cadence. "They were looking for a technology partner that better positioned them for the next generation of mortgage lending, and we believe that they are going to help define what that generation looks like. Mortgage Cadence prides itself on developing tools that make it easier for clients to optimize their costs, maximize their investment, increase the efficiency of their employees, and adapt within this ever-evolving mortgage market. These principles lie at the heart of our commitment to the success of our clients."