Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Mortgage Cadence, a provider of loan origination software and electronic document management services in the United States. The acquisition will add an advanced technology platform to strengthen Accenture’s mortgage business process outsourcing (BPO) services and enable the company to provide software to mortgage lenders looking to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, which is subject to customary closing requirements, Mortgage Cadence will become part of Accenture and its software will be incorporated into Accenture Credit Services, a business service within Accenture’s financial services operating group that provides consulting, technology and outsourcing services to financial institutions. Accenture Credit Services will use Mortgage Cadence technology as a core loan-origination platform to process mortgages on behalf of its outsourcing clients. Accenture also will provide the software to lenders on a standalone basis through Accenture Software as part of its banking-software portfolio.

“The U.S. mortgage industry is entering an era in which efficiency, speed and the customer experience will be more crucial than ever in determining winners and losers,” said Terry Moore, global managing director of Accenture Credit Services. “By adding this key mortgage processing asset, we will enhance our end-to-end credit services capabilities and bring a new generation of mortgage processing services to the industry. This offers lenders improved speed-to-market, cycle-time, costs, and productivity.”

“Traditional loan origination technologies have become too complex and cumbersome to meet today's market demands,” said Michael Detwiler, CEO of Mortgage Cadence. “Because our software is rules-based and highly configurable, it can help lenders accelerate new product introductions, more easily adapt to changing regulatory requirements, and reduce overall cost structures. By combining our technology with Accenture's mortgage processing and software development capabilities, we can deliver more holistic and advanced solutions that will help lenders compete. We look forward to joining the Accenture team. In addition, I would like to thank our principal investor, Monitor Clipper Partners, for supporting Mortgage Cadence for the last three years with its strategic support and operational expertise, which have proven instrumental to our success.”

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Mortgage Cadence is a privately held company that provides loan origination software solutions for large and mid-sized residential mortgage lenders in the United States. Its portfolio of software supports mortgage origination, processing, underwriting, closing and post-closing with on-premise, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud-based solutions. Mortgage Cadence also offers electronic mortgage document management systems and imaging solutions. The company’s approximately 190 employees in the United States will join Accenture Software under the agreement.

"As the US mortgage industry evolves, leading-edge technology applications for processing loans have taken on tremendous importance in terms of competitive advantage, growth and profitability," said Jim Astorian, managing director, Accenture Software. "This acquisition reflects our continued focus on investing in and developing core software technologies that will help our financial services industry clients succeed in an evolving marketplace."