Abrigo, nCino and Baker Hill are leading the field in automating commercial loan origination.

The vendors notched impressive scores in a report released this week by Aite Group, “Lenders’ perspectives: commercial loan origination automation.” The report gathered input from 40 lender clients and rated commercial loan vendors on a five-point scale in categories like client strength, service and features. The three vendors had average scores of 4.7.

Commercial lending can lead to profitable cross-selling opportunities, according to Aite, and automating the origination process is key to a smooth client journey. By automating data entry and converting paper-based applications to digital, fintechs can help banks speed up and scale their loan operations.

Commercial loan origination “requires the completion of many complex tasks involving financial analysis, deal structuring, proposal writing, proposal distribution, and the acquisition of approvals by credit authorities,” wrote David O’Connell, senior analyst at Aite Group, in the report. “It’s an activity that, in the absence of automation, gives rise to processes that are costly, labor-intensive, loss-inducing, and — most importantly — off-putting to borrowers.”

Austin-based Abrigo works with lenders with under $5 billion in assets, offering financial crime-detection technology in addition to loan origination solutions. Its clients include community banks like Unity Bank, Evans Bank and Main Street Bank.

Meanwhile, nCino, based in Wilmington, NC., works with lenders of all sizes. TD Bank uses nCino for corporate and commercial lending, while New Orleans-based Gulf Coast Bank and Trust cut its commercial loan processing times in half through the vendor.

“Underwriters are the most expensive part of a commercial loan origination process,” Jason Shields, vice president and loan operations manager at Gulf Coast, previously told Bank Innovation. “Having them spend less time doing simple things like punching in numbers from a tax return has been really good for us.” 

Baker Hill, meanwhile, works with lenders ranging from $250 million in assets to over $100 billion. The Carmel, Ind.-based vendor reduces paper reports by 70%, according to its website, and works with clients like AlaskaUSA Federal Credit Union, Western Alliance Bank and First Horizon Bank.

Abrigo took the top score for client service with a 4.8, and Baker Hill tied with Global Wave Group for second place with a 4.6. Abrigo also took the top spot for product features with a score of 4.7, while nCino and Baker Hill tied for second in the category with a 4.5. Q2 and Newgen both scored 4.3.

See also: Digitization surges among lenders amid pandemic

Some big core providers, however, were not at the top of the list. Finastra scored 4.0 and ranked ninth in product features, while Jack Henry ranked 10th with 3.9.

O’Connell noted that lenders are mostly satisfied with their commercial loan origination automation vendors. The market is “a mature one,” he said, adding, “When vendors fell short, it was due to insufficient features and functionality or a faulty take on how to bring digitalization to the business borrowing experience.”

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