FirstClose Chief Revenue Officer Tim Smith is smiling, looking at the camera

Home Equity—a deep dive—at MeridianLink LIVE! 

By Tim Smith
Chief Revenue Officer, FirstClose

Home equity lending has been a core product for banks and credit unions for decades; but, in the past few years it has taken a back seat to cash-out refinance. Today, however, with rising interest rates, borrowers with historically low first mortgage rates and generationally high levels of tappable equity have rediscovered HELOCs and home equity loans. Competition for their customers and members is growing from both traditional competitors as well as from new entrants. With so much going on in this space, we’re excited to announce that immediately following the afternoon keynote speaker on Tuesday May 9, FirstClose, the leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders, will be joined by Sharonview Federal Credit Union’s Patrice Biggins and Flagstar Bank’s Deborah Duda for a discussion onstage about the state of Today’s Home Equity.

Attendee takeaways from the session include:

  • Benefits of offering home equity products to your customers / members
  • Best practices for competing in the home equity space – without excessive costs
  • How to differentiate your bank or credit union in the current lending environment
  • Lifts you can achieve with technology

FirstClose announced its enhanced integration with the MeridianLink One platform at the end of 2022. The FirstClose Equity solution reduces operational touchpoints and improves the overall lender experience but more so, the borrowers they serve. The HWTech100 award winning end-to-end platform includes a borrower-facing point-of-sale solution that gives consumers instant online feedback on their home’s valuation, available home equity, loan options and then delivers credit decisions in minutes. Automated workflows, including the ordering of settlement services, enable lenders to complete the application through closing process in five to ten days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days.

We are proud to be more than a vendor who offers products. We believe the only way to bring out the greatest value of our products, and your business, is to partner with you. But don’t take our word for it, hear what an industry analyst and customer have to say.

“I have seen FirstClose™ Equity and am not surprised industry partners are lining up to capitalize on the opportunity.” Scott Roller, founder of 3W Partners LLC and Co-Founder of Vendor Surf LLC  (MBA Newslink)

“The buildout of the Digital Lending Platform has been nothing short of exceptional. We have already forecasted an 80% increase for our home equity pipeline.” David Brand, VP of Consumer Lending-Sharonview Federal Credit Union (Video)

FirstClose is an exhibitor and diamond sponsor of MeridianLink LIVE 2023. For more information click here to schedule a meeting.