CFI ProServices, Portland, Ore., will release a new fair-lending compliance product next month.
Pro Active will come out in three phases over the next nine months, coinciding with the evolving reform of community reinvestment regulations.
The software collects, analyzes, and maps loan applicant data as well as community demographic data.
It tracks compliance on a continuing basis, rather than by spot-checking.
Pro Active will initially cost about $10,000 for the complete package.
Founded in 1978, CFI has software in 2,700 financial institutions.
Matthew W. Chapman, chief executive of CFI, said that most banks' fair-lending problems result from poor record keeping. "The problems out there are inadvertent," he said.
Software Allows Self-Testing
This product, in development for two years, will allow bankers to test themselves before the examiners arrive. For example, the software can automatically count the number of rejected loan applications by race, Mr. Champman said.
Pro Active can also generate Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports in the electronic formats required by the federal agencies.
Mr. Champman said that as CRA is reformed, he expects all financial institutions, including mortgage lenders and credit unions, to face community reinvestment requirements. "Our product will address the CRA and fair lending requirements of all credit providers," he said.
Although there are many fair lending products available, most are geocoding software that banks use only once a year to plot where loans were made.
Program Generates Maps
CFI's new product includes geoanalysis, which can produce maps by ethnic neighborhoods and income. The map analysis can get as specific as city blocks. This part of the software was developed with Strategic Mapping in Santa Clara, Calif.
It also can help bankers locate potential customers. "This is a tool for the marketing department as much as the compliance department," he said.
Robert P. Chamness, CFI's executive vice president and general counsel, said the company is not waiting for the new CRA rules to be released. The third phase of the software -- due out in the first quarter of 1995 -- will contain any changes needed after the rules are completed.
