Mortgage marketing software rings the bells.

American Savings Bank of Stockton, Calif., is using a PC-based loan origination system that officials say has improved efficiency and customer service.

The Omniloan program, made by Calabasas, Calif.-based Omnikron Systems Inc., was designed specifically for the bank's mortgage telemarketing department.

The program, which runs in Windows, enables loan agents to provide specific loan information to prospects over the phone. Based on information obtained from the caller, the program searches through a data base server -- located at the bank's operation center or at one of its branches -- and selects all loan products for which the prospect is qualified.

It also enables agents to answer many questions customers may have about lending prices, closing costs, points, and other particulars. Agents are able to do projections, calculations, and product comparisons throughout the system, and can print all the documentation needed to complete a loan application.

Installed Last Fall

American Savings, a $15 billion-asset bank, installed the program last fall as a way to upgrade its mortgage telemarketing department, formed about one year ago.

The agents were using an inhouse program that "gave very little support" to their informational needs, said Jennifer Myhre, vice president of the bank's loan division. As a result, the agents were unable to do a thorough job of selling loan products, she said.

Designed for Selling

The Omniloan system, online since December at the bank's centralized consumer direct department, "very quickly gives agents answers to customer questions," said Ms. Myhre.

She added that, unlike other mortgage loan origination systems that are designed from a processing perspective -- requiring customers to fill out loan applications immediately -- Omniloan is designed from a sales and marketing perspective, and does not initially require personal information from callers.

"When a customer first calls, he is not interested in giving the loan agent his name, address, and phone number. All he wants is a set of numbers, like interest rate, monthly payment, and closing costs. Omniloan makes that information available with minimal effort," she said.

Ms. Myhre cites minimal training as another system benefit, since the system is easy enough to learn so that agents can quickly become sophisticated sellers of loan products.

A Microsoft NT SQL server version of the program will be released in August, said Omnikron officials.

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