Fair, Isaac & Co. and Baker Hill Corp. are taking their relationship international.
The two software companies previously had an agreement to integrate and market Baker Hill's commercial lending system and Fair, Isaac's credit scoring technology in the United States.
"It has been quite successful in terms of pulling together credit scoring with relationship management, so now we want to extend it internationally," said Mark Hill, president of Carmel, Ind.-based Baker Hill.
Banks use Baker Hill's OnePoint software to manage the sale, underwriting, pricing, and documentation of commercial loans.
Traditionally, banks used different systems to manage the life cycle of a loan. "OnePoint integrates all of these functions so a bank doesn't have to key loan information into multiple systems," said Mr. Hill.
Integrating the software with Fair, Isaac's SBSS-CreditDesk system for small-business credit scoring has expanded the range of lending that Fair, Isaac's technology can support.
"Our tools limited us to credits up to $250,000," said Latimer Asch, Fair, Isaac's vice president of commercial products.
"But we found banks wanted to use the same platform to handle all relationships and underwriting for all deals," he said. OnePoint can score credits of higher amounts.
With the touch of a button, information can flow from OnePoint to CreditDesk and back again. The average approval time for a small business credit request of $250,000 or less takes just 15 minutes.
About 50 U.S. banks use the integrated product in their small-business lending departments. They include SunTrust Banks Inc., Home Savings of America, and Bank of New York Co.
OnePoint is priced at $50,000 and may be customized. CreditDesk is installed at about 270 banks.
Fair, Isaac, based in San Rafael, Calif., has 11 offices worldwide. Its overseas sales force initially will market OnePoint in the United Kingdom and Australia, moving later into France and the rest of Europe.
The software currently is available only in English.
"The international market is a little different from the U.S. market," said Mr. Hill. "Credit bureaus internationally are not as standardized, but we're doing something to get their credit scorecards onto OnePoint."
