HSBC streamlines mortgages with Capita software

HSBC is using software from Capita to create a single platform for brokers in an attempt to increase business via this channel.

Capita’s Omiga mortgage software will increase automation for HSBC and make it simpler for brokers to transact with the bank and manage mortgage applications.

Digital disruption has made it essential for mortgage providers to streamline the mortgage application process. Technology is helping customers and their brokers to get very quick decisions and complete mortgage applications rapidly.

HSBC’s project to introduce the new system will take less than a year. Tracie Pearce, HSBC’s head of mortgages in the UK, said the system would be a “game-changer” in how brokers work with the bank.

“We have developed this platform for brokers with Capita, and it will simplify the process of working with us so that the information brokers need can be accessed quickly and efficiently, including essential case tracking,” she said.

The platform will enable documentation, such as proof of identity and income, to be uploaded directly, will be able to give immediate decisions on mortgages in principle, and will allow controlled access to support staff.

Mortgage applications and processing is an area where huge time and resource savings can be made by large businesses, many of which rely on legacy, out-of-date IT systems.

For example, Barclays now allows in-branch advisers to submit photographs of documents required for mortgage applications via a smartphone or tablet device. Previously, such documents would have had to be submitted to the system using a scanner, but can now they can be photographed and added using Barclays’ online mortgage submission system.

Meanwhile, Santander and Nationwide Building Society are examples of banks reducing the time it takes to complete mortgage applications by proving video-based interviews between advisers and customers.

Beyond mortgages, reducing the use of paper and automation are high on banks’ agendas – and HSBC is no exception. Earlier this month, it announced it would be using IBM artificial intelligence technology to process documents related to international trade.

The technology will replace a process that sees about 100 million pages of documents, such as invoices and insurance paperwork, reviewed and processed manually by HSBC staff.