Beacon Federal Selects FICS to Automate Commercial Real Estate Servicing
DALLAS, March 19, 2012 – East Syracuse, N.Y.-based Beacon Federal ($1 billion in assets), a community bank with locations in Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee, has turned to Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc’s. (FICS) Commercial Servicer to automate the servicing of their commercial real estate portfolio. FICS is a mortgage technology specialist that provides comprehensive commercial loan servicing software.
Prior to selecting Commercial Servicer to facilitate the growth of its commercial real estate division, Beacon Federal has utilized FICS’ Loan Producer, Mortgage Servicer and Mortgage Accountant software to successfully automate its residential mortgage loan origination and servicing departments. The bank cited FICS’ ongoing support for rapidly changing compliance issues in residential origination and servicing as a key to their success on the residential side.
“In 2010 there were significant changes in both the Real Estate Settlement Protection Act (RESPA) and Truth-In-Lending Act (TILA), resulting in a complete overhaul of mortgage regulations,” said Nancy Studt, vice president of Residential Mortgage Lending for Beacon Federal. “FICS ensured the system maintained its compliance with the old standards, while simultaneously being ready with the new requirements by the regulatory deadlines.”
This positive experience led Beacon Federal to evaluate and eventually choose FICS for its commercial servicing software. Commercial Servicer automates the servicing of commercial loans, provides detailed asset and financial tracking, escrow automation, detailed investor reporting and accounting, as well as delinquency and collection management and customized report generation. Additionally, the FICS system enhances security by servicing all loans in one platform, eliminating the number of files and locations where sensitive loan information is stored. Commercial Servicer also increases the ability for staff to handle multiple loans efficiently; reducing the amount of time spent completing tasks.
“Since our conversion to FICS, Beacon Federal has been able to expand our product offerings into the secondary market, with relationships that include Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, “ said Studt. “FICS has successfully supported our business objectives as we’ve grown, and we expect to experience the same benefits in the commercial real estate department.”
“As commercial real estate slowly emerges from the challenges of the recent economy, financial institutions like Beacon Federal are relying on automation to improve accuracy, increase efficiencies and reduce costs,” said Susan Graham, president and COO of FICS. “By streamlining the servicing process for the commercial real estate portfolio at Beacon Federal, we look forward to supporting their continued growth as a top lender in the communities they serve.”
About FICS
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), specializes in providing flexible, comprehensive residential and commercial technology solutions to the mortgage industry. FICS' systems are designed for Microsoft® Windows® with the most recent solutions using .NET framework that include a rich Windows® Presentation Foundation user interface and multi-tiered shareable services. The company also provides innovative document management and web-based capabilities into its full suite of products. Additional information about FICS is available via the company's website at www.FICS.com.
