FICO has launched FICO® Origination Manager Essentials to help smaller financial institutions make faster, smarter small business lending decisions. Delivered as a cloud service, the easy-to-use loan origination system streamlines and automates the decision process and gives smaller institutions access to the same powerful analytics in risk assessment for which FICO is known. Lenders using the solution can process small business loan applications in as little as 60 seconds, as opposed to days, which is still the average processing time for many lenders today when dealing with small business credit.

Currently, small banks and credit unions are challenged by nimble lenders who operate online and can give auto-approvals for loans in minutes. Origination Manager Essentials, delivers banks the same technical advantage so they can compete on experience and relationships rather than technology.

The decision flow automation and web-based interface incorporated into Origination Manager Essentials allow lenders to quickly implement the solution. Origination Manager Essentials has been designed to reduce the operational costs associated with compliance by making consistent, more objective decisions on small business loan applications. The solution also helps to eliminate human error and improve efficiency in data entry and loan processing.

"Mid-market lenders play an integral role in supporting small businesses' growth and development," said Tim Van Tassel, vice president of FICO's credit lifecycle business line. "With many new entrants providing loans to small businesses, it is crucial that lenders can improve speed and customer service, while maintaining strong risk assessment across their portfolios."

A key component to this speed-to-decision is the incorporation of the FICO® Small Business Scoring ServiceSM (SBSSSM), which uses proprietary analytics to measure applicant risk, based on major consumer and commercial data sources.  SBSS can help smaller institutions make smarter decisions even when they don't have the data in house. It does this by measuring and evaluating the capacity risk of small businesses applying for credit, using models built from pooled client data.

"Lenders lose out on new customer opportunities when they cannot meet small business borrowers' requirements for a quick decision," said Christine Pratt, senior analyst at Aite Group. "Origination solutions that speed up decisions while answering the institution's need for transparency and credit risk management are well positioned to gain happy customers and loan share as the market improves."

Lenders will also benefit from the cloud deployment of Origination Manager Essentials. Accessing the solution as a service ensures they can utilize the solution with little to no IT or infrastructure cost. It also allows for easy setup, scaling of operations and headache-free upgrades and maintenance.