MILWAUKEE, WI, Jun 11 (MARKET WIRE) --
One of the highlights of the 2009 Mortgagebot(R) Client Conference --
concluding today in downtown Milwaukee -- is the unveiling of
Mortgagebot's new "Benchmarks 2009" report. This bi-annual report is a
comprehensive survey and analysis of the online lending trends,
practices, and procedures that have been implemented at the more than
5,000 mortgage-lending Web sites that Mortgagebot (www.Mortgagebot.com)
maintains for its more than 900 clients nationwide.
"Once again, we're pleased to provide this unique and insightful research
to our clients," said Mortgagebot president and CEO Scott Happ. "Our
'Benchmarks 2009' study analyzes the overall online lending practices of
all Mortgagebot clients, and the results can help them get a sense of how
effectively they're responding to industry trends -- and how well their
businesses compare with their peers."
"Our client family is made up of banks and credit unions of every size and
description," noted Happ, "so our study represents the real-world activity
of a broad spectrum of lenders from coast to coast. Half of our clients
have less than $500 million in assets, but half of them have more. We're
also pleased to be able to serve about 40 of America's top 100 banking
institutions, and nearly half of the country's top 100 credit unions."
Study tracks online borrower activity, demographics, and more
"Benchmarks 2009" is the third such study to be done by Mortgagebot, the
first one having been published in 2005 and the second one in 2007. The
new study is divided into several sections that present detailed data
analysis on such topics as:
-- Loan purpose and approval rates
-- Application volumes by origination channel
-- Submitted and abandoned application trends
-- Online borrower activity and demographic profiles.
New data highlights trends
According to Happ, "Benchmarks 2009" presents useful insights into the
realm of consumer-direct, Web-based mortgage lending -- insights that can
help banks and credit unions sharpen the focus and direction of their
lending businesses. The study reveals that for Mortgagebot's hundreds of
bank and credit-union clients:
-- The online channel continues to generate more loans. Approximately 40
percent of lenders take more than 25 percent of their applications via the
online channel -- up from only one percent at the start of the decade.
-- More and more borrowers prefer the online channel. During 2008, the
number of people completing online mortgage applications increased in every
demographic category from 30 to 69 years of age. The "Gen X" demographic
continued to outperform other groups, with nearly one in three of all
online mortgage applications coming from adults in the 30 to 39-year-old
bracket.
-- Online borrowers' household income is increasing. Despite a
challenging economy in 2008, the household income of online borrowers rose
to $93,717 -- an increase of 10 percent compared to 2006.
-- Today's online borrowers have increasingly solid credit ratings. The
average credit score of online borrowers continues to climb -- rising from
an average of 709 in 2006 to 732 in 2008.
Happ also noted how online disclosures are becoming more and more
common. "Disclosures are a very hot topic these days," he said, "and
we're pleased to note that in 2008 almost three-fourths of the
disclosures generated by our clients were delivered online. And despite
the rumor that 'no one can get approved,' two-thirds of all the loans
that were submitted through third-party underwriting engines were
approved online."
"It's also interesting to see how lenders are increasingly taking an
integrated, multi-channel approach to mortgage applications and
origination," observed Happ. "For example, we introduced our PowerSite Pro
application toolset for loan officers in 2006; and after just three years
on the market, 56 percent of our client organizations have implemented
PowerSite Pro -- compared to three years ago, when almost none of our
clients' loan officers used advanced online application tools."
Mortgagebot conducts its "Benchmarks" studies as a part of its ongoing
commitment to help its clients improve their online lending success. The
research is conducted, analyzed, interpreted, and published at no charge
to Mortgagebot clients.
About Mortgagebot
Mortgagebot LLC (www.Mortgagebot.com) is the industry-leading, Inc. 500
company that provides the unique, award-winning PowerSite family of
integrated point-of-sale (IPOS) solutions for taking mortgage applications
from every mortgage channel: consumer-direct via the Internet, in the
branch or call center; or through professional loan officers. Mortgagebot
blends extensive mortgage experience with leading-edge
"software-as-a-service" (SaaS) technology to create scaleable and
affordable Web sites for more than 900 banks and credit unions nationwide.
Mortgagebot also offers Mortgage Marvel(R) (www.MortgageMarvel.com), the
award-winning, ad-free mortgage-shopping Web site that delivers accurate,
anonymous, real-time rate quotes in seconds from a nationwide selection of
lenders. But unlike other Web sites, Mortgage Marvel enables borrowers to
link directly to their preferred lender -- where they can complete a
mortgage application and get pre-approved with full disclosures, all in 20
minutes or less.
Mortgagebot, Mortgagebot PowerSite, and Mortgage Marvel are registered
trademarks of Mortgagebot LLC.
For more information, contact:
Cindy Golisch
PR Unlimited
480-471-8820
Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
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