Aimbridge and MacDill FCU Build Indirect Lending Connectivity; New Technology Decreases Time to Enter Loan Data from Eight Hours to Five Minutes

Aimbridge Indirect Lending and Tampa Bay-based MacDill Federal Credit Union announced the development of technology that connects the credit union to their funded loan application data, enabling MacDill FCU to automatically retrieve loan data using electronic file transfer technologies in a batch format. After the data is retrieved, it is prepopulated in the MacDill database fields so that the credit union can complete the automobile loan process. For new credit union members, the technology will also automatically create new accounts before entering the loan information. Aimbridge Indirect Lending is a division of The Aimbridge Group and a financing channel that links credit unions with an automotive dealer network to provide members and potential members with automobile loans and leases.

Prior to developing the connectivity technology, MacDill FCU received a faxed funding report from Aimbridge detailing pertinent information the credit union needed to create a loan, including the member's name, address and vehicle information. Four employees from MacDill Federal Credit Union's Loan Advantage Center had to manually enter each one of the loans into the credit union's core system, Symitar. Each loan took approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Brad Sears, CIO of MacDill FCU, said, "The first day we tested the new connectivity technology, we processed more than 100 loans in five minutes. It would have easily taken our employees eight hours to enter that loan information into our system. The faxed information was often difficult to read, which allowed room for errors. Developing this technology with Aimbridge saves us a tremendous amount of time, and it also ensures that our accuracy increases by 100 percent."

Steve Bentley, CEO of The Aimbridge Group said, "This file transfer solution is the first phase in developing PowerBridge, an online, real-time system that sends loan information to credit unions at the same time we receive it. The results MacDill experienced are an excellent example of faster and more efficient technology that we continue to provide for our partnering credit unions."

About MacDill Federal Credit Union

MacDill Federal Credit Union, based in Tampa, Fla., serves active and retired military, MacDill Air Force Base civilian personnel and select employee groups. The credit union has 15 locations throughout the Tampa Bay area and offers mortgages, low rate auto loans, online banking, auto buying services, direct deposits and other services. For more information on MacDill, visit www.macdill.org.

About The Aimbridge Group

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Denver, The Aimbridge Group markets financial products, such as auto loans and leases, mortgages and insurance products through partnerships with credit unions. The company helps their partners attract members and deepen their relationships by providing members with more reasons to do business with their credit unions.

The Aimbridge Group is comprised of five divisions, including Aimbridge Indirect Lending, Aimbridge Leasing, Aimbridge Mortgage, Aimbridge Financial Services and Aimbridge Automotive Group. While the company is headquartered in Denver, it has remote offices located across the United States.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Business Wire, 2003 Gale Group

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.