Let’s face it: the current state of the commercial loan process can feel like an outdated maze that no one enjoys navigating. Despite this, many industry professionals have become so accustomed to the status quo that they don’t even see the cracks in the foundation. Meanwhile, your customers—those businesses you serve—often find the process opaque, confusing, and painfully slow. The time it takes to get a loan request ready for a decision can be excessive, and it’s costing you business.
To shed light on these issues and propose a better path forward, here are three key questions that every bank and credit union should ask themselves. These questions might seem simple, but the answers will reveal whether your commercial lending process is outdated—and how much better it could be with the right technology.
Common Challenges of Current Loan Systems
As the CEO of mysherpas, a company dedicated to revolutionizing the commercial lending process, I frequently engage with banking and credit union leaders. And despite their expertise and experience, they often find themselves grappling with a commercial loan process that hasn’t evolved in decades.
While this process may be familiar, it’s also fraught with inefficiencies, disjointed communication, and a severe lack of transparency for all participants involved. These pain points don’t just frustrate lenders—they likely have a tangible impact on your bottom line and, more importantly, on your customers’ satisfaction.
To help professionals like you move into the modern era, I’ve put together these three simple questions that will hopefully shed light on the state of your loan system.
1) Are You Still Lending with Email?
It’s 2024. So why are so many commercial loans still being processed through endless email threads? Think about it—how many times has a crucial piece of information been buried in someone’s inbox, delaying the entire process? Or worse, how often has sensitive information been mistakenly sent to the wrong recipient, raising security concerns?
Relying on email for loan processing isn’t just inefficient. It’s also risky. Emails get lost, misinterpreted, or hacked, and this creates a fragmented communication chain that’s nearly impossible to follow… especially when multiple stakeholders are involved. With traditional methods, communication between a borrower and your lending team includes messages scattered across text, email, and chat—often inaccessible to all members of the lending or borrower teams. In today’s fast-paced business environment, where customers expect seamless, real-time interactions, email is simply not up to the task.
The mysherpas platform addresses this issue head-on by offering transparent and aggregated communication across multiple channels. No more hunting through endless email threads or worrying about missed connections. Our platform centralizes all communication, ensuring that everyone involved in the loan process—whether they’re on your team or your customer’s—is always on the same page. Moreover, the customer can continue to use whatever communication channel they prefer.
2) Where Are Your Documents?
Ask yourself this: do you know exactly where every document related to a current loan application is stored? If the answer isn’t an immediate and confident “yes,” you have a problem.
Document management is a critical component of the loan origination process, yet it’s often handled in the most disorganized ways imaginable. There is a technological asymmetry between the tech stack used by the lender and the one used by the loan applicant. Files can be scattered across various systems, shared drives, email attachments, and sometimes even physical storage. This disarray not only slows down the loan process but also opens the door to significant compliance and security risks.
With the mysherpas platform, we’ve taken document management to the next level. Our platform allows for the secure upload and centralized management of all documents. Each loan has its own digital file, where every necessary document is stored, easily accessed, and, most importantly, secured. Our platform also offers standardized loan needs lists for each loan type. These can be easily customized to ensure that nothing is overlooked. Plus, questions about documents can be sent directly to the customer from within the document management system itself.
Imagine the peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly where every document is at every stage of the loan process—and the time you’ll save by not having to hunt them down.
3) Who’s Driving This Deal?
In many commercial loan processes, there’s a distinct lack of clarity around who is driving the deal forward. Is it the loan officer? The underwriter? The customer? In reality, the answer is often all the above… and none of the above. This ambiguity leads to delays, missed opportunities, and frustration for everyone involved.
One of the most common complaints we hear from borrowers is that they feel like they’re left in the dark during the loan process. They’re unsure of where their application stands, what’s needed from them next, or when they can expect a decision. This lack of transparency can be the difference between winning and losing a client.
Mysherpas solves this by guiding the decision-making process in a way that allows everyone involved to work in the way they prefer. Our platform uses AI-driven task tracking to ensure that every task is assigned, tracked, and completed on time. Furthermore, notifications keep all team members up to date on the tasks they need to complete. Plus, it prominently displays the degree of completion of the loan package and the portion required of each participant.
In the mysherpas platform, there’s a high degree of visualization to make it easy to know where any part of a loan request stands. Whether it’s a document that needs to be reviewed, a communication that needs to be sent, or a decision that needs to be made, our system ensures that nothing falls through the cracks.
Moreover, the platform provides a clear overview of who’s responsible for what at every stage of the loan process. This eliminates confusion and ensures that deals move forward as smoothly and quickly as possible.
The Cost of Inaction
If you’re still relying on email, struggling with document management, and dealing with unclear responsibilities, you’re not just wasting time. Your process is creating unnecessary customer satisfaction and retention risks. In today’s competitive environment, where customer expectations are higher than ever, you simply can’t afford to let these inefficiencies go unaddressed.
The mysherpas platform is designed to transform the commercial loan process from a disjointed, confusing ordeal into a streamlined, transparent, and efficient experience. It’s not just about adopting new technology—it’s about fundamentally rethinking how you approach commercial lending.
Imagine a loan process where communication is clear, documents are organized, and everyone knows exactly what’s happening at every stage. That’s not just possible. It’s already a reality for our clients who have made the switch to mysherpas. They’ve seen firsthand how our platform doesn’t just improve the loan process. It transforms it, delivering better outcomes for both the lender and the borrower. We call it the modern way to lend.
Embrace the Change
The commercial loan process doesn’t have to be a source of frustration. With the right tools, it can be a smooth, efficient, and even enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Isn’t that what you’d like business lending to be?
If your current answers to the three questions we posed reveal more problems than solutions, it’s time to take a serious look at how mysherpas can help. Our platform is built to address these exact challenges, guiding your team and your customers through the loan process with clarity and confidence.
Don’t let the outdated processes of yesterday hold you back from the success of tomorrow. Embrace the change. Your customers—and your bottom line—will thank you.