NEW PROGRAM ENSURES THE PROVISION OF UNBIASED ADVICE ON MORTGAGES AND LIABILITIES

Financial Crossing’s Independent Advisor Program promotes ethical lending, offers much-needed tools to optimally manage all of a borrowers’ liabilities

Financial Crossing, the leader in financial liability management solutions, has launched its Independent Advisor Program, the first turnkey program that expands the professional capacity of financial advisors, mortgage originators and other industry professionals, enabling them to function as personal liability managers, providing mortgage and liability analysis, planning, monitoring, and execution in real time and on an ethical and objective basis. The program expands consumers’ options on who provides them mortgage advice and processes their loans.

“The Independent Advisor Program makes finance professionals a part of the solution to the industry’s challenge of promoting ethical lending,” explains Jon Pedley, vice president of product management for Financial Crossing. “Whether borrowers are communicating with a financial advisor, a call center representative, or a mortgage professional, they need to receive liability advice that considers all their major liabilities, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, etc. Traditionally, industry professionals would offer loans based on their own preferences or their customers’ named preferences. Some even use product, price and eligibility engines which choose loan products based on what’s optimal for mortgage originators. A much-needed shift is now underway toward consultative selling where the client’s best interests are a top priority.”

The Independent Advisor Program empowers financial professionals with the same liability management tools already in use at call centers, branches and web sites that leverage Financial Crossing’s technology. “Our technology has been used for years as a means of providing effective liability management. Now, we’re taking it a step further and integrating mortgage liability management, loan product selection and processing, all as part of the Independent Advisor Program. For credit unions and community banks who would like to start offering mortgage loans, this is an excellent way to do so without any significant upfront costs,” adds Pedley.

Dempster Jackson, managing director of Asset Administration Group, a fee-only financial advisory firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, explains, “The Independent Advisor Program allows me to provide the same level of objective evaluation that I provide on the asset side of the business, on the liability side of my client’s balance sheet, which is so critical in helping individuals with their finances. With the Independent Advisor Program, we can stay in control of the entire process and ensure that our clients are being placed only in mortgages that benefit them. We can be completely sure that our clients are being matched with the best product and best pricing, based on their unique situation.”

The Independent Advisor Program is a one-of-a-kind solution that is comprised of:

Ø Mortgage and liability analysis, planning, monitoring and execution capability from Financial Crossing Liability ManagerSM, the industry’s leading liability management software. The software incorporates patent-pending analytics, market data, and leverages real-time pricing and eligibility from NYLX for thousands of loan programs from multiple lenders

Ø Seamless mortgage fulfillment services through integration with Lydian Data Services, an award-winning provider of mortgage outsourcing and processing services that offers exceptional customer service

Ø Execution and origination of loans and plans in all 50 states through an integrated partnership with Citizens Community Bank of New Jersey, a commercial bank and correspondent lender that offers numerous competitive loan programs from leading institutions

With the Independent Advisor Program, users start by running the client’s financial and liability information through Financial Crossing’s Liability Manager to determine—based on state-of-the-art analytics and real-time pricing and eligibility data—whether the client could benefit from debt restructuring. If there is a benefit, the most suitable options for the borrower are presented via detailed plans that clearly illustrate the relative risks and benefits of each proposal. To begin transacting the loan, the user simply submits the borrower’s loan application with one click to Lydian Data Services for processing. The user is advised of the loan’s progress each step of the way, all the way through to closing at Citizen’s Community Bank.

Joining the Independent Advisor Program is fast and easy. Users can set up their accounts online in just a few minutes, and are ready to begin helping their clients and executing proposed plans in as little as one hour. The program offers comprehensive online training, and also comes equipped with an email marketing campaign that automatically informs clients of the new liability management service. Clients can click on a link to begin filling out information that gets integrated into the Liability Manager, and when they’re done, the user can provide a liability analysis and initiate a new mortgage loan or monitor clients’ liabilities to identify potential risks and opportunities, all with just a few mouse clicks.

“With an estimated $14 trillion in household debt and the current state of our mortgage and economic climate, the Independent Advisor Program is a solution whose time has come,” adds Pedley.

About Financial Crossing

Financial Crossing is the leading provider of liability management solutions that enable financial institutions and professionals to provide their clients with objective, actionable advice to optimize liabilities such as mortgages, home equity loans, car loans and credit cards. Financial Crossing’s unique software platform and services allow customers to manage the liability side of a client’s balance sheet with the same rigor, objectivity and insight demanded by world-class asset managers through all channels: via the web, call centers and branches, as well as through financial advisors and investment professionals. The Financial Crossing Liability ManagerSM platform incorporates best-in-class scientific analysis, planning, online transactions and ongoing liability monitoring capabilities, all based on real-time data and patent-pending technology. In 2008, Financial Crossing was listed among the nation’s top 50 providers for the mortgage industry by Mortgage Technology magazine. The company is based in Palo Alto, California, and can be found on the Internet at www.FinancialCrossing.com.