How Will AI Change Loan Originations?

On Monday, Black Knight Inc. announced the acquisition of HeavyWater, an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) provider for the financial services industry, through its custom-solution called AIVA. The platform will be initially used to improve efficiencies in loan originations, though its capabilities can be integrated for the servicing side too according to Black Knight.

“We believe that AIVA will be an enterprise solution. Though we’re initially focusing on the origination side, we absolutely foresee AIVA being leveraged across our loan originations technology business, our servicing technology business, as well as our DNA group,” Rich Gagliano, President, Black Knight Originations Technologies Division, told MReport.

Black Knight has already started rolling out the solution for its clients and plans to integrate AIVA over the next couple of months. The company has said that AIVA would be integrated into its premier solutions and it will also make the technology available to clients looking to deploy AI/ML within other parts of their organization to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy.

“With the cost of origination and servicing at, or near, all-time highs, AIVA is poised to help increase efficiencies for Black Knight clients,” said Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight. “AI/ML and neural network solutions are the future of delivering enhanced productivity and capabilities to our clients, and we are very excited about the potential HeavyWater has to offer.”

HeavyWater’s AIVA solution leverages AI/ML to perform operational functions more efficiently and effectively than traditional methods, by reading, comprehending, and drawing conclusions based on context to mimic cognitive thinking. These functions are especially useful in improving the operational efficiencies of the loan origination process.

“The focus of HeavyWater and their expertise in AI/ML is the ability to take more mundane operations and use machine learning to extract information and assist the operations of underwriters, loan processors, and closers to move those components of the loan processing task along significantly faster,” Gagliano said.

The Philadelphia-based HeavyWater has been providing AIVA to help lenders with traditionally manual activities such as verifying income, assets, and insurance coverage. Black Knight said that clients benefited from the accelerated processes and reduced expenses as AIVA gained experience and manual routines were automated.  

“Our focus has always been on pioneering research in machine learning and artificial intelligence and applying it to the financial services industry,” said Soofi Safavi, CEO of HeavyWater. “By using sophisticated neural networks and ‘contextual knowledge’ to continuously improve AIVA’s learning and performance, we’ve helped our clients save money, increase efficiencies, and reduce turn time.”