Wells Fargo Home Lending is tapping eOriginal to launch an electronic note program, marking a step forward for the mortgage industry's push toward a more digital process.
An agreement between the two enables the purchase of e-notes through Wells Fargo Funding, the bank's correspondent channel.
"Our ability to purchase e-notes is the latest step in our expansion in the digital lending space that broadens our approach to serving consumers and clients as we transform our mortgage business," Michael DeVito, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending, said in a press release.
"We're committed to delivering innovative solutions throughout the mortgage lending process. With eOriginal providing e-vault services, we're aligned with a company that has a proven track record in the digital lending community," he added.
Wells Fargo will first begin purchasing e-notes from a select group of lenders, and then expand its ventures more broadly throughout next year.
The move to offer e-note capabilities comes after Wells Fargo introduced an online mortgage application for retail origination consumers earlier in the year. The online app prepopulates existing customer data and helps facilitate a faster process, and accounted for 28% of retail applications last month.
"Lenders transitioning into digital mortgage can move forward knowing a trusted technology partner is aligned with the industry's leading aggregator. This agreement with Wells Fargo facilitates a new, essential outlet for lenders to deliver loans with e-notes into the secondary market," said eOriginal CEO Brian Madocks.
"The capability will make digital mortgages accessible to a broad spectrum of lenders who can realize the advantages of going digital, such as increased efficiency and improved execution while also reducing risk," he continued.
