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Better Information. Better Decisions. Superior Results
Construction Monitoring, Loan Administration and Risk Management Software
Industry Overview
Commercial real estate lenders, by regulation, are required to retain third party professionals to provide construction monitoring and oversight services for construction loan exposure. Similar to the appraisal industry prior to the mass adoption of ARGUS Valuation Software, the construction monitoring and oversight industry remains very fragmented. The industry itself lacks basic standards of content, uniform work scope, terminology, benchmarking and methodology which together pose very real risks to primary transaction participants.
The initial concept for StructDB™ was the result of the observed need for industry standards and uniformity and to “raise the bar” relative to Construction Loan Monitoring, Administration and Risk Management. The StructDB™ software platform was designed to achieve three (3) goals relating to Construction Monitoring, Loan Administration and Risk Management:
The initial concept for StructDB™ was the result of the observed need for industry standards and uniformity and to “raise the bar” relative to Construction Loan Monitoring, Administration and Risk Management. The StructDB™ software platform was designed to achieve three (3) goals relating to Construction Monitoring, Loan Administration and Risk Management:
Standardization
Data Security and Document Management
Information Leveraging
Need for Standardization
Construction monitoring and oversight services firms nationwide continue to utilize widely-differing tools and practices as the basis for professional recommendations. These recommendations inadequately drive the important decision making processes among construction lenders and risk management personnel.
PROBLEM: The inconsistent methodologies and information add to the complexity of effectively monitoring and managing construction lending risk across a portfolio and across an organization. A number of different vendors employing differing methodologies with varied work scopes, information requirements and reporting content distributed across an institutions footprint creates extreme challenges from a risk identification, assessment and management perspective. In addition, the current process contributes to an inefficient and costly loan administration function.
Need for Data Security and Document Management
Information security is a concern for all businesses at all levels. During the construction monitoring process, a large amount of sensitive and confidential information is supplied to construction monitoring and oversight services firms. Leading financial institutions continue to expand information security requirements. Informational security in general will be subject to increased scrutiny in the years to come.
The Interagency Guidelines Establishing Information Security ("Security Guidelines") jointly issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the "Financial Privacy Rule" and the ‘Safeguards Rule”, combine to require all financial institutions to dramatically increase their overall information security policies and procedures for all transactions.
Another challenge is to maintain a central and secure depository for all project documents, contracts, schedules, invoices, notes, and any other related information for current access and future retrieval; i.e., loan review, audits, legal proceedings, lawsuits.
The Interagency Guidelines Establishing Information Security ("Security Guidelines") jointly issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the "Financial Privacy Rule" and the ‘Safeguards Rule”, combine to require all financial institutions to dramatically increase their overall information security policies and procedures for all transactions.
Another challenge is to maintain a central and secure depository for all project documents, contracts, schedules, invoices, notes, and any other related information for current access and future retrieval; i.e., loan review, audits, legal proceedings, lawsuits.
PROBLEM: The vast majority of construction monitoring and oversight services vendors lack adequate procedures and technology to provide full centralized document management and data security required in today’s rapidly changing banking regulatory environment.
Need for Leveraging Data
The decision making process today is being driven more by data trends and analytics than ever before.
It is more important than ever for institutions to capture, combine, utilize and manage their information assets and leverage the power of knowledge and insights from an integrated view. The intelligence gained through access and utilization of the right information is critical and can give any organization an edge in any business. The availability and granularity of data is increasingly important to business enterprises of all kinds.
Construction monitoring and oversight services vendors provide valuable information and data points to construction lenders. However, lenders have no practical way to effectively access or utilize this information on an ongoing basis. The project information contained in the reports received by lenders is left dormant and inaccessible by the organization. Valuable information relating to costs, budget, schedule, delivery, actor performance and other data points serve no continuing value across the business silo and organization.
It is more important than ever for institutions to capture, combine, utilize and manage their information assets and leverage the power of knowledge and insights from an integrated view. The intelligence gained through access and utilization of the right information is critical and can give any organization an edge in any business. The availability and granularity of data is increasingly important to business enterprises of all kinds.
Construction monitoring and oversight services vendors provide valuable information and data points to construction lenders. However, lenders have no practical way to effectively access or utilize this information on an ongoing basis. The project information contained in the reports received by lenders is left dormant and inaccessible by the organization. Valuable information relating to costs, budget, schedule, delivery, actor performance and other data points serve no continuing value across the business silo and organization.
PROBLEM: The information contained in the thousands of pages of reports provided to lenders is not leveraged or utilized beyond the specific project for which it was produced. This information presents no continuing value to the institutions that receive and store it. A valuable enterprise asset is left inaccessible and unused.
Industry Solution
StructDB™ is leading the way in the area of Construction Monitoring, Loan Administration and Risk Management by providing a comprehensive industry solution.
Key Feature Summary:
StructDB™ utilizes the robust, scalable Microsoft SQL Server back end for all data services.
StructDB™ security standards and safeguards include two-factor authentication as well as 2048-bit encryption, meeting or exceeding typical requirements in the financial services industry.
StructDB™ provides secure portal access, document storage and a sharing environment for each user and project actor.
StructDB™ reduces overhead costs by consolidating loan administration and processing functions, increasing efficiencies and capacity.
StructDB™ accelerates and streamlines the project review and disbursement processes through automation and standardization.
StructDB™ dramatically improves turn-around times, increasing profitability.
StructDB™ enhances underwriting standards and serves as an important and pro-active risk identification and assessment tool.
StructDB™ provides real time project data for improved portfolio management.
StructDB™ provides consistent and detailed report content and analytics in standard easy to read formats.
StructDB™ provides custom tables, charts, and graphs to support trend analyses.
StructDB™ can be customized to meet individual lender policy requirements.
StructDB™ can facilitate industry-wide construction loan securitization.
StructDB™ is accessible anywhere, through LAN/WAN, supporting remote/flexible work locations.
StructDB™ provides centralized, permanent storage of all documents for easy retrieval at any time, reducing physical file space and storage costs.
Key Feature Summary:
StructDB™ utilizes the robust, scalable Microsoft SQL Server back end for all data services.
StructDB™ security standards and safeguards include two-factor authentication as well as 2048-bit encryption, meeting or exceeding typical requirements in the financial services industry.
StructDB™ provides secure portal access, document storage and a sharing environment for each user and project actor.
StructDB™ reduces overhead costs by consolidating loan administration and processing functions, increasing efficiencies and capacity.
StructDB™ accelerates and streamlines the project review and disbursement processes through automation and standardization.
StructDB™ dramatically improves turn-around times, increasing profitability.
StructDB™ enhances underwriting standards and serves as an important and pro-active risk identification and assessment tool.
StructDB™ provides real time project data for improved portfolio management.
StructDB™ provides consistent and detailed report content and analytics in standard easy to read formats.
StructDB™ provides custom tables, charts, and graphs to support trend analyses.
StructDB™ can be customized to meet individual lender policy requirements.
StructDB™ can facilitate industry-wide construction loan securitization.
StructDB™ is accessible anywhere, through LAN/WAN, supporting remote/flexible work locations.
StructDB™ provides centralized, permanent storage of all documents for easy retrieval at any time, reducing physical file space and storage costs.