Wisconsin-based Associated Bank is now using several office automation platforms provided by lending solutions vendor Mortgage Cadence. Parent company, Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) holds total assets of $23bn, with 300 banking offices across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. For its part, Associated Bank purchases conforming, government and jumbo first mortgage loans from correspondent lenders. The company has a strong retail lending channel that is supported in this implementation, including construction to perm loans and operate as a full-service mortgage conduit servicing all major secondary market investors as well as their own on-balance sheet products. Scott Fecteau, director of mortgage and consumer finance at Associated Bank stated: “This provides us with an enormous competitive advantage considering the state of the industry and the constant changes in regulations, especially when dealing with FHA loans.” The bank is now working with three new platforms from Mortgage Cadence: Orchestrator, Harmony and Finale. When implemented on a respective timescale, the three “solutions” coordinate loan performance through origination, servicing and secondary marketing. “The agility that Mortgage Cadence Orchestrator grants us is unprecedented, and it allows us to get products to market faster,” adds Fecteau. “Couple that with Mortgage Cadence Finale’s ability to dynamically create initial disclosures and closing packages and deliver them securely to the borrower and settlement agent, and we are fully realizing the benefits of these solutions.” “This will allow us to drastically cut down our process times while taking a huge leap toward back office automation,” he said.   Chuck Kimball, EVP of consulting services at Mortgage Cadence added that Associated Bank aggregators will additionally use Harmony as a leverage tool in its correspondent Web portal as well as, as the name suggests, an integration tool from the origination to trading desk. Kimball’s colleague, Michael Detwiler, CEO of Mortgage Cadence, said that in searching for an office ELS upgrade, Associated was very clear in its wants: “They were looking for a technology partner that better positioned them for the next generation of mortgage lending, and we believe that they are going to help define what that generation looks like.” Write to Jacob Gaffney.