South Dakota Division of Banking
South Dakota Division of Banking Uses Iron Data's CAVU Software to Eliminate Paper and Redundancy, and Increase Efficiency through Standardized Workflow

Executive Summary
At the South Dakota Division of Banking, disconnected databases and manual workflow were drowning the agency's small staff in paper. To eliminate redundant and time-consuming processes, the Division purchased CAVU licensing and regulatory software. The dedicated CAVU implementation team went "above and beyond" to complete the Division's technology initiative on time and on budget.

Agency Overview
The South Dakota Division of Banking is responsible for the regulation and supervision of state chartered and licensed financial institutions, trust companies and non-depository financial institutions, such as money lenders and mortgage lenders. Its goal is to maintain stability and public confidence, and protect public interests. The Division has 21 employees and regulates between 1,500 and 2,000 financial institutions and trust companies.

Business Challenge
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) was designed to enhance consumer protection and reduce mortgage fraud. Among its other mandates, the SAFE Act required state regulatory agencies to begin utilizing the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) database as their primary system of record on April 1, 2009.

NMLS serves as a national repository for mortgage licensees and allows mortgage loan originators to submit and maintain a single record that can be accessed by licensing agencies in all 50 states. But the Division didn't have a technology solution in place that could interface with the NMLS database – and manually managing downloaded information wasn't possible for the agency's small staff.

"We had several problems to solve, and having to join NMLS was the last straw," states the Division's Policy and Data Analyst, Cassie Branaugh. "We were using 10 to 15 separate Access databases and everything we did was manual and tedious. We had no real reporting functionality or audit capabilities. Information got updated in one database, but not another. An accidental delete could wipe out an entire record. And we had paper everywhere!"

Recognizing the need for an automated licensing and regulatory software system, the Division sent a request-for-proposal (RFP) to software vendors. The agency's limited budget and short implementation timeframe created a two-vendor shortlist. After both vendors demonstrated their products, the Division selected the CAVU licensing and regulatory software solution. "During the CAVU demo, it was clear that the staff really knew their product," Branaugh recalls, "and they were aware of the new NMLS requirements. We chose CAVU because we were blown away by their dedication and commitment to our project."

Iron Data Solution
To get the Division's CAVU system live by the April 1st NMLS deadline, a phased implementation was planned. Serving as the Division's project manager, Branaugh worked closely with the CAVU team to initially configure the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Licensing, Revenue, Reporting, Administration, Document Management, Continuing Education and Workflow modules. Weekly conference calls between the Division and CAVU, and a train-the-trainer approach to deployment, kept the implementation on track. "Since our state IT group wasn't involved, CAVU really stepped up to hold the project together and make sure we met our deadline," Branaugh says.

The Division's CAVU system went live on March 23, 2009. One week later, the agency went live on NMLS – precisely as planned. "Our Director, Roger Novotny, told me that he's gone through many software conversions over the years and he's never seen one go this smoothly," Branaugh states. "From a service perspective, the CAVU team really went above and beyond."

Results for the Division of Banking
Today, CAVU has standardized the Division's workflow and has become an essential element of the regulatory agency's diverse operations. Everything from approving applications for licensure and recording payments, to tracking bank examinations, managing complaints and answering questions from licensees and the general public is managed within the system.

"Before CAVU," Branaugh says, "if someone started working on a license application but didn't complete it, the next person would essentially need to start over because there was no way to tell what had been done. CAVU eliminates this redundancy. Built-in workflow outlines the steps needed to approve an application and tracks the status of each step. The process is now seamless, no matter who is working on an application." Similar benefits are achieved when managing complaints through the Enforcement/Case Management module because the entire history of each complaint is documented in CAVU.

The Division is accredited by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) to perform financial soundness examinations on banks and trusts, and the majority of the agency's employees are examiners who travel up to 70 percent of the time. CAVU makes life easier for those examiners because every milestone is mapped out and tracked in the system. In addition, CAVU's time tracking report helps the Division evaluate whether its examiners are meeting the CSBS' timeline best practices.

Having audit functionality has helped the Division achieve process standardization. "We can go in and see what was added or changed when, and by whom," Branaugh states, "which is a great management tool. If mistakes are being made, we can identify why and correct the problem with more training or education. That's been a huge benefit."

The Division is also more efficient since implementing CAVU. "Before, everything was in a paper file. To answer a single caller's question, we had to put the person on hold, get the file and review the contents. Now, with two mouse clicks, everything we need is right in front of us."

After utilizing the NMLS database, the Division's employees are relieved to have CAVU. "NMLS has measurably increased our time and work requirements," Branaugh says. "We receive 15 to 20 national records changes a day. I can't imagine entering all that data manually instead of downloading it and automatically updating our records. Without CAVU, there is no way we could have kept up with our SAFE Act requirements once NMLS went live."

Looking Forward
Looking forward, the Division will continue phasing in CAVU functionality. Utilizing more of the system's reports, adding online renewal functionality and expanding the CAVU/NMLS integration capabilities top the agency's to-do list. "I don't think another software provider could have resolved our issues so quickly," Branaugh concludes. "Even after our go-live date, they have continued to be there for us. We have great confidence in the CAVU staff and their product."