BBVA USA customers can now directly apply for a digital home equity line of credit on the company's website.
The technology was created by Prosper, an online marketplace for consumer loans that is based in San Francisco. BBVA, of Birmingham, Ala., is the first bank partner to use Prosper’s technology on its own website. Though the offering was officially announced Tuesday, BBVA began offering these digital HELOCs in September to customers in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico.
The two companies first partnered in 2019. While customers of the $100.9 billion-asset BBVA could apply for HELOCs online through its own website, the application didn’t include the same advantages of the one developed with Prosper, including immediate prequalification, electronic document upload and a more seamless user experience.
"Consumer spending on home improvement has risen over the past six months as people spend more time at home during the pandemic,” David Kimball, Prosper's CEO, said in a press release. “A home equity line of credit is a great option for financing a large project as it offers flexibility and access to low rates."
Based on early results, including from a test it conducted in July, BBVA estimates that Prosper’s service enables it to close HELOCs 14 days faster on average compared with applications submitted in other channels.
Other benefits, the two companies say, include instant prequalification, a dedicated client services team that can answer questions about HELOCs and the ability to upload electronic documentation.
"We are excited to expand our relationship with Prosper by using their digital platform to power our online HELOC application process, as we both strongly believe that digital can lend convenience, speed and efficiency to customers’ banking experiences," Murat Kalkan, BBVA USA's head of mortgage banking, said in the release.
“Since our Prosper-powered HELOC application launched in early September, we've seen a significant improvement in the number of customers who complete the online application,” Kalkan said.
