In the competitive retail and commercial banking marketplace, improving operational efficiencies has become essential for survival. For Commerzbank, which every year processes over 170 multi-million euro loans and credit lines to corporations and institutions, streamlining the corporate credit lending process to reduce paper and drive down costs had become a top priority.

After evaluating options for transforming its credit operations from a paper-based system to an electronic-based system, Commerzbank selected the EMC Documentum® ECM platform as the foundation for its new system. Other important factors that Commerzbank considered when selecting Documentum included the strong XML capabilities native to the Documentum ECM platform and the fact that other large banks had selected this solution their applications.

The new Documentum-based system automates the entire corporate credit lending process at Commerzbank. Business rules are all modeled within the system and all documentation - including the loan application form, risk analysis, return of investment spreadsheets, presentations, correspondence, annual reports, meeting agendas, and minutes - is stored electronically in a central repository. Client-generated correspondence and other documents originating in paper form are scanned into the system and stored as TIFF images, using Ascent Capture software from Kofax Image Products. Loan applications, meeting minutes, and all supporting credit documentation is entered into XML-based online forms. Workflow prompts and stores all approval signatures as needed.