Enterprise content management for regulatory compliance: Best practices credit unions should adapt from the healthcare industry
Credit unions now face a tidal wave of new compliance requirements that are steadily increasing the costs of managing and securing member information, and putting pressure on credit unions to find new solutions to keep these costs under control. Currently under-utilized by the majority of credit unions, an effective Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution can be a tool for optimizing the management of critical member data, lowering the costs of managing that data, and finding new ways of extracting value from it, all while mitigating security and compliance risks. This article outlines key findings from examining similar challenges to the healthcare industry, which credit unions can learn from when responding to upcoming regulatory challenges.
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) vs. Document Management
ECM systems are repositories of secure and searchable electronic documents and records that are captured and stored in any department of a company. More than just document imaging and management solutions that scan and store paper records, when deployed effectively, ECM systems’ centralized security and search features mitigate compliance risks and increase employee productivity and operational efficiencies.
Healthcare companies have successfully deployed ECM systems over the last ten years to manage risks associated with regulatory compliance, avoid millions of dollars of penalties, and streamline operations. Many lessons can be learned by credit unions from the ways the healthcare industry uses ECM to address the following five regulatory challenges:
- Information security risk
- Paper documents reliance
- Outsourced services risk
- Siloed systems
- Compliance costs
In the healthcare and credit union industries, information disclosure requirements and associated penalties have increased the impact of these challenges. Therefore, large volumes of data need to be identified, stored and indexed to meet compliance requirements. A secure and searchable centralized repository of electronic documents will help each industry achieve consistent, accurate and fast data retrieval, and risk mitigation, in addition to increasing productivity and improving service levels.
The healthcare industry’s recent past hints at the credit union industry’s future as it grapples with expansive new regulations for disclosures and underwriting of loans. These regulations were issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and are scheduled to go into effect in January 2014. The requirements associated with the new regulations have raised concerns in the industry, since credit unions now have to:
- Determine and document the ability-to-pay mortgages for primary residences based on eight criteria
- Comply with increased underwriting criteria for qualified mortgages and mandated rules for safe harbor treatment
- Disclose loss mitigation options and foreclosure protection for mortgage holders with delayed payments
- Display loan closing costs in standardized formats and show principal, interest, insurance, and servicing costs, including the impact of interest rates changes (www.consumerfinance.gov)
Given these new rules, documentation needs will explode at credit unions within a short time. A whitepaper recently published by Bluepoint Solutions explores how enterprise content management (ECM) is used in the healthcare industry and how credit unions and other financial institutions can improve operations and meet regulatory compliance by applying the same best practices approach to managing content. The complete whitepaper can be downloaded at:
