Independence CB Deploys Loan Software

Independence Community Bank has tapped the Strategy servicing system from McCracken Financial Software to manage its portfolio of 3,500 multifamily loans.

The bank is deploying Strategy on an application service provider (ASP) basis.

Approximately half of Independence's loan portfolio is secured by apartment buildings and mixed-use properties. The bank has 71 offices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties and northern New Jersey.

Strategy gives the New York City-based financial institution the accounting and investor reporting functions it needs, according to Noel Webster, president of Billerica, Mass.-based McCracken.

"Independence Community Bank services both their own portfolio and third party loans," Webster explained. "Choosing Strategy on an application service provider basis provides maximum flexibility as the bank continues to grow."

Strategy is also available as an AS/400 installation, he added.

More than 80 percent of all commercial mortgage backed securities and 70 percent of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans are serviced using McCracken solutions.

"When we decided to change servicing systems, an industry leader recommended that we talk with McCracken," according to Raymond LaRocco, senior vice president at Independence Community Bank. "With their broad and deep bank experience, McCracken was an excellent fit. Because we were committing to an application service provider relationship, we required a higher level of confidence."