How Ocrolus helped American Federal cut underwriting time by 29% with AI-powered automation
Mortgage | Classify
Founded in 1987 in Clifton, New Jersey, American Federal Mortgage Corporation (American Federal) has grown into one of the nation’s largest privately held mortgage bankers. To further their commitment to speed, service and efficiency, the lender partnered with Ocrolus to automate document indexing and streamline underwriting workflows—reducing time in file and improving loan turnaround time by 29%.
Challenge
Manual indexing and document organization slowed down underwriting.
Solution
Ocrolus automated document indexing and origination workflows, helping underwriters begin reviewing files immediately—without administrative overhead.
Result
Underwriters reduced time spent per loan file by 29% and decreased touches by 6%.
Challenge
Before adopting Ocrolus, American Federal faced bottlenecks in its underwriting process caused by manual and time-consuming document preparation. Underwriters spent valuable time renaming and organizing files within the Encompass® system before they could begin reviewing loans.
"Our data indexing process was a major bottleneck," explained Andrew R. McElroy, Senior Vice President at American Federal. "Underwriters had to manually rename documents and put them into the right places in the E-folder of Encompass®. It created a lot of friction before they could even begin underwriting."
This manual approach not only slowed down decisioning but increased the number of file touches, drawing valuable human resources away from high-impact underwriting tasks.
Solution
American Federal turned to Ocrolus to eliminate these inefficiencies. Using the platform’s AI-powered automation, the lender removed the burden of manual document handling. Files are now received fully indexed and sorted into the proper E-folder locations in Encompass®—ready for immediate review.
"The AI-powered automation has allowed underwriters to open a file and start underwriting immediately," McElroy said. "Ocrolus handles the renaming and organization, so our team doesn’t waste time getting the file ready."
By eliminating manual processing work, American Federal streamlined its workflows, reduced the risk of human error, and empowered underwriters to do what they do best: focus on making informed, accurate lending decisions.
Result
Since implementing Ocrolus, American Federal has seen measurable efficiency gains across the loan lifecycle.
"There’s been definite time savings and touches savings," McElroy noted. "Ocrolus has reduced underwriter touches and cut down the overall time spent in the file." American Federal is seeing:
- 2 hours saved per loan file across the lifecycle
- 6% reduction in underwriter touches
- 29% decrease in total time underwriters spend in file
These improvements have enabled the lender to increase its volume capacity by processing more loans without increasing headcount– all while maintaining accuracy and compliance at scale.
Why American Federal recommends Ocrolus
By automating document indexing and reducing time spent on administrative tasks, Ocrolus has helped American Federal boost operational efficiency and deliver a better borrower experience—without sacrificing accuracy or compliance.
"Ocrolus has helped us work smarter, not harder," McElroy said. "It’s made a measurable difference in how we operate and how fast we can move files forward."
American Federal views Ocrolus as more than a short-term efficiency play. It’s a key component of their long-term strategy to scale intelligently, especially as loan volume grows. "The thing that gets me excited is it will help us scale," McElroy said. "When there are more loans, underwriters can spend less time shuffling documents, renaming documents—doing things that don’t really move the file to approval or to closing faster."
The AI-powered automation has allowed underwriters to open a file and start underwriting immediately. Ocrolus handles the renaming and organization, so our team doesn’t waste time getting the file ready.”