Regions Bank and CRE FinTech Blooma are collaborating to modernize the lending workflow

by James · February 15, 2023

Digital underwriting platform powered by artificial intelligence streamlines CRE lending.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Regions Bank announced Wednesday its adoption of Blooma’s commercial real estate (CRE) lending solution, a cloud-based platform that automates manual parts of the lending workflow and connects disparate tools and data sources to support investor and developer clients with more efficient financing opportunities in the commercial property area.

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The regions’ real estate banking team has already seen significant efficiency gains since the introduction of the Blooma solution. Some components of the process’ workflow have been reduced from days to hours, allowing regions to communicate lending decisions more quickly. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Regions Bank consistently invests in its specialties, delivering a more seamless and intuitive customer experience supported by the dedication of our experienced banking teams,” said Scott Rhoad, director of the Income Property Finance segment for Regions. “Speed, certainty of execution and innovation are all key components of our value proposition, and combining our financial experience with Blooma’s technology supports an even more seamless customer experience. It’s another way we’re leveraging digital transformation to connect Regions’ commercial real estate customers with tailored options and valuable guidance.”

The region’s real estate banking team has observed efficiency gains in the pre-screening of multifamily, office, industrial and retail transactions and the collection of market data as the Blooma system has come online. Some components of the process’ workflow have been reduced from days to hours, allowing regions to communicate lending decisions to customers more quickly.

More specifically, the collaboration with Blooma simplifies processes, improves operational infrastructure and allows regions:

Evaluate CRE loans against a wide range of configurable parameters
Quickly analyze offer memoranda for important deal information
Analyze and automatically classify borrower and/or guarantor finances
Normalize multiple market data sources through a combination of data and analytics

“Blooma is continually looking for new, innovative ways to automate CRE pre-flight and portfolio monitoring,” said Blooma CEO Shayne Skaff. “It is always refreshing to meet a commercial bank that is actively looking for ways to further automate traditional manual processes in their bank. It was immediately apparent in our first meeting with Regions that leadership was proactive and intentional in their efforts to adopt technology to help advance the business. Together we are building tomorrow’s CRE lending technology.”

The digital solution gives customers an improved banking experience and is in line with Regions’ aim to innovate through technology that makes banking easier. Blooma is not a system or platform that interacts directly with clients; rather, it is a process improvement initiative within Region’s business that helps the bank deliver a simplified – and faster – customer experience.

“Regions Bank is driven by a spirit of continuous improvement in how we serve our customers,” concluded Rhoad. “We appreciate working with Blooma to help us take the client experience to even higher levels. Our clients are experiencing the difference as we deliver more timely financing decisions while better enabling them to achieve their business goals.”

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with 155 billion dollars in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 index and is one of the country’s largest full-service providers of consumer and business banking, wealth management and mortgage products and services. Regions serves customers throughout the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates more than 1,250 bank offices and more than 2,000 ATMs. Regions Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and member FDIC. Further information about Regions and the entire range of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.

About Blooma

Blooma is a cloud-based lending solution designed to significantly improve loan origination and portfolio monitoring processes for operators in the CRE space. The platform automates the deal evaluation process and empowers users to make informed investment decisions quickly. Lenders on the system have reduced the loan start-up time by up to 85 per cent, enabling an average of 50 per cent more transactions with the same number of employees. To date, the platform serves several commercial banks, private banks and brokers. Learn more at www.blooma.ai.