Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions Cites Benefits of Electronic Recording of Real Property Documents

Thought Leader article underscores the enhanced speed, traceability, security and convenience of electronically filed mortgage transactions

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Commercial and residential mortgage lenders who neglect to embrace the benefits of—and growing trend towards electronic filing and e-recording of mortgage-related real property documents—could encounter significant problems over time, including rising transaction costs, workflow inefficiencies, and dissatisfied borrowers. That’s according to Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, writing in a new thought leadership piece.

“Electronic recordings are not the way of the future; they are the way of the present,” writes Sandra Langford, Senior Product Manager, Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, in her recently published article, “The Paperless Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Electronic Recording of Real Property Documents is Now,” in the Commercial Lending Edition of Scotsman Guide. “For real property documentation, the efficiency, security, and overall convenience of electronic documents make it the most logical option for lenders.”

Of the 3,865 county-level recording jurisdictions in the United States today, she notes that most have begun accepting some form of electronic e-recording—and a handful now only accept e-recordings rather than manual, paper-based recordings.

“Lenders are taking notice of the increasing prevalence of electronic recordings and filings for mortgages, Uniform Commercial Code, and other transactions,” says Steve Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. “This trend mirrors the larger growth of electronic, digitally based platforms for banking transactions of all types, from originations and closings to servicing and securitizations. Lenders are increasingly embracing the benefits of speed, convenience, auditability and security that digital platforms bring to banking, much to the delight of their customers.”

The onset of COVID-19 in 2020 abruptly shut down county offices and dramatically slowed down the efficiency of the U.S. Postal Service and courier services for weeks. Paperwork deemed “complete” may in fact have been delayed in the mail or in receiving offices closed due to the pandemic, jeopardizing filings. Langford notes that under normal conditions, recording and filing delays of even a few days can cause serious issues for lenders and their customers: “Several weeks of delay—or months—can cause a transaction to completely fall apart,” she writes.

Compare that experience, she notes, when organizations move to a secured e-recording method. “(Electronically) imaged documents, lined up in a queue, waiting for their turn: they are organized and there is virtually no chance for them to go missing. There is no elevated risk of security—in fact, the security is stronger on most online platforms than in the lobby of many county recorders,” she remarks.

Scotsman Guide has covered U.S. financial news, trends, and developments for more than 25 years, and hundreds of thousands of mortgage professionals rely on its insights to make profitable business decisions.

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. insurers, banks and credit unions, and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.

Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division provides an array of expert solutions to help financial institutions manage regulatory and risk obligations. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions’ eOriginal® suite of purpose-built, digital lending solutions, for example, helps lenders digitize their transactions and features electronic signatures, collateral authentication and an electronic vault. Compliance Solutions’ OneSumX® for Regulatory Change Management tracks regulatory changes and organizes them to create structured, value-added content through a single data feed that is paired with an easy-to-use software solution. Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR), meanwhile, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. The division’s legal solutions businesses are Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation and Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions.

About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance

Governance, Risk & Compliance is a division of Wolters Kluwer, which provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to help ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes. GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance.

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of €4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,200 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.