Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is set to help local lenders and their small business client recipients of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding facilitate online loan forgiveness applications through its TSoftPlus™ PPP Forgiveness Module. “The comprehensive end-to-end solution will facilitate and automate the application process for the forgiveness of loans to small businesses that received PPP emergency funding under the U.S. CARES Act,” according to the company. The offering will be made available to local lenders and PPP borrowers following finalization of requirements from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Treasury.

There continues to be strong interest from lenders in the Wolters Kluwer solution, with some lenders reporting as much as a 20-fold productivity gain through using the TSoftPlus functionality compared to securing PPP loans direct via the SBA website. Many lenders typically only processed a few SBA loans per year before PPP. They are now able to process a sizeable number of PPP applications per day using the Wolters Kluwer solution, and will now be able to ensure they are supporting customers in the all important loan forgiveness stage.

The TSoftPlus PPP Forgiveness Module will allow lenders and borrowers to benefit from improved accuracy and document management. It combines the functionality of Wolters Kluwer’s Online Loan Applications product, which enables compliant, convenient distance banking for borrowers, with its Paycheck Protection Program Supported by TSoftPlus™ solution. This widely used solution was launched in early April to assist lenders in their support of small businesses nationwide with payroll funding, providing relief from the onslaught of the COVID-19 crisis.

“The product’s online functionality will expedite the loan forgiveness application process for remote, electronic application transactions,” the company says. Notably, the TSoftPlus PPP Forgiveness Module will feature an online form pre-populated with required SBA documents and existing PPP borrower loan information. This approach speeds and automates loan documentation and uploads, thereby enhancing overall application accuracy while reducing the occurrence of incomplete applications. Both existing TSoftPlus customers, who will already have access to the system, and “new customers will find the comprehensive solution straight-forward and user friendly.” Customers will be immediately able to upload basic PPP data, thereby helping avoid the backlog issues that were widely reported by non-TSoftPlus users during the approval phase of the PPP program.

“Wolters Kluwer continues to play a major and historic role in helping hundreds of local lenders and their Main Street business customers. In the process, our TSoftPlus automated solution has so far helped those businesses retain approximately one million jobs across all 50 states,” said Steven Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. “Now we are again focusing our capabilities to substantively assist PPP loan program borrowers and lenders in the loan forgiveness phase. The TSoftPlus PPP Forgiveness Module will help simplify and speed the complex process of applying for loan forgiveness under the CARES Act. It promises an intuitive borrower experience, processing gains for lenders that we expect to be up to 20 times faster than manual solutions.”

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

Paycheck Protection Program Supported by TSoftPlus is one of several solutions launched by Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division in response to the COVID-19 crisis, including the Business Entity Search for CARES Act solution, offered by Wolters Kluwer’s Lien Solutions business, which conducts bulk/batch corporate identity searches to verify the business status of potential borrowers. COVID-19 Noteworthy Developments Bulletins, meanwhile, aggregates COVID-19 related global regulatory changes, orders, notices and other informational updates for the financial services industry. The division has also launched a COVID-19 resource center to provide businesses and law firms with international, federal and state legislative updates.

Earlier this year we reported how the company has been expanding its Minnesotan HQ for its Compliance Solutions business and other businesses that sit within its GRC Division, growing staff numbers by 25% compared with 2017. Wolters Kluwer now has 717 staff working in Minnesota, nearly a 25 percent increase from 575 full time employees in 2017, a figure confirmed by the GRC Division’s Global Director of Corporate Communications.

Compliance Solutions is headed by Minneapolis-based Steven Meirink who is responsible for overseeing the P&L, operations, and growth strategy for the business unit. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Meirink was senior vice president and general manager for Assurant Mortgage Solutions, where he was responsible for driving the growth of new solutions and expanding Assurant’s business into emerging market areas.

He also held several senior level positions within Equifax, including vice president and general manager of the company’s United States Consumer Information Services – Mortgage Growth Initiatives portfolio. Prior to Equifax, Meirink held several leadership positions throughout the financial services industry including community banking, mortgage lending, insurance, and consumer credit. Meirink reports into New York-based CEO of the GRC division, Richard Flynn.