FirstBank Partners with Snapdocs to Reach 100% eClose Adoption

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, FirstBank is one of the nation’s top retail mortgage lending organizations. Known for its dedication to outstanding customer service, the bank recognized that consumer behaviors were changing—borrowers required a more flexible and convenient mortgage closing process. For FirstBank, investing in digital closing technology was no longer a nice-to-have, but critical for maintaining a competitive advantage.

Brey Stafford, former VP of Secondary & Servicing, knew the right digital closing provider must support any closing type, demonstrate proven expertise in eClose adoption, and deliver a seamless borrower experience, all while preserving that local bank feeling that FirstBank is known for.

Finding the right digital closing partner for today and tomorrow’s market

After implementing a different solution, FirstBank learned that not all digital closing providers have the expertise to help lenders scale eClose effectively.

“We set an organization-wide goal to increase our digital offerings in 2019. In 2020, the onset of the pandemic accelerated this requirement. Selecting the right vendor was crucial to successfully rolling out hybrid and eNote transactions,” said Stafford. “Our first vendor didn't meet our technology and efficiency requirements, ultimately increasing closing times and failing to deliver the desired benefits. We had to reevaluate and choose the right partner to succeed.”

FirstBank needed a partner that had experience scaling eClose successfully and a platform that would effortlessly integrate with its existing technology stack. In February 2022, FirstBank selected Snapdocs as its digital closing partner.

“We wanted a partner that would make implementation seamless,” Stafford shared. “Snapdocs seamlessly integrated with our loan origination system (LOS) to transfer all documents between platforms. This eliminates the need for manual intervention.”

High adoption leads to faster closings and an enhanced borrower experience

With the support of Snapdocs’ team of industry veterans, FirstBank took a step-by-step approach to digital closings. It implemented a crawl, walk, run strategy: first educating the sales team, then driving increased hybrid eClosing adoption, and finally introducing eNote and RON transactions. As a result, FirstBank immediately experienced higher efficiency and buy-in from internal staff and partners.

“Seeing these success indicators, we extended the pilot and required that all loans be closed digitally through the Snapdocs eClosing platform,” Stafford explains. “This ensured 100% eClose adoption, providing a consistent experience for our borrowers, closers, and partners. Shortly afterward, we reached 91% hybrid adoption and now we prioritize hybrid closings whenever possible. Then, within months of partnering with Snapdocs, we initiated our eNote journey, and quickly scaled 51% of our transactions to hybrid closings with an eNote.”

With Snapdocs, FirstBank can offer busy borrowers the flexibility to review and sign documents on their own time. Closing appointments that used to take an hour or more, are now just 15-minutes on average–a win for all. Borrowers spend less time signing documents and more time celebrating with their closing team.

“From an efficiency standpoint, Snapdocs saves us a ton of time,” said Stafford. “Now, we can close a loan and sell it to an agency in less than 24 hours. We’ve even closed a loan and sold it the next morning."

FirstBank paves a bright future with Snapdocs

The improvements to FirstBank’s operational processes and borrower experience are clear. The bank was able to remove unnecessary manual tasks and refocus staff energy toward higher-value activities, strengthening its position as a provider of innovative and flexible solutions for its customers.