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Message from Deb Bortner
Director of Consumer Services

Message from Deb Bortner, Director of Consumer Services:

Doing Things Better, Faster and "Leaner"

First, I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read our newsletter. The readership increased last quarter, which indicates to us you find the information helpful.

Secondly, I want to share with you what I believe to be some good news about a new initiative we are undertaking at DFI to make our licensing process “better, faster and leaner.” As many of you know, the licensing process for a number of our license types has changed significantly in the last few years and as a result we have seen applicants struggle to complete the requirements to receive their licenses. We believe the length of time it takes to process some of our licenses can be reduced, while still maintaining the highest level of quality control in order to protect consumers — which is the core of what we do. To reduce the review time, we established a “Lean Team” and conducted an analysis of our Consumer Loan License Application process. It took an investment of time and resources, but we feel it has been worth the effort.

Our preliminary plan will reduce the processing time for many of Consumer Loan applications. From there we will do a similar analysis of other license types. The key to these process improvements has been the removal of waste that develops from “wait times” between reviewing activities and the reduction of handoffs amongst our staff. One good example is when a Consumer Loan Application is missing documents we have one person contact the company. Once the applicant provides the necessary materials another staff person reviews them. If deficiencies are identified, we have to contact the applicant again. As a result current applicants have to spend time with two members of DFI staff. In the future we intend to consolidate both the reviews and then provide the applicant with a consolidated checklist of what they need to provide in order to have a “completed application.” In addition we are carefully reviewing all the types of required documents we are requesting to ensure they add value to the review process. As we move forward with this initiative we would be happy to hear from you with any suggestions. Please send any ideas to Patrick Woods, the Program Manager for Licensing, at Patrick.Woods@dfi.wa.gov.

Please let me know what you think of our Newsletter by filling out our survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y86KZTQ.

Sincerely,
Deb Bortner, Director Consumer Services

The LEAN project team.