AMP (ASX:AMP) share price falters amid 'important step forward'

What did AMP announce?

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Key points

  • AMP shares edge 1.08% lower to 92 cents 
  • The company has invested in its technology to speed up customer loan approvals and added a credit report functionality 
  • Management is aiming to further reduce loan approval times and increase home loan origination capacity 

The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is heading south during trade on late Tuesday morning.

This comes despite the financial services company releasing a positive media statement on its website.

At the time of writing, AMP shares are fetching 92 cents apiece, down 1.08%.

AMP speeds up loan approvals for customers

Investors appear unfazed by the company's latest announcement, sending the AMP share price lower.

In its statement, AMP advised it has launched digital signatures (eSign) for loan applications going forward.

The eSign functionality allows customers to sign their forms online, eliminating the need to print and physically sign documents.

It also removes the manual verification process by AMP Bank.

Furthermore, a comprehensive credit report functionality will be introduced from 21 March.

The 'Access Seeker' service gives upfront visibility of customer liabilities without impacting the customer's credit file.

The Bank's application portal, ApplyOnline flags information missing from an application, assisting clients to submit more accurate and complete applications.

This new capability follows enhancements to AMP's auto credit decisioning engine, which recorded a 75% improvement in automated decisioning rates. In turn, this has resulted in faster and more consistent approvals.

The company stated that it's continuing to invest in technology that simplifies and speeds up the home loan approval process.

AMP group executive, Sean O'Malley commented:

The new functionality is another important step forward for AMP Bank to simplify and improve the lending experience for brokers and advisers. Both eSign and the new Comprehensive Credit Reports will make it easier and quicker to originate and approve loans with AMP Bank.

The technology reflects AMP's ongoing strategic investments to enhance AMP Bank's systems, and commitment to further reduce loan approval times and increase home loan origination capacity, which increased by 70 per cent last year.

Our focus this year is to further digitise and automate lending processes, which will continue to make it easier for brokers, advisers and customers to do business with us.

About the AMP share price

Founded in 1849, AMP provides superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking products including home loans and savings accounts.

Headquartered in Sydney, the company operates in both Australia and New Zealand.

Over the last 12 months, AMP shares have fallen almost 37%, and are down 9% when looking at year-to-date. The company's share price has lost about 83% of its wealth from early 2018, reflecting negative investor sentiment.

Based on today's price, AMP presides a market capitalisation of roughly $3 billion, with approximately 3.27 billion shares on issue.

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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