Calculating Amortization Schedules in CIM GOLD

Opening a new loan isn’t always an exact science. Savvy customers will likely want to see how different terms, down payments, or interest rates affect their monthly payment amount before making a commitment.

While some lucky math wizards out there can make such calculations on the fly, the rest of us mere mortals require some sort of amortization calculator in order to keep up with our customer’s questions. Fortunately, CIM GOLD provides just such a feature on the new Loans Account Information Amortization Schedule screen (starting in version 7.9.4).

This screen can be used to:

• Calculate, create, and print a theoretical alternate amortization schedule for a current customer’s account.
• Calculate, create, and print a theoretical amortization schedule not related to an existing account (to help a potential customer, for example).
• Calculate unknown pieces of hypothetical loan information. For example, you could determine what the interest rate would be given a certain principal and interest amount and loan term.

No actions performed on this screen permanently affect any account information, so feel free to play around with as many settings as it takes until all your customer’s concerns are addressed.

Here’s how it works:

1. Access this screen under Loans Account Information (see example above). If you have a customer’s account open in CIM GOLD, this screen will be filled with that account’s information. If you don’t have a customer account open, this screen will be blank.
2. Adjust the information in the Payment Information fields according to the discussion you are having with your customer. This information includes payment method, frequency, term, principal, PI payment, rate, and interest calculation method.
3. If necessary, use the Calculate Missing Fields button to fill any blanks (see the third bullet point above).
4. If your customer uses (or will use) ARM fields, enter that information in the fields on the right half of this screen. These fields will only be available to certain customers.
5. Once all the necessary information has been indicated, click the Calculate Schedule button at the bottom of the screen.

The system will calculate the amortization schedule and display it on the Amortization Schedule tab (see example below). This tab displays a list of all payments that will be made on the hypothetical schedule, each accompanied by its hypothetical due date, interest information, and remaining balance. This information can be printed and given to the customer for reference.

Remember: You can create “what if” scenarios on this screen as much as you like, because nothing that happens here will change actual account information. Use this screen to effectively engage with your customers and prove that you can give them the deal they’re looking for!