Case Study: Firstmark Credit Union achieves 50% faster loan funding and recovers 20% of abandoned loans with DocuSign

DocuSign Saves Costs, Avoids Errors, and Salvages Lost Loans for Firstmark

Firstmark Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative in San Antonio that specializes in consumer lending, faced slow, paper-based loan processes that could take up to 10 days to fund an auto loan. Manual printing, scanning and signing led to frequent document errors and lost business at dealerships, undermining the credit union’s push to grow loan volume during its “Year of the Loan.”

By implementing DocuSign (integrated with its Meridian Link loan system) Firstmark enabled mobile eSignatures, streamlined workflows, and phased rollout across branches. The change cut average application-to-funding time by more than 50%, recovered roughly 20% of loans previously abandoned, reduced headquarters loan-processing labor costs by about $8,000 per month, and all but eliminated document errors—helping Firstmark exceed its loan-growth goals and accelerate new member initiatives.

Firstmark Credit Union

Gregg Thorne

Senior Vice President of Lending, Firstmark Credit Union