FICO, the creator of the FICO Score that companies use to measure consumer credit risk in the U.S., recently announced the launch of FICO Origination Manager 4.5, a new cloud-enabled solution that the company says can streamline the lending process.

Origination Manager 4.5 includes a new Application Processing Module for workflow management and, in conjunction with FICO Application Studio -- a rapid application development platform -- clients will be able to initiate, manage and review applications more quickly and with less reliance on IT.

"Banks, online lenders, auto lenders and the leasing divisions of equipment manufacturers need to respond quickly to dynamic changes in both consumer and small business lending to find elusive pockets of profitability,” David Lightfoot, vice president of product management at FICO, said in a statement. “To support their success in an environment of tight credit and tighter regulation, we have built our most powerful solution for assessing customer risk and improving returns, with built-in flexibility for future expansion and innovation, available on-premise and now in the cloud."

CEB TowerGroup senior research director Craig Focardi said that lenders are in need of advanced statistical modeling techniques like FICO Origination Manager 4.5 provides.

“Firms need solutions that can optimize goals such as risk, profitability, or customer retention through multi-scenario analyses of past and current data,” he said. “When coupled with workflow management, lenders can respond even faster to regulatory constraints, increased competition and customer preferences."

FICO is also working with credit card companies to make its FICO Scores more accessible to consumers. Discover, Barclaycard US and First Bankcard recently signed on to allow over 35,000 cardholders to check their FICO Scores once a month for free, according to the Associated Press. Discover cardholders will see their scores on their monthly statements, while Barclaycard US and First Bankcard cardholders will be prompted to log into their accounts online to access their scores.