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LoanSphere
The Foundation of Connected Lending
LoanSphere is an open source specification for creating, managing, and connecting configurable lending programs.
LoanSphere provides a standardized framework for financial organizations, lenders, credit unions, banks, fintech platforms, brokers, and developers to define loan products, qualification requirements, pricing structures, repayment models, documentation workflows, and lending operations.
LoanSphere does not determine lending decisions, interest rates, approval outcomes, or underwriting policies. Each loan originator maintains control over their own lending criteria, pricing models, compliance requirements, and business rules.
LoanSphere creates a shared foundation for connected lending ecosystems while preserving lender-specific flexibility.
Purpose
Traditional lending systems are often isolated, proprietary, and difficult to integrate across organizations. LoanSphere establishes a modular specification for describing lending programs in a consistent and interoperable format.
The specification enables organizations to:
- Define lending programs
- Publish loan qualification requirements
- Configure interest rates and repayment structures
- Manage lending workflows
- Connect financial systems
- Improve transparency
- Support automation
- Enable future lending innovation
Core Principles
Originator-Controlled Lending
LoanSphere does not prescribe underwriting policies or financial products.
Loan originators determine:
- Qualification criteria
- Interest rates
- Loan terms
- Repayment structures
- Fees
- Documentation requirements
- Approval policies
Modular Architecture
LoanSphere is designed with a core specification and optional extensions.
Organizations can implement only the modules required for their lending operations while maintaining compatibility with the broader ecosystem.
Interoperability
LoanSphere provides common structures for connecting:
- Banks
- Credit unions
- Mortgage companies
- Fintech platforms
- Brokers
- Loan servicing systems
- Financial applications
Core Modules
Loan Program Registry
Defines and manages lending products.
Features:
- Loan program identification
- Product descriptions
- Program versions
- Effective dates
- Expiration dates
- Geographic availability
- Lending organization profiles
- Program lifecycle management
- Product status tracking
Supported lending products:
- Mortgage refinance
- Rate and term refinance
- Cash-out refinance
- Personal loans
- Auto refinance
- Home equity loans
- Business loans
- Consumer lending products
Borrower Profile Module
Defines standardized borrower information.
Features:
- Identity information
- Income sources
- Employment history
- Assets
- Liabilities
- Credit information
- Financial obligations
- Borrower preferences
- Application history
Property and Asset Module
Defines collateral and secured asset information.
Supports:
- Residential properties
- Commercial properties
- Vehicles
- Other secured assets
Features:
- Ownership records
- Asset valuation
- Property details
- Location information
- Insurance information
- Existing liens
- Collateral status
Qualification Rules Engine
Provides configurable lending eligibility requirements.
Loan originators define their own qualification rules.
Supported criteria:
- Minimum income
- Credit requirements
- Debt-to-income ratios
- Loan-to-value requirements
- Employment requirements
- Residency requirements
- Property requirements
- House purchase date requirements
- Existing loan age requirements
- Asset requirements
Rule capabilities:
- AND conditions
- OR conditions
- NOT conditions
- Nested rules
- Rule templates
- Rule testing
- Rule versioning
- Rule explanations
Loan Configuration Module
Defines loan structures.
Features:
- Loan type
- Loan purpose
- Loan amount
- Secured or unsecured classification
- Refinance configurations
- Borrower-specific loan structures
Interest Rate Module
Defines loan pricing structures.
Loan originators control:
- Fixed interest rates
- Adjustable rates
- Variable rates
- Promotional rates
- Risk-based pricing
- Rate adjustments
- Rate locks
- Pricing models
Repayment and Amortization Module
Defines repayment structures.
Supports:
- Loan duration
- Amortization schedules
- Payment frequency
- Fixed payments
- Adjustable payments
- Interest-only periods
- Deferred payments
- Balloon payments
- Prepayment rules
- Early payoff calculations
Fee Management Module
Defines loan-related costs.
Supports:
- Origination fees
- Processing fees
- Underwriting fees
- Closing costs
- Discount points
- Third-party fees
- Custom fees
Application Workflow Module
Defines lending lifecycle processes.
Workflow stages:
- Application
- Qualification
- Documentation
- Verification
- Review
- Approval
- Closing
- Funding
- Servicing
Features:
- Workflow states
- Human review checkpoints
- Automated transitions
- Status tracking
Documentation Module
Defines required documentation.
Supports:
- Document requirements
- Document submission
- Verification status
- Expiration tracking
- Digital signature references
Examples:
- Income verification
- Tax documents
- Bank statements
- Employment records
- Property records
- Insurance documents
Decision Transparency Module
Provides explainable lending decisions.
Features:
- Qualification explanations
- Approval reasoning
- Missing requirements
- Rule evaluation results
- Human override tracking
Disclosure Module
Defines loan disclosure requirements.
Supports:
- APR information
- Payment summaries
- Loan cost disclosures
- Program disclosures
- Jurisdiction-specific requirements
Audit and Compliance Module
Maintains lending activity records.
Features:
- User actions
- Rule changes
- Pricing changes
- Approval history
- Document activity
- System events
Version Management Module
Manages changes across LoanSphere implementations.
Supports:
- Specification versions
- Loan program versions
- Rule versions
- Pricing versions
- Workflow versions
- Compatibility tracking
Optional Plugin Modules
AI Lending Assistant Plugin
Adds artificial intelligence capabilities.
Features:
- Borrower assistance
- Loan program recommendations
- Document analysis
- Missing information detection
- Workflow automation
- Explanation generation
Advanced Underwriting Plugin
Adds additional lending analysis capabilities.
Features:
- Risk models
- Alternative underwriting
- Cash-flow analysis
- Custom scoring models
- Scenario analysis
Credit Integration Plugin
Connects external credit systems.
Features:
- Credit report retrieval
- Credit scoring
- Credit monitoring
- Credit history analysis
Income Verification Plugin
Supports income validation.
Features:
- Payroll integration
- Employment verification
- Bank transaction analysis
- Alternative income verification
Identity Verification Plugin
Supports borrower identity services.
Features:
- Identity verification
- KYC workflows
- Account verification
- Fraud indicators
Fraud Detection Plugin
Provides fraud monitoring capabilities.
Features:
- Identity fraud detection
- Document verification
- Duplicate application detection
- Suspicious activity monitoring
Property Valuation Plugin
Adds property analysis capabilities.
Features:
- Automated valuation models
- Appraisal integrations
- Tax assessment data
- Market comparisons
Loan Marketplace Plugin
Creates a searchable lending program marketplace.
Features:
- Public loan directories
- Program discovery
- Loan comparisons
- Eligibility matching
- Broker portals
Federated Lending Network Plugin
Enables distributed lending ecosystems.
Features:
- Independent lender participation
- Federated program discovery
- Permission-based sharing
- Multi-platform compatibility
Loan Servicing Plugin
Extends LoanSphere after loan funding.
Features:
- Payment processing
- Account management
- Payment history
- Escrow management
- Loan modifications
- Payoff calculations
Analytics Plugin
Provides reporting and insights.
Features:
- Application analytics
- Approval analytics
- Portfolio reporting
- Program performance
- Market analysis
Integration Plugin
Provides external connectivity.
Supports:
- REST APIs
- GraphQL
- Webhooks
- Data exchange formats
- Banking systems
- CRM systems
- Accounting systems
Event Bus Plugin
Provides event-driven communication.
Supported events:
- LoanApplicationSubmitted
- QualificationCompleted
- DocumentVerified
- LoanApproved
- LoanFunded
- PaymentReceived
- LoanModified
Specification Branding License (SBL)
Standard
- Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
- Copyleft enforced for network deployments
- Required attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com
Optional
- Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- LoanSphere
License & Notice Requirements
LoanSphere Specification is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
By contributing to any Open Arsenal project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.
Please note the following:
- All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
- Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
- LoanSphere Specification is free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
- The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments. Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update
notice.md. - When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
- Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.
For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.
Notice – LoanSphere
Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
Contributors
This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.
- Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – August 6, 2026
Created the repository for LoanSphere Specification. Designed the open source specification framework for connected lending systems, including configurable loan programs, qualification rules, pricing structures, repayment models, lending workflows, and modular extension architecture. - [Add other contributors here] – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]
License – LoanSphere
This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
Key Points:
- You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
- All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
- The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.
For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.