In some ways, the financial services industry has lived in somewhat of a technological bubble. A fast-moving technology goal line has kept lenders on their toes at the same time compliance concerns have tied their hands. These and other factors have combined to keep our industry behind many others, but that is starting to change.
As more fintech firms from outside of the traditional financial services bubble make their way through the membrane, banks and credit unions are seeing their customer and member bases threatened. The technology is, in some cases, better, but what’s really threatening the status quo is the new ability for these firms to use technology to form stronger relationships with consumers.
The older technologies many traditional lenders are still using for mortgage loan origination, for instance, are not giving them the power they need to protect those critically important relationships.
It’s time for a change.
And mortgage lenders working in all types of institutions are ready for a change. In our discussions with executives across the industry, we have heard them voice concerns with rising costs. They know that a refi boom, like the one we’re experiencing now, can hide cost structure problems, but when rates rise—as they eventually will—lower volumes will again bring those problems to light.
Lenders know they must find a more efficient way to manufacture their loans if they ever hope to increase their profits. It’s easy to imagine how more flexible technologies will give lenders the ability to better adapt to a changing market and the ever-increasing costs it seems to bring with it. Lenders are ready for that innovation now.
Let’s take a close look at the state of innovation in the mortgage lending business, the impact this is having on lenders, and the technology that is even now poised to deliver what these institutions really need.
The Perceived Risks of Innovation ...
Read the full story in the November issue of MReport, available here [1].