TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/946638
30 | TH E M R EP O RT FEATURE T hirty years ago, mortgage origination was a simple process. An application was taken at the local savings and loan branch, documents were prepared within 48 hours, sent to a title company with a note to close, and then the entire deal was sealed within days with a congratulatory handshake to the happy new homeowner. What once took less than a week to complete now takes approximately 50 days—with plenty of hoops for lenders to jump through. In today's environ - ment, lenders are responsible for complex data management and hundreds of active compliance regulations, with steep fines if they get it wrong. To succeed in an environment of increasingly narrow margins, broad competition, and ever-more- complex regulation, lenders must take a methodical approach to loan origination, adding dynamic, optimized workflow technology. This need for compliance, data, technology, and management to exist within the same ecosystem is greater than ever. The good news is that, in an increasingly digital world, achieving such operational control is becoming more manageable. Best-in-class solutions are crossbred compli - ance management systems (CMSs) built by software engineers and maintained by a team of experts well versed in financial law and regulatory compliance knowledge. For an industry that has been slow to adapt, this emergence of sustainable, smart, and reliable digital compliance ecosystems fosters an environment that can effectively improve the way the industry manages regulatory changes. These expertise-fueled solutions empower financial in - stitutions to respond with agility to the ever-growing regulatory landscape. Alleviating the burden of managing the overwhelming compliance infrastructure frees lenders to focus on profitability and look to the future, instead of over their shoulders. The key lies in finding the right tool that combines most, if not all, compliance management and delivery needs into a single CMS. As regulation continues to impact the financial services industry with a near-constant cycle of updates, new regulations, and processes, the pressure compresses down to the finance and compli- ance professionals. In addition to existing job responsibilities, the mortgage banking industry at large balances a myriad of siloed tools that slow them down and lead to decreased productivity across the board. Today's comprehensive CMS solutions, however, are de- signed to keep institutions safe, cost-effective, and on pace with regulators in one seamless plat- form. Adapting to Win A s the financial services in- dustry continues to advance through innovation, banks and lending institutions cannot hire data scientists and technologists fast enough to match the pace of evolving technology. For larger institutions, tackling innovation has also meant adjusting their business strategy, with billions of dollars invested annually toward new technology development. Capital One, Commonwealth Bank, Citi, Visa, JPMorgan Chase, BBVA, and Wells Fargo have created their own national and international networks of innovation hubs across the country specifically designed to innovate fintech. Other institu - tions recognize the limits of their technical expertise and choose to invest in startups and businesses whose sole business objective is Navigating the Mortgage Ecosystem The need for compliance, data, technology, and management to co-exist is greater than ever as originators look to tighten timelines and streamline processes. By Michael Riddle