Responsible Innovation - A Future Vision for the Mortgage Industry

The mortgage industry has shown its aptitude to embrace technical innovation and digitization, but are we responsible in our approach? No one would dispute that the front-end new origination application process has become more accessible, responsive, and thorough through digitization and robust origination platforms. However, complex operational processes post-application (servicing) remain labor-intensive, sluggish, and reliant on antiquated manual processing. This creates unnecessary fragmentation and chaos, which impedes borrower engagement, generates inefficiencies, and drives up costs. The industry needs to embrace the vision that ends this disruption, adopting innovation that pushes digitization throughout the loan and customer life cycle.

To this end, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently convened numerous industry participants at their first-ever TechSprint in an effort to encourage and promote data digitization that further advances the mortgage ecosystem alongside developing market conditions. The Velocity TechSprint was created to discover how to best leverage industry data resources and fintech, addressing the challenge of “How might data digitization drive transparency and increase access, fairness, affordability, and sustainability in mortgage lending?” The agency recently published a resulting summary report entitled, ‘FHFA’s Velocity TechSprint.’ Based on collaborative insights and feedback, this report summarizes the challenges, as well as solutions, that FHFA and participants see as significantly impacting the industry adoption of data digitization.

The TechSprint emphasis and resulting analysis paint a path for pursuing responsible innovation through digitization as it addresses challenges and solutions. The FHFA utilized responses from their July 2022 ‘Fintech in Housing Finance: Request for Information’ to develop the aforementioned italicized challenge statement, along with the following problem statements that were considered by participants:

1. Expanded use of direct-to-source data approaches and automated verification processes in mortgage lending;
2. Challenges with the adoption of existing digital mortgage tools;
3. Ongoing importance of enhancing and harmonizing data standards in mortgage processes;
4. Opportunities for the use of alternative data in credit underwriting; and
5. Enhancing borrower access and preparation for a digital mortgage experience.

Whether or not you were among the 80+ participants from 60+ companies, it’s important to engage a partner whose technology clearly offers innovation in the key problem areas identified by FHFA.

1. Direct-to-Source Data: CLARIFIRE^® leverages data from numerous data resources, ingesting and analyzing data real-time, 24/7, ensuring cycle times are reduced, and processes are streamlined in a manner that helps maintain integrity, along with safe and sound practices.
2. Data Quality: Data quality is of the utmost importance to CLARIFIRE^®. Proven in the industry as a workflow innovator, using validated data to drive automated processing and sophisticated decisioning that encompasses regulatory and proprietary requirements.
3. Adoption & Implementation: Developed prior to the onset of the Great Recession and evolved at every juncture, CLARIFIRE^® is fully proven with the automated logic and complexities of our industry, including embedding customer usability, accessibility, and satisfaction to encourage adoption and implementation.
4. Alternative Data: CLARIFIRE^® pulls data from virtually any source into any segment of your processes, driving the pursuit of alternative data access, as well as rendering decision-making criteria that support the accessibility and use of data when and where needed.
5. Digital Experience & Trust: The full suite of CLARIFIRE^® processes and industry features have evolved out of 20+ years of expertise, delivering an innovative and evolving digital experience. This same expertise has continued to grow client and industry trust in our robust capabilities.

As you evaluate your strategies for data and process digitization coupled with innovation, consider CLARIFIRE^® as a pivotal technology differentiator that has already conquered proven digitization automation. CLARIFIRE^® is flexible, transparent, and easy to implement, which is an important consideration as you contemplate the key areas that TechSprint participants identified as important themes. Additionally, when outlining responsible collaboration with your next vendor partner and technology application, ask yourself if the resulting solution or innovation:

• Enhance consumer education and empowerment?
• Improve trust in a fragmented mortgage ecosystem?
• Optimize mortgage technology solutions to further adoption?
• Build trust in digital solutions?
• Unlock affordable supply for underserved and first-time homebuyers?

Incorporate FHFA’s ‘Velocity’ lead and modernize your servicing practices by inviting more automation into the process. This first TechSprint promoted creative solutions through industry collaboration, evoking innovation, creativity, responsibility, and sustainability. CLARIFIRE^® can make these strategies a reality within your organization. Gain immediate access to greater efficiency, automation, decisioning, and modernization with CLARIFIRE^®. Let us show you how to deliver a seamless servicing experience for you and your borrowers by blending data digitization with innovative automation and decision-making capabilities. Reach out to us today and automate the complexities of servicing. Visit us at eCLARIFIRE.com or connect with us directly at 866.222.3370. CLARIFIRE^® is truly BRIGHTER AUTOMATION^®.

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Jane Mason | @janemasonceo

Jane has applied her vast experience (over 25 years) operating process-driven businesses to successfully redefine client-focused service. Jane has worked with expert programmers to apply cutting-edge web-based technology to automate complex processes in industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare and enterprise workflow. Her vision confirms Clarifire's trajectory as a successful, scaling, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider. A University of South Florida graduate, Jane has received many awards related to her entrepreneurial skills.

 

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