In this ongoing article series, we report on mortgage and credit union vendor marketplace events and trends, and we then share our viewpoints. The theme for today’s article is vendor innovations that are driving speed, quality and cost saves – a select few vendors that really don’t look much like their contemporaries.
Category: News and Trends

Michael Steer: Coronavirus Highlights Need for Pandemic Planning
Nearly all companies have engaged in some form of business continuity planning. Generally, this exercise centers around developing contingency plans for maintaining normal operations in the face of a natural disaster or IT outage.

March Mortgage Credit Availability Falls to 5-Year Low
Mortgage credit availability decreased in March to its lowest level since June 2015, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Mortgage Credit Availability Index.

Senators Up Pressure on Administration to Provide Liquidity Facility
A bipartisan group of senators joined the Mortgage Bankers Association in raising concerns with the Trump Administration to provide urgent action to avoid a critical strain on liquidity for certain home mortgage servicers.

March Mortgage Credit Availability Falls to 5-Year Low
Mortgage credit availability decreased in March to its lowest level since June 2015, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Mortgage Credit Availability Index.

Hispanic Homeownership Up for 5th Straight Year
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals released the 2019 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, noting the Hispanic homeownership rate increased for the fifth consecutive year.

Fannie Mae: COVID-19 Concerns Lead to Steep Drop in Housing Sentiment
Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C., said its monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell by 11.7 points to 80.8 in March, its lowest reading since December 2016.

CMBS Report: More Than 2,600 U.S. CMBS Borrowers Seek Coronavirus Relief; Delinquency Reports Mixed
Fitch Ratings, New York, reported more than 2,600 commercial real estate borrowers, representing $49.1 billion of mortgage loans, have sought potential debt relief during the first two weeks of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.

Michael Steer: Coronavirus Highlights Need for Pandemic Planning
Nearly all companies have engaged in some form of business continuity planning. Generally, this exercise centers around developing contingency plans for maintaining normal operations in the face of a natural disaster or IT outage. However, with concerns surrounding coronavirus sending shockwaves throughout the U.S. and global economies, mortgage companies would be well advised to add pandemics to their list of events that could disrupt normal operations, as this specific type of incident poses unique challenges.

MBA 2020 Tech All-Star Rick Triola: The Crusade for Remote Online Notarization
One of the most remarkable mortgage technology developments in the past couple of years has been emergence of Remote Online Notarization as standard operating procedure. And the industry has Rick Triola to thank for that.