Silverwork Solutions’ Michael Kaysen: New Cost Containment and Preparing for When the Market Turns
Michael Kaysen is CEO and founder of Silverwork Solutions, a provider of AI-powered automation for the mortgage industry. Silverworks provides persona-based autonomous automation that is easily added to the loan manufacturing process, enabling lenders to capture the advantages of advanced software Bots. Incorporating intelligent automation and AI, Silverwork’s Bots perform key roles in a lender’s organization as they execute complex processes, communicate effectively with other staff members, and learn as they work.
Kaysen previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Home Point Financial, a private equity-backed mortgage bank, where he was responsible for operations, servicing, IT and continuous improvement. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer of United Shore Financial Services.
During the current market cycle, lenders are often advised to use this down-market as an opportunity to invest in technology that increases their scalability. The idea that a lender’s business can become less dependent on labor and have a profitable operating model in all markets is compelling. The promise of avoiding the rush to add staff during future mortgage booms and creating a new, more variable cost structure is a worthwhile vision.
However, technology investments are not cheap, and the average lender is left wondering whether they can invest in technology now when profitability is currently so poor. Many lenders continue to be cautious with company expenses as they navigate today’s market and await the next wave of business. Investing in promising future technology during challenging times presents a paradox.
We are seeing a group of lenders that are solving this paradox; these are “leading lenders.” They are aggressively implementing new mortgage automation technology. These lenders are selecting AI-based technologies that are able to quickly produce cost savings and a return on investment that funds continued improvements in automation. The solutions in this category are able to be implemented more quickly without major disruption to their current mortgage tech stack. Additionally, this new category of technology doesn’t drag along the training and change management burdens associated with traditional mortgage tech initiatives.
In our experience, the “leading lenders” group of lenders shares several common traits. They have a vision for what a highly automated version of their current business model would look like. They also have a conviction to be successful with new automation and are betting on the realization of cost reductions driven by automation. They are confident that cost savings will occur and adjust their forecasts and staffing plans based on the benefits of automation. And last but not least, they are intelligent consumers of mortgage technology – the mortgage technology space is fragmented and crowded, and the “leading lenders” group easily navigates that space and incorporates solutions that align with their vision and can add value immediately.
A key enabler of these leading lenders’ success is their use of intelligent automation. Intelligent automation combines process automation, document recognition, language and communication capabilities, and the ability for solutions to learn and get better over time using AI. Leading lenders are solving the new technology in challenging times paradox by using intelligent automation to create cost savings that essentially self-fund their journey toward a more scalable business.
Intelligent automation is opening up a new and expanding set of use cases. Use cases that have been traditionally performed manually are now in play for becoming highly automated. “Leading lenders” are building important skills in identifying high-impact areas for applying automation and assembling increasingly powerful automation capabilities.
Vishwa Prasad, Founder & CEO of People Tech Group, recently shared in an article that “the adoption of automation is rapidly increasing due to its versatile nature, growth, and innovation, … by utilizing automation, organizations can achieve substantial gains in productivity and efficiency. This, in turn, frees up valuable human resources to focus on more complex and strategic tasks.”
We are seeing “Leading lenders” using automation to solve the paradox of how to invest in tech during challenging times and realize the benefits of intelligent automation in today’s market. New cost containment in is enabled by automation, and lenders that lean into intelligent automation during challenging market conditions will be most prepared to take advantage of when the market turns, driving greater profitability and increased market share.
