Blue Sage Solutions’ Carmine Cacciavillani on Technology Trends, Needs: Part 1

Carmine Cacciavillani is the President and founder of Blue Sage Solutions, a leading provider of cloud-based digital technology for the mortgage industry. He has over 30 years of experience developing innovative loan origination technology, including the Blue Sage Digital Lending Platform, a browser-based system that provides end-to-end functionality for the entire lending and fulfillment process. Earlier this year, he introduced the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform, a LOS-agnostic system that seamlessly merges loan origination and servicing functions in the same cloud ecosystem.

MBA NewsLink: In the 13 years since you started Blue Sage, what notable transformations have occurred within the mortgage industry, and how have companies adapted to meet these changes?

Carmine Cacciavillani: Since we launched Blue Sage, digital technology has fundamentally altered the mortgage landscape. Few lenders were talking about cloud technology back then, let alone using it. Today, however, most mortgage organizations use the cloud in some fashion. Of course, adoption is still mixed. Many companies remain tethered to legacy platforms that have been difficult to migrate to a cloud environment. But more and more, banks, lenders and credit unions have been ditching these systems in favor of digital, cloud-native platforms that enable them to automate a wider range of manual processes and streamline operations.

Borrower behaviors have shifted significantly as well. Today’s consumers expect speed, transparency and convenience when shopping for goods and services. They want to interact with their loan officers and lenders with the same ease as when they are ordering coffee, an Uber ride or renting an Airbnb. At the same time, they want a personalized, intuitive experience, too. As a result, a growing number of lenders are leveraging digital technology to transform what was once a cumbersome process into a seamless, customer-centric experience—as they should.

MBA NewsLink: In today’s mortgage business, what are the primary concerns for lenders, and how are digital loan origination systems addressing these priorities?

Carmine Cacciavillani: It’s no secret that the biggest concern for lenders today is controlling costs. After two years of rising rates, many lenders are struggling to maximize revenue with fewer staff. They can’t do much about higher rates, but they do have access to digital technology that can automate dozens of origination processes while still providing borrowers with the type of service and convenience they expect. Ultimately, this takes a lot of work out of the hands of staff so the lender can keep costs down and remain competitive.

For example, new cloud-based point-of-sale technology is available that lets borrowers shop and compare mortgage rates, then auto-generates compliant disclosures for them to sign, all without a loan officer’s help. Borrowers can do this from any device, day or night, and everything can be integrated into the lender’s preferred loan origination system. Such tools also facilitate communication between the borrower, the loan officer and the borrower’s real estate agent through a mobile app, so borrowers can be guided through the process if needed. This enables lenders to create the type of digital mortgage experience their customers want while keeping costs to a minimum.

MBA NewsLink: While AI has been growing across the financial services industry, how long has it been relevant within the mortgage sector? Is it more deeply rooted than commonly thought? What role might AI play in shaping the future of mortgage technology?

Carmine Cacciavillani: AI and machine learning tools have been relevant in our industry for several years now. However, they’ve taken off over the past year with the advent of generative AI technologies, which is streamlining workflows by directing borrowers toward the best loan for their needs and then guiding them through the application process.

Behind the scenes, AI is helping to enhance process automation and reduce the amount of time underwriters spend reviewing documents. For instance, we’re currently developing an AI-powered tool that accepts a borrower’s employment information, paystubs and tax returns, and automates the income verification process. This not only accelerates a lender’s decision time on a borrower’s ability to qualify, but helps them create more accurate, higher quality loan files as well.

Overall, the days in which a lender is able to get by without leveraging some type of AI technology in their point-of-sale and manufacturing processes are quickly coming to an end—and consumers are better off for it.

MBA NewsLink: How should lenders approach incorporating AI into their loan production process?

Carmine Cacciavillani: Certainly, AI has the potential to speed up the loan process and make everyone’s job easier, from underwriters to processors to loan officers and their assistants. It’s pretty exciting. But my general advice to lenders is, don’t go at it alone. It takes a lot of time and effort to build AI into your existing systems, and all but the largest institutions don’t have the expertise, resources or bandwidth. A smarter route is to leverage what has already being built. Find experts with proven solutions who can incorporate them into your systems and workflow correctly. It’s not something most lenders can afford to mess up.

While AI technology is still evolving, there’s really no better time than now to get started, especially with rates expected to stabilize over coming months. When applications start to pick up, you’re going to want your loan production processes to operate as swiftly and efficiently as possible. Assuming you have the right technology partners in place, AI can help your organization not only avoid the type of bottlenecks that we saw during the height of the pandemic, but also give you a leg up on competitors.

(Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect policies of the Mortgage Bankers Association, nor do they connote an MBA endorsement of a specific company, product or service. MBA NewsLink welcomes submissions from member firms. Inquiries can be sent to Editor Michael Tucker or Editorial Manager Anneliese Mahoney.)