The future will be digitally driven.

Following the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, many of the nation’s largest banks began gravitating away from mortgage origination, concerned about higher risks, lower profits, and a changing regulatory environment. Over the last decade, independent mortgage banks (IMBs) or so-called “nonbanks” have filled the gap. Warehouse lenders extend short-term lines of credit to IMBs, secured by real estate collateral, allowing nonbanks to fund loans in their names rather than as a broker. IMBs originate and quickly sell the loans into the secondary market and pay the lender back.

Consumer protection regulations in the mortgage lending process have grown exponentially since the Great Recession. U.S. lenders must comply with federal mandates, regulations from 50 different states and nearly 200 different license types utilized by non-banks. Every step of the mortgage lending process requires specific disclosures, creating significant regulatory compliance risks. Fortunately, technology is quickly evolving to address the challenge.

Mortgage lending is a data-intensive endeavor, and the traditional loan process is time-consuming and bogged down in manual paperwork. But technology is streamlining and speeding the process for originators and their clients, as well as producing more accurate underwriting to reduce risk (and wasted time) for lenders and brokers. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital products among consumers, and they expect less friction in their transactions.