How Fintech Enhances (Not Replaces) Human Relationships in Mortgage Servicing
Agility is no longer a ‘sometimes’ thing for mortgage servicers. It’s an all-the-time thing in the pandemic era and beyond. Real-time customer service and compliance are operational prerequisites in this real-time market and regulatory era. And whether it’s mass pandemic-relief forbearances or acute inflation and rate spikes causing drastic refi-to-purchase and MSR valuation shifts, your fintech is the key to your operational agility.
As our CEO Dan Sogorka told DS News in a recent interview, “Times are certainly changing for the mortgage industry, specifically on the servicing side.”
“Over the last couple of years, after the initial passage of the CARES Act and counseling borrowers through the early days of the forbearance process, servicers jobs’ have been straightforward. Now, it’s getting a lot harder, and we’re helping them prepare by providing cloud-native, open-API technology that helps banks and lenders control their tech spend and helps borrowers control their financial situations.”
By maintaining a fintech development mindset, we can continue to help servicers drive engagement (and retention) with homeowners in new and innovative ways.”
Every quick pivot for servicers demands that Sagent be two steps ahead — proactive not reactive — to equip servicers to meet the evolving needs of their homeowners. And that’s really an area where Sagent has differentiated ourselves: by understanding the homeowner perspective, and powering all experiences to meet their needs.
As Dan aptly explained to DS News:
As the industry has reacted to macroeconomic shifts, regulatory changes, and tech advancements on the origination side, the consumer hasn’t been at the center of their home-owning life cycle—until now.
“At Sagent, we saw an opportunity to differentiate ourselves through an intense focus on the homeowner by giving them the tools they need to manage their loans, help them manage their unique financial situations, and — most importantly — connect with them as human beings in good times and bad.”
We’re building technology to enhance, not replace, the human relationships that are so crucial to driving homeowner engagement, retention, and satisfaction.
We’re confident that the tried-and-tested power of human touch — supercharged by smarter, faster fintech — will help drive the servicer’s evolution into a ‘trusted advisor’ in this space—not the ‘gotcha’ person that the homeowner views with skepticism and distrust.
The bottom line, as Dan explained to DS News, is that we pride ourselves on helping our customers connect with their borrowers and show how they can help.
And unlike in previous cycles, today, we have quality borrowers, quality data, and, most importantly, quality systems in place to help our customers guide their homeowners through periods of financial uncertainty and arrive at the best outcome for everyone involved.
That means more stability for homeowners and more operating agility (and ROI) for servicers.
And for those mortgage pros who truly get how fintech creates operational agility for servicers, it means more career opportunities.