Tweet Sheet: MBA Tech 2015

Let's Just Get This Out of the Way

Some are still holding out hope that the CFPB will delay the disclosure deadline, but most have grimly embraced the idea that come Aug. 1, the forms will be the new normal. Yahoo columnist David Pogue a technology whiz, but admitted mortgage novice opened his keynote with a metaphor for the new requirements that was met with resounding appreciation from attendees. But at a later panel on compliance and electronic processing, Ann Epstein, Freddie Mac senior director of product development, voiced support for the measure. "TRID is actually an opportunity to start from the same place," she said. "Don't stop at TRID, use that as a springboard."

Always Forward

While @Pogue's keynote was largely unspecific to the mortgage industry, his discussion on disruptive technology encouraged lenders and servicers to focus less on current offerings and instead focus on emerging products and their future potential. In that same vein, CFPB officials offered a sneak peak at a tool they're developing to streamline the HMDA data reporting process by helping lenders spot and correct errors faster.

Up Next: Coveting Millennials

Beyond efficiency gains and what Sierra Pacific Mortgage CIO Jim Connell called a "good, healthy dose of regulation," the need to effectively reach millennial generation borrowers is a key factor that's driving change in the mortgage industry. Social media and mobility are the hallmarks of mortgage technology's future, particularly for an industry still catching up to the concept of widespread automated processing. As millennials reach ages and income levels that allow them to make large financial decisions, lenders and servicers need to bring their wares to where these potential customers are.

Call Me? No, Text Me.

Mobile and apps are interlocked. Most millennials, and a large swath of Gen Xers, use their smartphones and tablets for tasks that were once handled over the phone or face-to-face. If lenders and servicers are going to both continue to properly serve their customers, as well as capture new leads and tap previously unleveraged markets, they'll need to get hip to mobile.

You Think You Know, But You Have No Idea

The mortgage industry is built on data, but not the types that fall into the bucket of "Big Data," which is culled from social media, Web searches, public profiles and purchase histories. That's where the "promise and peril" comes in: Big Data can help lenders and servicers better target their customers and anticipate their needs. But for some, it can wander into the territory of privacy invasion. In order to really harness Big Data's potential, users must develop an infrastructure to collect and store information in a sound and secure manner.

Cybersecurity Starts in the C-Suite

Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, called cyber-attacks the "fifth dimension," of warfare, and encouraged executives to embrace a proactive approach to cybersecurity that encompasses every facet of a company. "It's not just the CIO's problem," he said.

Booth Swag: Stuff We All Get

Conference swag or what The Office's Michael Scott likes to call "stuff we all get" is essential for a successful exhibitor booth. One particularly popular tchotchke was on display inside a claw crane at Ellie Mae's booth. The arcade game was filled with cuddly "TILAceratops" and "RESPAsaurus" dinosaur dolls as part of the vendor's marketing campaign encouraging lenders to "tame" the TILA/RESPA changes.