Marketing

After years of lagging other industries, financial services marketers are finally ramping up their digital investments. But this new spending must be aligned with smart strategies and urgency.

Virtual events will continue to replace the large in-person gatherings for the foreseeable future, lenders in the Best Companies to Work for list say.

The mortgage lender will promote its brand, products and services through MLB-related television or radio ads, in addition to digital outlets.

Former MBA chair and owner, president, and CEO of Union Home Mortgage, Bill Cosgrove, provides a peek into his pandemic playbook and offers advice to smaller lenders on how to stay competitive amid a rash of companies going public.

The final consent order contained the largest penalty, for $1.8 million to be paid by Low VA Rates. In total, the CFPB has issued $4.4 million in fines for such marketing of VA loans.

There will be no cocktail parties, breakfasts, lunches and dinners at this year's annual convention for the Mortgage Bankers Association. Instead of industry folks traveling to Chicago as was planned, arranging meet and greets in the exhibit halls, participants will sit in front of their computers in homes scattered across the country, thanks to the precautions created by the pandemic.

The agency had raised concerns in the Obama administration about kickbacks in the marketing pacts between mortgage lenders and other providers, but the agency's recent guidance says the deals are legally viable.

When the economy inevitably slides, leaders with a culture based on the mantra, "Treat people like family, and the money will take care of itself," won't need a miracle to survive.

Whether low rates will continue to outweigh health and employment concerns for millennials and Generation Z remains to be seen.

For the majority of borrowers, interest rate research for mortgage refinancing came with unwanted and annoying sales calls, which could ultimately hinder potential business for lenders.

The donation will go through the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts in an effort to expand and diversify opportunities in the industry.

Only 18% of refinance borrowers returned to the same lender in the second quarter, the second lowest rate since 2005.

From an increased interest in outdoor space to a need for a dedicated home office, the pandemic has created new drivers for refinancing, moving and other housing decisions, TD Bank found.

More so than their colleagues nationwide, originators in the Southeast are concerned about how supply impacts their business.

Most are still operating in an analog world and are losing existing clients to the competition.

The annual survey and ranking of mortgage servicers found that while trust is increasing, borrowers were frustrated with some digital interactions and long wait times with call centers.

As home loans surge and lenders look to expand, they're doing a cost-benefit analysis on the possibility of opening more commercial locations.

Almost six in 10 completely agreed that company-provided technology met or exceeded their expectations.

The new normal created by the events so far in 2020 could make this the best year ever for lenders.

The current refinancing boom might seem like the worst time to buy leads, but for some, it may be the best.