Professional development

The granular data and quick decisions that can help field a winning fantasy football team have a lot in common with the analytics tools that mortgage lenders use to monitor and evaluate their operations.

The number of unique individuals holding state mortgage licenses has risen 7.5% from one year ago, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.

A group of financial industry players — including mortgage servicers and credit unions — are joining together to form a new coalition promoting workforce diversity.

In order for the mortgage industry and its technology to evolve in the future, lenders and servicers must redefine their expectations for connectivity and demand more open integrations between the systems they use.

The greatest responsibility lenders and servicers have to homeowners is making sure property tax payment is accurate and on-time.

"Graceful" may not be the first word that comes to mind when thinking about last year's "Know Before You Owe" disclosure implementation, but one Texas loan officer has a different perspective.

It's time to move past the fear that digital mortgages will make loan officers obsolete.

Servicers got what they asked for when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau limited the specificity of certain requirements in its final servicing rule. Now they may regret it.

Mortgage portfolio retention strategies typically focus on proactively approaching borrowers who can benefit from refinancing. But companies are increasingly using enhanced analytics to further segment their customer base and identify borrowers on the cusp of buying a new home.

Starkey Mortgage's Eric Glick prides himself on the dedication he brings to educating borrowers about a broad spectrum of topics. His approach starts by making sure he stays current on the latest industry trends. Here's how.

Mortgage lenders can expand their businesses by catering to borrowers who aren't proficient in English, but doing so requires strategic recruiting and hiring and compliance with federal and state regulations.

The promise of digital verification, beyond process improvements and time savings for lenders, is the ability to help both consumer and lender drive to the right outcome more quickly, with greater transparency and predictability along the way.

While many depositories do just enough mortgage lending to low- to moderate-income borrowers to meet statutory requirements, The Federal Savings Bank has made it a backbone for growth.

Intensive year-long program features program managers as coaches, business segment rotations and even group hugs.

The deadline has arrived for mandatory submissions to the Federal Housing Administration's Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal, but as many as one-third of lenders that originate FHA-insured mortgages have yet to use the new system.

Mortgage lenders that embrace social media are going to great lengths to ensure their activities remain compliant with truth in lending regulations. But even lenders that shun social media must take steps to avoid marketing compliance risks.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reached an agreement with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. in Raleigh, N.C., to settle alleged fair lending violations.

Arjun Sirrah takes great pride in his company's national-level success as a community bank in Connecticut competing against digital lending startups in student loan refinancing. Now, his Darien Rowayton Bank plans to bring its tech-based approach to the mortgage market.

Ditech Financial will shift a St. Louis-area servicing platform to start doing new loan originations during the third quarter.

Being well educated has never been more important when it comes to owning a home.