Social media

Millennials are on the verge of becoming the largest cohort of homebuyers. If lenders want to gain and retain their trust, they must start by recruiting a younger, more diverse and gender-balanced workforce.

Despite the outcry prompted by lenders' commercials during Super Bowl 50, customer satisfaction surveys indicate borrowers are more than ready for the ease and convenience of digital options.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's indirect response to Quicken Loans' Super Bowl 50 commercial implicitly warns consumers to be wary of technology, which points to a bigger problem: does the CFPB even know what it wants from the mortgage industry?

Social media offers a unique opportunity to make personal connections online, but mortgage lenders should tread lightly when using this channel as a lead source for new borrower prospects.

Rather than relying on a formal marketing services agreement to get business, loan officers now have to prove that they can provide realty agents and consumers the best mortgage experience.

A customer's social media presence provides a window to the soul, which a more traditional credit history cannot touch.

Amid a renewed focus on improving customer service and the overall borrowing experience, lenders surveyed by National Mortgage News indicate a strong interest in customer-relationship management software, but remain tepid about electronic signatures.

While regulatory pressures remain top of mind for the mortgage industry, lenders surveyed by National Mortgage News are shifting their attention from defensive-minded compliance initiatives to ones that improve companies' ability to compete.

LendingTree already offers a Yelp-like community where consumers can rate loan officers. Now it has created a question-and-answer forum within its loan officer directory platform.

The mortgage industry typically takes a conservative approach to employees promoting their personal brands. But it's time for lenders to take a lesson from the presidential hopefuls who have gained an upper hand by playing up their individual brands.