The Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual event was held in Washington DC this month and we had a chance to not only join the discussions, but also had the fantastic opportunity to meet with leaders in the industry.

These industry veterans, including Don Curtis and Dan Streit, have become fantastic resources for the Difitek team, not only in appreciating the mortgage industry, its full ecosystem of participants, and its developments, but also being able to navigate expectations for the future and how the Difitek technical framework can solve some of the inefficiencies and bring new products to the market.

Specialization and Connectivity

In line with trends in the global securities markets, new vendors are driving specialization in service offerings and ecosystem strategies are becoming the norm, delivering value to your client through partnerships and leveraging best in class technologies at the right points in time. 

Yet the reality is, that companies such as loan origination system (LOS’s) operators are already overburdened with costly integrations, with integrations often taking two years to hit the market with some established and traditional companies. These interestingly set the tone for the entire industry’s expectations.

An open API model and structure can shift the market from black boxes to modular systems, where data exchanges are normalized and where connections can represent truer market dynamics. This can set a new tone for how connectivity happens, but also how new business models can be adopted and taken to market.

Access to Investment Opportunities

As the Government Sponsored Enterprises, GSE’s, (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) start decreasing their programs in the market, private capital is required to meet the supply in the marketplace. Yet at various points in the mortgage value chain, private individuals could be given access to an investment market in these assets, either as fractions or as co-investments alongside the more traditional and established investors. These models and better connectivity and access for investors, may be key in meeting a new territory of higher interest rates and stronger investor need.

Markus Lampinen - Paul Higgins - Armodio Corrado - Difitek team in Washington
The Difitek team after the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual event, in Washington DC.

What’s important to us at Difitek is leveraging strong sector expertise, such as in an industry as mortgages, to utilize best in class technology for the sector itself. Yet such initiatives have to come from within the industry and its key leaders. We’re very excited about our initial collaborations and upcoming announcements in the sector, and invite mortgage specialists to get in touch to find applications of cutting edge technologies, such as our digital back office, to apply to serve their clientele.