Cost, resistance to change and integration challenges continue to be the primary reasons that mortgage lenders fail to upgrade their technology stack, a report from STRATMOR Group finds.
At the same time, lenders are making significant strides in adopting robotic process automation (RPA). Roughly 48% of mortgage lenders now use automation to streamline tasks like ordering appraisals and credit scores, the advisory firm says. Many lenders are now evaluating their loan origination systems (LOS) for automation features and are investing in building internal RPA capabilities.
AI and machine learning are also seeing increased use, especially in mortgage document processing. The use of AI/ML has surged, with 38% of mortgage lenders employing AI for tasks such as document classification and indexing, shifting the focus from previous years when AI was primarily used for sales and customer targeting.
“Mortgage lenders are increasingly investing in automation and AI as foundational technologies to improve efficiency and productivity,” says Nicole Yung, senior partner for STRATMOR, in a release. “This represents a fundamental transformation in how mortgage operations are being conducted.”
Yung emphasizes that with strategic planning, strong vendor relationships, and IT investments, lenders can overcome the aforementioned obstacles to technology adoption.
This topic is covered in detail in the firm’s latest InFocus article, “Laying the Foundation for a Seamless Digital Mortgage Experience.”
“Lenders are strategically prioritizing front-end digital capabilities that directly impact the application process,” Yung says. “The industry is at a critical juncture where investments in technology foundations will determine which organizations thrive in the increasingly digital mortgage landscape.”
Photo: John Schnobrich