Delivering better customer service and speeding the time to closing will be top priorities for most mortgage lenders this year, a survey of mortgage executives reveals.
In the latest Mortgage Barometer survey conducted by Lenders One, 77% of mortgage lenders say improving customer service is very important to being competitive in 2016.
In addition, 71% say speeding the time from origination to closing is very important to being competitive.
The 200 mortgage executives surveyed said compliance with regulations and rising interest rates are the two factors that will have the biggest impact on their operations this year.
About 41% said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule would have the most impact while 24% said the new reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act would have the most impact. Another 14% of respondents said they expect CFPB audits to have the biggest impact on their operations.
“Mortgage lenders are looking at 2016 as a year in which they will move toward a more growth-focused business strategy,” says Daniel T. Goldman, interim CEO for Lenders One, in a release. “However, some external factors such as rising interest rates and a complex regulatory environment will continue to temper the pace at which mortgage lenders seek to expand.”
About 64% of lenders who took the survey say they originate non-qualifying mortgage (non-QM) loans.
About 18% report that they frequently do so.
Among lenders that do originate Non-QM loans, only about one-half (51%) say they are extremely or very likely to originate these types of loans in 2016.
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