Mortgage lenders and servicers are still navigating a tough mortgage market. Clients tell us they need to better manage and boost profits, which now average $82 per loan (up from a negative $24 per loan in the fourth quarter) according to the MBA’s Q1 2024 Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.
A key expense is software development. It is a complex, iterative process. Each software update is unique and must be carefully considered from all angles to detect unanticipated downsides. For instance, an update that speeds up performance but makes the system more vulnerable is not a step forward.
Decision-making cannot occur in a vacuum — too much is at stake. This is why our product and engineering teams collaborate through a unified strategy. Our team approach helps assess the value of each change, the associated risks, and prioritize actions. If consensus is not reached, or if questions remain, we recognize the need to pause and reevaluate.
This approach allows all expert voices to be heard and their perspectives considered. This big-tent team is what sets ICE apart as a highly capable and robust technology provider that can innovate with intent while providing you with updates to improve your business and benefit your customers.
This iterative approach is also the safest way to operate and protect your reputation.
Unifying product design and development
Some mortgage software companies still operate in silos. Engineering has ideas in the works, product specialists are marching on their own, and if they ever meet, it’s probably in a 50-person virtual meeting. We have taken a different approach with the formation of the Servicing Technologies Product Innovation (STPI) group. By unifying our product and engineering teams, we’ve eliminated silos so our experts can work together at all design phases to modernize our servicing products, which includes the MSP® Mortgage Servicing System.
We know that in order to offer true value to our clients, our solutions must meet their business needs from both a product and engineering perspective. Plus, there’s a very important third voice to be heard — our clients. We listen closely to our clients to gauge the success of our products within servicing operations, and how we can evolve our solutions to support greater efficiencies and improved compliance. This approach runs through our DNA from top to bottom and across other ICE divisions. Our teams collaborate and cross-pollinate to deliver the best results. Because our product and technology experts work hand-in-hand, conversations can go deep in either direction because they’ve worked together enough to bring a holistic viewpoint to the task. Meeting customer needs isn’t just a goal, it’s an expectation ingrained in our culture.
Delivering on our promise
Addressing complex challenges, such as enhancing the user experience for back-office operations, requires diverse perspectives. Through our collaborative approach, we maintain security and integrity in our services while striving for efficiency and cost reduction.
Bringing a team together to consider a change may help in the discovery of greater vulnerability to hacks or unintentionally compromise another feature. When concerns are raised by one team member, it provides an opportunity to fully consider an idea, discuss the benefits of the change and decide how to reach the same goal safely without unintended consequences.
Proposed ideas are meticulously vetted. Some ideas may progress as enhancements to the core product, others might be deferred or reformed. Other ideas may be delivered as an optional enhancement through an API so clients can implement what they need to or not, depending on their business needs and staffing expertise. This allows servicers who are more sophisticated with technology to do their own development work in a way that benefits their business and meets their timeline.
What’s most important is our commitment to work together to deliver the best and safest outcome for clients.
Unmatched value
To respond quickly to changing market needs, our product and engineering groups are collaborating closely to bring a level of transparency and alignment to the process that helps make sure we are meeting client needs from both a business and technical perspective. This collaborative approach also involves direct input from our clients, so we can address both concerns and requirements effectively.
Our ultimate mission is to deliver an integrated, end-to-end mortgage ecosystem that supports the entire real estate and mortgage lifecycle. By continuously innovating and bringing together our product and technology expertise, we are not just envisioning a more efficient future for the mortgage industry, but also actively building it.
Brian Smith is the chief technology officer of the servicing, mortgage technology division.
Dana Federspiel is a senior vice president in servicing technologies product innovation for ICE Mortgage Technology.