June 21, 2022
NEWSLINK: How important is improving market share, particularly as refinance share continues to decline? Is it too late?
PASCERI: The business environment has become much less forgiving due to the unprecedented speed with which interest rates have risen. Everyone expected an increase, but moving from 3% to over 5% with little daylight in between was a scenario that even seasoned leaders couldn’t have predicted. It likely contributed to a recent MBA Market Composite Index, revealing the lowest level of demand for purchase and refinancing mortgages in 22 years.
That’s why It’s important to grow market share now as a hedging strategy – both by offering more competitive products and services in existing markets, and by expanding both core and associated product lines into new markets. Those that began doing this last year have a competitive advantage now.
NEWSLINK: Recent MBA Mortgage Performance Reports have shown that lenders and servicers are, in general, doing a pretty good job of cutting costs. Is there room to cut some more?
PASCERI: There is always more room to increase operational efficiencies. One way is through business process outsourcing for managing labor costs during certain moments in the production process. Earmarking the most cumbersome, time-consuming processes, and finding partners with the solutions and technologies to optimize them benefits mortgage bankers in two ways—by minimizing spend and improving customer service levels.
Read the rest of the article at MBA Newslink
