The mortgage industry is entering a new era defined by AI, consolidation, operational efficiency, and increasing competitive pressure on independent lenders. In this episode, David Lykken sits down with newly appointed Lenders One President Rick Seehausen to discuss his vision for the future of mortgage lending and the evolving role of mortgage cooperatives. Drawing from more than 30 years of industry leadership, Rick shares how Lenders One is expanding beyond traditional capital markets advantages into technology enablement, fulfillment solutions, provider partnerships, and AI-driven operational efficiencies designed to help community lenders, IMBs, credit unions, and banks remain competitive. From tackling rising compliance complexity to building scalable managed solutions for smaller institutions, this conversation delivers valuable insight into the strategies, innovations, and leadership shaping the next chapter of mortgage lending.
[David] Listeners, I’m a part of Lenders One. It’s such an honor to be a part of this organization and there’s some exciting announcements. We now have Rick Seehausen, who is the President of Lenders One. We’re going to be interviewing him today. I’m really excited about his perspective. He’s a 30 plus year veteran of the industry and he’s leading Lenders One and we’re expecting some really exciting things and let’s get in to talk with him. Rick, good to have you joining us.
[Rick] Yeah, David, it’s great to be here. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
[David] Well, congratulations, it’s an, it’s an honor to have you Rick and it was so much fun running into you last week in Austin at the various conferences where you were going back and forth. was, was great seeing you. and congratulations on becoming the new President of Lenders One. I want to start off by talking a little bit about your background, what led you to this role and how your background is going to help serve the members, of Lenders One.
[Rick] Well, thanks, David and again, it’s an honor to be here. I’ve been passionate my entire career since founding Lender Live back in the late 90s about helping financial institutions opt
[David] That was a really good, that was a great company. That was a very innovative, forward thinking. That’s right. That’s really positive.
[Rick] Yeah, there was definitely a day that we were ahead of our time for sure. And we built a good business and a great team and was real proud of the work that we did with financial institutions to help them develop skill and scale in an industry where smaller institutions were suffering at competing with some of the larger institutions and that problem hasn’t really changed over the decades since building that business and I’ve been passionate about it since the early stages of my career and that’s really part of the Lenders One mission is really helping lenders you know compete in an ever-changing environment and certainly what we’re seeing here today is certainly a rapidly changing environment for sure. The second is it really is…
[David] That’s an understatement.
[Rick] And it’s a great organization. The team that is at Lenders One is fantastic. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about them. I know when we did a previous call with you, you were complimentary of the team as well. I know you’ve worked with them for a lot of years. Yeah, yeah. And then lastly, I’m really thrilled with our Chairman, CEO’s commitment to the business. I flew out to Luxembourg to meet with him. We spent 11 straight hours with Bill and we never ran out of things to talk about. I don’t know if I could spend 11 straight hours with my best friend and not run out of things to talk about. So Bill was great.
[David] And Bill’s got that kind of personality. Bill is great. I’ve had that time privilege of sitting down talking to him on a number of occasions. And I’m really impressed with his commitment to the industry and he has a real clear vision. And now that you’ve been there for 60 days in this new role, I’m really interested in getting some insights to what themes and priorities have surfaced early on for you at the cooperative.
[Rick] Look, what I’m going to say is probably going to seem pretty obvious, right? Our focus is really pretty basic and it’s the whole nature of the cooperative, which is let’s grow and strengthen the business. Let’s build new members into the cooperative. What attracts members to the cooperative is what provides them a return on their investment. The return on their investment typically comes from capital markets advantages or cost savings through providers that are dedicated and selected to be part of the cooperative. So, growing our membership base should be a fundamental objective of any cooperative or any association. Increasing the return on investment for those members is an obvious deliverable that they expect and we plan to deliver on and so strengthening and fortifying both the capital markets advantage and the supplier advantages that come from our provider network is really important. As you know well, the landscape for a lot of that has changed a lot. the capital market side, Lenders One is 6 years old and 26 years ago, we all remember there was a difference from the GSEs in terms of, you know, how they provided pricing advantages to the larger financial institutions and that typically showed up in the form of G-fees right post financial crisis the playing field got leveled on that Lenders One was really founded on the notion that as a collective we represent a large section of the mortgage industry recognize that and give us the same collective advantages. And that worked well for many, many, many years. And it still does. Today we’re 250 members. We represent about 20% of the mortgage origination market. That’s a significant opportunity for the right investors and the right suppliers for that.
[David] When you look at some of the themes of what people are needing or hoping, has there been a shift in your opinion from what you anticipated to what you’re experiencing there?
[Rick] Well, I think for sure there has at the cooperative level at least, certainly are, we have shifted more from a capital markets advantage, which again, the industry shift has made that more challenging to provider advantages and we do that both through preferred providers that join our network, as well as our own Lenders One or L1 solutions that we offer to the community.
[David] We should kind of run through some of those again because I don’t think anyone, everyone that’s outside of Lenders One may not be aware of some of those solutions.
[Rick] Yeah, so, you know, I wasn’t here. nine weeks now on the job, so a lot of this predated me, but I think it was wise along the way that, you know, every business as it meets changes in the industry or adversity has to adopt and overcome or it will die. And Lenders One is no exception to that. And so, as time evolved and the landscape shifted, one of the things that we identified was an opportunity as an organization to take on a little bit more risk, accounts receivable risk, and rather than referring a member to a provider, we became a reseller of those services. And they’re typically the commoditized services.
[David] And that was a shift from the early days. That’s a shift from the earlier days, is, but it shows ownership and more commitment to the services that you’re, the solutions that you’re bringing to the lender members.
[Rick] Well, it made a big difference. We’re now with the members that have adopted L1 solutions. We’ve saved them nearly $15 million. So, it’s not a small number in terms of what we’re able to be able to provide to our membership base there. There’s a lot of solutions out there, though, that are not commoditized solutions that are unique and specific to top tier providers and we want to bring those partners and those relationships to the table as well.
[David] As you look ahead, what is your strategic vision for Lenders One?
[Rick] Yeah, I want our members to, and through our regional directors, which is a great group of folks that I’ve gotten to know better in the short time that I’ve been here, through our regional directors, I want our members to really gain a lot of trust in their knowledge and have a belief that if they need something, a service, a product, questions around technology solutions, that they can go to their regional director as a point of contact and get directed to a good solution that we trust and we value and be able to make those introductions. So, I want to really enhance the advocacy side of what we are as a cooperative to our membership base and again, we want to make sure that those trusted partners are delivering on the ROI proposition of what makes the cooperative work.
[David] How do you envision the evolution across the member benefits of the products and capital markets? Is there an evolutionary process you anticipate? we’re fat, like you said earlier, at the beginning, we’re fast evolving.
[Rick] Yeah. So again, the landscape has changed. I would tell you that for many years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, were great supporters of the cooperative. In the current administration, in the day that we live in today, that’s just likely not going to happen. But both of them have, however, expressed sincere dedication and support to providing our members benefits. And so I’m actively engaged with both of them to really peel that apart and figure out what can we do to develop a member benefit. On the non-agency side, there’s a little bit more flexibility there, and we’re certainly looking to bring innovative opportunities to our members and where they need help in the execution of that, Lenders One is there to help them with that execution, right? We have a fulfillment business for example that can help them with some of the complexities of products that maybe they’re not accustomed to originating and doing the back office support on.
[David] That’s a really important one. Yeah, that’s an important one, especially, especially for the smaller companies that are coming in the new entrance coming into that to be able to have that back office support and fulfillment is, which is again used to provide a Lenders Live. It’s you’re now getting to be able to do it a bigger scale here. You know, I’m interested in seeing your perspective and what are some of the game changers that lendersare facing right now and in the future. We know AI is there. We know that we’re seeing more innovative new non QM type product coming in. So I’m really interested in what you’re seeing, your perspective.
[Rick] Yeah, I’m actually gonna, I was gonna start with AI because I do think that’s a game changer, but I actually flipped it a little bit. I’m gonna say the biggest game changer, I think, is that consolidation is making the big bigger. And in their scale and their access to capital and the resources that they have to implement AI solutions, I think is a competitive threat to some of the smaller institutions on the community bank, the credit union and the IMB front. I just listened to your podcast actually you recently did with Tim Rood and that was fantastic and I made note that he had an AI element that he talked about in that podcast and when you asked him about what’s going on in Washington, he made comment about community banks and smaller financial institutions continuing to be relevant in mortgage.
[David] Yeah, and they’re growing in their relevance is what it seems like. Yeah.
[Rick] And when you couple that with my second game changer, which is AI, it really comes down to the enablement of AI, right? These larger institutions with greater resources are going to be successful first at adopting new technologies and deploying them. And look, you and I have been doing this for a long time. You were kind to actually reference 30 years. It’s been a little bit longer than that for me. But in our era, and I think we talked about this at the conference, in our era, it’s never gone beyond seven to nine loans per FTE per month. It’s always, it’s been that for four decades now. The cost has gone up because wages have gone up, but the productivity level has remained the same. I truly believe AI is gonna be a game changer to that. And it could be a multiplier of four to five times more efficiency when everything’s said and done. Now, if suddenly the big lenders are producing loans for 100 basis points cheaper than a community bank or a credit union or a smaller IMB is able to do, that’s going to be really hard for that institution to be able to be relevant and compete in the mortgage space and I’m working on things and focused on things there.
[David] Yeah. I really think this is one of the advantages of companies that there are sides that really fit nicely inside of letters one, because I think there’s more agility there. think there’s a great, especially when you can pull this resources that you have there and the surfaces and the solutions, it starts giving advantages that allows the smaller guys, um, not that you’re limited to smaller guys. You’ve got some good sized companies a part of just one, but you really do have an advantage to compete more effectively as you’re going through that. I’m interested in the makeup. Are you seeing a change in the makeup of members? mean, regulated institution versus IMBs at Lenders One. Are we seeing one come in and start being more there? The growth is more in one area than another.
[Rick] Well. I am committed to making that change. don’t know if it would naturally occur, but the team, the Lenders One team and I are committed to focusing some growth opportunities with community banks and credit unions as well as continuing to grow IMBs. Today, we’re just around 70% IMB and the remainder being depository institutions. And I do see that there’s a bigger opportunity for us to serve those depository institutions. Absolutely.
[David] Well, I think it’s a good opportunity too Rick when it comes to bringing them in and they have access to all these originators so as they start looking at what their sweet spot is and creating products, products that might not fit with the agencies, that they can, they now have origination source. So, I don’t think anyone hearing this should see that as a negative. That’s an IMB. I think this opens up more exposure to community lenders and I’m thinking one particular individual has done a very innovative thing. within the area of credit unions because some credit unions say, I just want the product. I don’t want to originate it. So, I think there’s a real opportunity here for you. so I’m really pleased to hear you say that.
[Rick] Yeah, what you’re referencing, I think, is our objective here to expand our fulfillment offering into a fully managed solution, very similar to what we had at Lender Live and then ultimately PHH also had and we merged those two businesses together back in the day. And the full private label, fully managed solution where the financial institution can focus on the consumer engagement, managing their credit policy and their credit box that they want to originate loans to and funding those loans and then servicing those customers, where the rest of the back office, the tech stack, the implementation of AI, all of those things can be provided through us and through our partner network.
[David] Now, you guys put on some amazing events. You have great speakers, the workshops that are there, the community, the networking is some of the best. Talk about what we have to look forward to in the months ahead with Lenders One and the activities you have planned and the events you have planned.
[Rick] Well, you’re right. We do put on amazing events. Ironically, I was day five on the job when I stood up on stage at our first one. So that was interesting. it was an amazing event. I think with anything, period, in life or otherwise, there’s always room for improvement and so we’ve taken a lot of good feedback from our providers, good feedback from our members on ways that we can enhance certain things. so we’re not just going to continue to repeat things over and over again, but we’re not going to give up on the things that we know are proven to work either. We are looking to expand our events. We’ll take a baby step there by going from three roundtables this year are scheduled. We will have four roundtables next year for sure.
[David] Talk about those roundtables because those have been really impactful for those that have participated in them.
[Rick] Yeah, great question. Thanks for asking because we just had one in San Antonio at Hotel Emma. It was fantastic. We had about over 40 attendees at that. These are members. We had one or two provider sponsors that were very gracious in being able to help us financially support the event. We had a Freddie Mac, a representative from Freddie Mac in for a half a day, and that was incredibly valuable to the members. It’s an open dialogue. It’s an exchange. I really don’t feel that the members that are in the room are concerned about competitive threats or anything else. People were quite open in their dialogue. I asked Tricia afterwards to solicit a few comments from the members and some of them were just really overwhelmingly positive in terms of what they felt that they got out of that. So, we’re going to continue to do that and we’re going to do more regional events and so the regional directors are going to be tasked to get local lunch and learns, maybe happy hour events, things of that nature where we can bring our membership together in that regard as well.
[David] That’s good. I’m really pleased to hear the more the local, because sometimes a lot of people can’t make it to all the big events, the annual events and so if you’re doing this more regionally, that’s, I would think that to be a great advantage. You mentioned Tricia. She’s a dear, friend, Tricia Migliazzo. I talk a little bit about the team that is reporting to you. kind of, you’ve got some great talent and I know everyone I’ve talked to is so excited about your leadership, and what you bring. It’s a refreshing, you know, change. mean, I don’t mean that negatively about that, but it’s been a refreshing to see a new approach to it. So, talk a little bit about your team and what, what you, what your thoughts are about them.
[Rick] Well, I said this in sincerity earlier today on a call I was on with Tricia that I’m not quite sure I’d be here if it wasn’t for her. Her knowledge and her support and the history she brings with the cooperative is really remarkable. I’m a big team believer, as you know. We had a great team at Lender Live, maybe some of the best executives in the country, and they’ve all gone on and are in leadership roles all over the industry. And people matter a lot. And so I’ve got Tricia. Tricia, Puneet is running operations on our reseller solutions. I brought in Stephen Boney who ran operations for PHH when we acquired PHH. His PLS business, super solid guy. Dave Sale is now overseeing the national programs. Dave has spent his entire career starting at GMAC homecomings for me at LenderLive and then again for me at Cherry Creek managing our vendor management office and so he spent his whole career procuring the services that lenders need. No better person to run the national programs and know what our lenders need.
[David] Yeah, he’s got a great, all these guys, all the people that are talking about it just got solid backgrounds and you bring them into the area of strength and their background. That’s outstanding, Any growth in that group over the next year or so? Do you see more opportunities for people that want to come to work for LendersOne?
[Rick] Well, that’s a great question. As we start to build out the fully managed platform, there’s going to be a lot of investments that we’re going to make in technology. In that scenario, we take on compliance management for our clients and so we’re going to build deeper and stronger in the compliance side of our business. And we’ve got to be familiar with the NCUA’s regulations versus the OCC’s regulations. All of these entities have different requirements that we’ve got to adhere to. And so there’ll definitely be a deep prevention in that front as well.
[David] Yeah, not to mention the complexity. Now we have basically 50 with each state having like their own mini CFPB inside of them now. Complexity, that’s smart that you guys are growing. Rick, I’m really excited about you being there. I’m really excited about your leadership. I’m really grateful that you took some time to be here with us. As you look at the opportunities, the challenges, I would love to get your thoughts on the challenges you feel our industry is facing. We kind of touched on it with AI. We talked a little bit about that, but what is it that you see as the biggest challenges that lenders want to really help them overcome?
[Rick] Yeah, I again, I think it is having a cooperative, a trusted partner when you join Lenders One that when you need to understand and know who the top tier providers are in any particular area that you can go and access that information. It is in some cases the solutions we deliver that will help some of our institutions remain competitive as the landscape continues to change. And sometimes remaining competitive is adopting solutions, technology and otherwise, AI and otherwise, and many institutions will be successful doing that, while others, and you highlighted this a minute ago in our conversation, know, depositories are not in business to produce mortgage loans, they’re in business to lend on deposits. But mortgage companies, on the other hand, are in business to produce mortgage loans. And so as the world and the landscape changes, providing an alternative for the depositories in particular, where they can access a managed solution that gives them all the tools that they need in order to remain relevant and competitive with their customer base, that’s a big focus of mine. And for Lenders One, and I’ve spent 30 years focused on that. So I know it.
[David] Yeah. Well, I don’t think anyone’s better qualified to take Lenders One to the next level. And I’m thrilled to get the chance to meet you in person last week and have you here on the podcast today. Thanks Rick for being here. Appreciate it very much.
[Rick] Yeah. Yeah, thank you so much, David. I really appreciate it.
[David] Thrilled to be a part of an outstanding organization. Encourage anyone listening to this. you’re contemplating being part of a co-op, this is the one you want to get next to. Everyone that goes to these events comments about the networking. They create an environment where, and that’s been there since the foundation of this organization is creating a community that networks and talks and shares best practices with each other. Rick, I’m excited again for your leadership. Thanks for being here, friend.
[Rick] Yeah, thank you, David. I really appreciate it.
[David] You bet.