[David] All right, let’s move on. Mr. Kittle submitted in a comment about he saw a headline in National Mortgage News and the headline reads Rocket, Mr. Cooper Merger HMDA data reveals market Impact. David, if you could outline this article for our listeners and then I’d love to get some discussion around it because I think this is really interesting.
[Kittle] They just are making the comparison though, should the merger go through, they, that Rocket and the Mr. Co, they’re still not gonna be the number one lender. They’re still buying United Wholesale, right? They’d be number two. But the impact on the market is more consolidation into that. And as a side note in that, if you read the whole article. There’s not so much angst about the acquisition of Mr. Cooper. It looks like the lawsuits are gonna come from Redfin in this. There is any, and you still got the three leg stool that I keep, opining about, and can you put the cultures together? and, that’s that’s when you get big companies like that. Tough to do. And this will spur smaller spinoffs from this, I think, at some point. So I just thought it was an interesting article. Yeah, it was a really interesting article. Any thoughts on this, Alice, when you sit and look at these kind of headlines, any thoughts you have?
[Alice] I actually had this in my report to bring up, so I’m so glad you brought this up, David, but for that right, that it was very revealing. Bonnie Sinek’s the reporter, she’s been at National Mortgage News for over, for almost 25 years, I think and I’ve worked with her in the past and I like her and what I love is what, if you all read this article, first of all, it’s a, I’m gonna advocate for, have a subscription to their daily email to get the the news daily, but if you, you have that, you can actually look at the HMDA data charts and it actually shows you how valuable HMDA data is for those of you who are looking for a free source of data. To David’s point, it is great information to know for any kind of a relationship merger. I know there’s other sources that you can pay for to get real distinct LO volume reporting. But this gives you really great ways not only to understand their merger, but to look at what should I be looking at if I’m gonna get into partnership with another company. This is a great way to dissect data. So I think there’s some lessons to be learned for any merger or relationship, no matter how small.
[David] Yeah. Alice, we have so many new people listening in on our podcast. If you could explain a little bit more what you mean because we all know about the databases out there, the NMLS databases, which you have MMI, you have modex. We have RETR accessing these databases, but this is different. HMDA is somewhat different because now we’re starting to look at companies and we can deduct from that. So explain a little bit when you mean, what you said in your comments, please.
[Alice] Sure. So the Federal Financial Institution’s Examination Council, right? F-F-I-E-C is the where you can go get the HMDA reporting information. It’s all free and from that you won’t get loan officer names or loan numbers. It’s a public view of the data that shows the transaction of the property purchase refi percentages the basics of, race, sex, ethnicity. So it’s missing some personal identifiers, but it has the general HMDA information that you can use to learn about a company’s origination, including pull through. So is that what you were looking for, Dave? The, just exactly where to go get it? You can also get it, like you said, the NMLS reporting for those who don’t have to file a HMDA report. A lot of entities don’t like your mortgage brokers don’t. Yep. But then you can get NMLS information that again, is public.
[David] But it’s HMDA is more for a company looking at themselves and comparing themselves to the industry. There’s different ways those that are coming in from the outside regulatory bodies come in and look at the HMDA data making decisions on where we should be focusing potential action. There’s a lot of great, a lot of information that comes outta HMDA data, so I encourage people to make sure they take a look at it. Especially when you’re thinking about moving to another company. MLOs, those that are making a good mortgage loan originator should at least understand so they can go check in on the company they’re considering going to. It’s more than just your compensation. Be thinking broader in a broader way. Bill, your thoughts?
[Bill] I think you hit on a key piece in there, which is regulators and people like that are looking at HMDA data and that’s their first view of potential problems. And, shame on a lender if they’re not looking at their own data with a regulatory view to get out ahead of and hopefully solve any problems before the regulator comes knocking on your door. It’s kind of a drag to be having to, explain something about your company to a regulator and realize that they’re reacting to data that you’ve had available and just having looked at from a critical perspective.
[David] Such a good point. Such a good point.
[Alice] Yeah. I spent a lot of years in MDA data. I’ll tell you, you know who else is a, we’ve had college kids who decided to do a thesis on housing, who pulled up HMDA data. So yeah, it’s regulators, but it’s the public too who might decide to go, Hey, I’m gonna check out this lender. They’ll have a project in mind and that’s not your highest risk. But I thought I’d throw that in there. It’s seriously and we got a call from them going, Hey, could you explain this piece of your data for me? Oh, okay.
[David] Yeah you raise a really good point, Alice, because you know what’s with some college kids are going through that turning up anomalies as a result of the professors encourage them to do so that oftentimes can get to a regulator and create all kinds of data. The bottom line is know your data, know your company data and be aware of it. And Marc, I’ll let you add anything you want to it.
[Marc] I’m gonna add something there. In our HMDA data for our company in the region we’re located in the states we cover is we got the hum to data that you live for, to keep the regulators happy candy, so you don’t really have that problem. But one thing that has bothered me about the gathering the data and the implications, what happens and what happens with our loan officer mix we’re having in companies today, we need to have a good mix of loan officers that come from the different, I found that people get stereotyped in what kind of lender they are when they go out and visit people because of where they came from. So, I’m an advocate for diversification in your loan officer market. I’m an advocate for Male and female. I’m advocate for minorities, et cetera, because we seem to have tunnel vision inside our company. Sometimes it’s not intentional, but it happens. And I think that would happen and I think that would be good for us too. But those people right now that are loan officers are thinking about maybe jumping around and all I can assure you, the grass is not greener on the other side right now. So you need to stay. If you’ve got a good job and you like your job, I’d stay where I am and build on what you’ve built there rather than starting all over the new company because it’s not gonna be as easy as it has been in the past, considering where our loan turnover is and housing turnover is right now in the market.
[David] Or if you do make a move, know the company, you’re going to by looking at the HMDA data.
[Marc] You better. You better research it and know it. Yes sir. Absolutely.
David G. Kittle, CMB is a highly respected leader in the mortgage industry, with over 45 years of experience. He is the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), a mortgage lending cooperative providing members with access to resources and tools to improve their business operations.
Kittle began his mortgage banking career with American Fletcher Mortgage Company as a top-producing loan officer in 1978 moving to the management side in 1986 with Southmark Mortgage. He opened Associates Mortgage Group, the first of his three lending companies in 1994.
Kittle served as MORPAC Chairman for MBA, from 2004-2006. He is past President of both the Louisville and Kentucky Mortgage Bankers Associations, as well as leading the industry through its most tumultuous period as Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Washington DC in 2009. Kittle has testified before congress 14 times.
Kittle has been a driving force behind the growth and success of TMC, working to bring together mortgage lenders from across the country to share best practices and collaborate on key industry issues. Kittle has also been a vocal advocate for innovation and technology adoption in the mortgage industry, urging lenders to embrace new tools and strategies to improve their operations and better serve their customers.
Kittle is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, sharing his expertise on a variety of topics related to mortgage lending.
He resides in Louisville, Kentucky, he has four children and two grandchildren.