Why Mortgage Loan Officers Should Care About MISMO and How To Get Involved
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the MISMO Summit in Boston, a gathering of the brightest minds shaping the standards that power mortgage technology and data infrastructure. The discussions were deep and meaningful, the desire for innovation was palpable, and the collective brainpower in the room made me optimistic for the future of the mortgage industry. But despite all the progress being made, one thing stood out loud and clear: almost no Mortgage Loan Officers (MLOs) were in attendance.
That’s not just a missed networking opportunity, it’s a missed opportunity for influence.
The reality is that most MLOs (at least that I know) aren’t even familiar with what MISMO is, let alone how directly it impacts their day-to-day work. Yet MISMO (short for the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization) plays a central role in nearly every step of a mortgage file, from application through servicing. Have you ever wondered the reason our tools work together (or don't), why some documents take minutes to generate and others take hours, or why data disappears between systems? All of that often boils down to MISMO standards being followed, or ignored.
So what exactly is MISMO? It's the mortgage industry's standards-setting body, responsible for ensuring that different technologies can "talk" to one another through a shared data language. Picture all the moving parts of a mortgage transaction (borrower applications, credit pulls, appraisal reports, income verification, closing disclosures, loan servicing data, etc.); MISMO creates the rules that allow these systems to share information smoothly, accurately, and securely. Without these standards, you're left with the chaos of triple data entry, broken integrations, compliance nightmares, and tech that constantly feels like it's fighting against you.
That’s why I believe it’s time for loan officers to stop sitting on the sidelines.
If you've ever been frustrated with a clunky point-of-sale platform, confused by redundant system inputs, or concerned that your tools aren’t keeping pace with the competition, the solution may not be a new vendor, it may be a better understanding of MISMO. This isn't just IT's job, or Ops, or Compliance. It’s ours too. As those on the front line working with borrowers, MLOs bring a perspective no engineer, product manager, or standards committee can replicate.
MISMO doesn’t just welcome practitioner input, it needs it. And with the rise of AI, automated underwriting, and digital closings, our voices are more critical than ever. The mortgage of tomorrow is being coded today. And if we're not in the room, we don’t get a say in how it’s built.
Here’s what you can do:
Get curious. Ask your LOS, POS, and CRM vendors if they’re following MISMO standards. You’ll learn a lot about why your tech stack functions the way it does.
Join the conversation. MISMO has open working groups, webinars, and opportunities for real-world users (yes, that includes MLOs) to weigh in on the standards that shape our future.
Attend the next webinar. A great place to start is the upcoming “Get to Know MISMO” session on July 22. It’s free, it’s virtual, and it’s designed to help practitioners like you understand where you fit in.
Let’s stop being passive users of mortgage technology and start becoming active shapers of it. Because if you’ve ever said, “There has to be a better way,” then it’s time to join the people building it.