The rush to embrace and adopt artificial intelligence technology solutions to make mortgage operations faster, better and leaner has primarily focused on operational cost savings. Some lenders are entranced by the vision of the promise of reduced labor costs, increased operational efficiency, and modernization. There is also an inherent concern about competitive disadvantage as lenders see their peers adopting new AI tools where they have none. I have addressed AI regulatory and compliance...

The SAFE Act (Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008) is a federal law that requires all residential mortgage loan originators (MLOs) to be licensed or registered through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). It mandates “background checks, credit reports, fingerprinting, pre-licensing education, testing, and annual continuing education.” The goal is to “enhance consumer protection, improve tracking of MLOs, reduce fraud, and ensure minimum standards...

Agentic AI, the use of autonomous systems capable of independent decision making in support of customer service and sales efforts, is sneaking up on the mortgage industry. The thought of replacing employees with AI generated “bots” who are programmed to interface with consumers carries serious regulatory and compliance concerns which may limit their usefulness in external operations. In considering agentic AI we must understand the difference between using automated platforms internally to...