Digital mortgage platform Maxwell has brought on Amy Brandt to its board of directors to gain perspective on the challenges that lenders face and the gaps in the mortgage digitalization process.
A veteran with two decades of experience in digital mortgage solutions, Brandt most recently served as president and CEO at First American Docutech. She is operating executive director at the private equity firm Serent Capital. The executive also serves as chairman of the board of SunToWater Technologies LLC and as a board member at InhabitIQ.
Talks with Maxwell evolved over the last 60 days, and Brandt was invited to be an independent member of the board. “Knowing originators very well from my previous seat, I can bring a good perspective of the impact we’re going to have and make sure that we’re on target,” Brandt told HousingWire.
Founded in 2015, Maxwell uses artificial intelligence to accelerate the mortgage process for over 300 community lenders, banks, and credit unions. The company, backed by JPMorgan Chase, says it has facilitated over $150 billion in loan volume and helped lenders close over 15% more loans per month.
Brandt said that the mortgage business is structurally fragmented, with different parts of the process and various providers. In the point-of-sale tool, there are solutions for title, appraisal, processor, and underwriter, all interfacing in different ways.
“I picked Maxwell because they are trying to solve the technology gap and the digitization problems in the mortgage, and they’ve already gotten traction and success in reducing the time cycle and lowering costs.”
Maxwell was selected as a 2022 HousingWire Tech100 mortgage honoree.
As a board member, Brandt said that she will focus on making sure that Maxwell will execute and deliver its roadmap. She will also help the company to bring new partners to fill all gaps in the process and augment lenders’ capabilities to make it cheaper and faster.
Brandt will hold the position in a moment when regulators pressure lenders to collect accurate data to promote fair lending. “Regulators want to make sure that lenders are capturing accurate data, and then they can use the data to run tests to make sure that the lending practices are fair,” she said.
In addition, government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are interested in digitization to improve costs and borrowers’ experiences. “Hopefully, digitalization will improve the practices and the performance of the loans.”
Brandt said that lenders often claim they are too busy or can’t afford the implementation of digital solutions. But it is essential in a purchase environment when they have less volume that is more expensive to produce, she argued.
“That’s a dangerous place to be if you are an originator. You will have to find a way to be scalable and lower your costs. And that’s only really going to be possible with technology.”
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