[New] LOAN PRODUCTS

homeowners can pull out of their homes through these products. Even so, reverse mortgages can be more attractive than home equity loans for paying end-of-life expenses.

Add to that the demographic data that shows how quickly the U.S. population is aging and you can see how important it is that lenders offer these products.

Leaning into this product is not an easy lift, but more and more forwardlooking lenders are adding this capability to their platforms.

ADJUSTABLE-RATE LOANS

Many who have only been working in this industry for a decade or so may be operating under the erroneous assumption that adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) caused the financial crisis. That’s not true.

These loans can make sense for borrowers who qualify but want a more affordable mortgage. Given that most people will not remain in their homes for very long before moving, trading up or downsizing their residence, ARM loans can make a lot of sense.

HOME IMPROVEMENT LOANS (FIXED BALANCE HOME EQUITY)

If buying a new home is too expensive, as many Americans are finding it to be today given home prices and current mortgage interest rates, a good alternative is to take out a home equity loan to make adjustments to the homeowner’s existing property. Again, the smaller loan balances may

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Washington Trust Bancorp has named Mary E. Noons, who currently serves as executive vice president, chief retail lending officer, its new senior executive vice president.

lead some lenders to discount these products, but each loan adds to the lender’s overall loan volume. Besides, with the right technology, these loans can be fast, easy, and very affordable to originate.

By offering the loan products that more borrowers want, lenders will naturally have an advantage over their competitors with the consumers in the geographies they serve.

One important key to success with a broader menu of mortgage loan products is having a single technology platform that can originate anything the lender sells to a borrower. When additional technology is required to expand the business into new lines, the overall profitability of the strategy is reduced.

Fortunately, there are loan origination platforms that can originate all of these products and more. Even better, these next-generation LOS platforms can also deliver most of the other success requirements mentioned at the beginning of this article.

There will be no silver bullet or magic elixir for success in the year ahead, but doing more of these things right will set some lenders up to grow, even in 2023. Those with broader product menus will likely get the first shot at new business. n

Joe Camerieri is executive vice president of sales and strategy at Mortgage Cadence. He can be reached at joseph.c.camerieri@ mortgagecadence.com.

> WesBanco Bank Inc. has promoted Abdul Muhammad as its Central Kentucky Market president. He is vice president of the Kentucky Mortgage Bankers Association.

> The American Land Title Association, the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, announced that Jack Rattikin III has been installed as president for the 2022-23 year.

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