PONTIAC, Mich.—The CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the largest mortgage lender in the U.S., said loan officers are not going to be replaced by AI, but those officers who don’t use its technology “will get replaced.”
Mat Ishbia made the announcement as the company begins to roll-out new artificial intelligence-powered tools it said are designed to help brokers analyze competitors’ loan estimates and assist borrowers online.
The tools aim to improve retention as refinancing activity is expected to rise, according to the company.
The company announced the launches during its UWM Live! event o in Pontiac, Michigan., HousingWire reported, and also come as UWM brings its servicing operations in-house. As the CU Daily reported earlier, that followed the termination of its contract with Mr. Cooper due to its acquisition by Rocket Mortgage.
Leo At Work
The loan estimate optimizer, dubbed LEO, identifies “gaps and opportunities” line by line, enabling brokers to offer better deals to borrowers, Mortgage Wire stated.
“Brokers can drag and drop a loan estimate into UWM’s platform to begin the analysis,” according to the report. “From there, they gain access to reduced title fees, appraisal credits or basis points to improve pricing.
During the UWM Live! Event, Ishbia said LEO was like having the most intelligent loan officer in America review an estimate in seconds and advise “how to beat it.” He told roughly 6,000 attendees at the event that “LOs aren’t getting replaced by AI, but LOs who don’t use it will get replaced.”
At the same event, the company’s CTO said LEO was built to quickly scan, extrapolate and analyze loan estimate data, offering “true education” on how other lenders sell mortgages.
MIA Not MIA
UWM has also launched MIA, a virtual loan officer assistant focused on client engagement. Built by the company’s in-house tech team, according to Mortgage Wire, MIA can be customized with brokers’ branding and is designed to make calls, send messages, schedule appointments and collect callback information.
MIA reminds clients about upcoming payments 20 days after their loan closes. It also regularly checks in with past borrowers, notifying them when interest rates drop and they become eligible for refinancing, UWM said.
‘Consistent Follow-Up’
“Consistent follow-up with past clients is one of the biggest challenges loan officers face, and MIA handles that for them, from thanking them for their business after a closing, to reaching out to them regularly staying in touch, to calling them when their rate could be lowered and scheduling meetings with their LO,” Ishbia said in a statement.
The assistant allows LOs to focus on higher-value tasks, such as attending open houses or building relationships with real estate agents, Ishbia said that UWM wants LOs to be “doing $500 work, not $15 work,” according to Mortgage Wire.