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A few weeks ago, while rummaging through old photo boxes, I came across a picture from my early days in L.A. standing outside a gleaming bank tower downtown. Banks felt untouchable back then — stable and polished, almost unshakeable. Fast-forward to the last decade in mortgage lending, and the narrative flipped: IMBs were the innovators, the speedsters, the CX disruptors. Banks felt rigid, old-school, and slow to adapt to changes in market conditions.
And yet … here we are in 2025, watching the pendulum swing back in the other direction.
The latest STRATMOR data from MortgageCX show a stunning reversal, with banks currently claiming the top NPS and Overall Satisfaction scores. Meanwhile, independent mortgage bankers, historically dominant in CX, suddenly find themselves chasing.
So, our question this month is: “What changed — and how do lenders stay competitive in a CX landscape with banks now leading the charge?”
After years of IMBs leading the way in digital simplicity, speed, and personalization, the big banks have mounted a dramatic comeback. It seems the historical “IMB advantage” isn’t as potent when volumes are low and everyone is scrapping for deals. More attention, more personalization, more updates, and more white-glove handling in general all become crucial when every deal counts.
Just how crucial? Across ten years of STRATMOR MortgageCX data, 55% of borrowers encounter at least one process failure. And they all inflict serious damage. Whether it’s a missed expectation, a repeat document request, a slow response, a communication gap, or a closing-day surprise, each miscue costs an average of 75 NPS points.
Borrowers still adore their loan officers (average LO rating: 95/100), but they blame the lender for friction. And friction erases loyalty at a 4:1 margin compared to LO strengths.
So, what do we make of the rise of banks in CX? Some might argue they’ve been leveraging their built-in advantages for blending digital and human interaction (i.e., branches, advisory culture, and large contact-center infrastructure). More likely though, is that they’re enjoying reduced friction in the area that has plagued them most in the past decade: loan timeframes.
The biggest CX failure of banks in high-volume markets has always been the inability to flex:
When the market runs hot, banks historically fall behind. When it cools, they catch up — often dramatically. This cycle took them nearly two years to right-size and return to service-level normalcy. And now that turn times are roughly equal across lenders, banks’ natural strengths are showing again.
The most sobering number in all of mortgage CX: Only 18% of borrowers return to their original lender for the next loan. Even when they adore their loan officer. Why? Because borrowers forget. The closing day halo fades fast — more than 50 NPS points decay within a year.
Meanwhile, servicers rarely personalize communication, and competitors flood the borrower with refinance solicitations. IMBs once won here because they were nimble and stayed closer to the borrower. But with turn times no longer a differentiator — at least for now — banks’ scale-driven consistency has re-entered the conversation.
The question now becomes: What happens when volume rises again? Because if banks don’t fix the issues that caused their last capacity collapse, history will simply repeat itself.
Banks have leaned into what they’ve always done well:
Everything STRATMOR has been preaching for a decade is now playing out in the real market:
Banks have, for the moment, removed their biggest historical CX handicap: capacity failure. But they’ll only keep their lead if they reinforce their systems before volume returns.
Here are 3 ways you can stay competitive versus the new “Big Bank” energy:
1. Eliminate the “Dirty 55%.” Measure and coach to the 7 Commandments (email me for details). Audit every miscue. Reward clean processes. A flawless loan journey produces a 97 NPS.
2. Modernize Your Reputation Strategy. Static reviews are old news. The lenders gaining share today are leaning into:
3. Build a Retention Machine. Winners in 2026 will:
Final Thought: The lenders who match that playbook, and add the agility IMBs are known for, will own 2026.
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