Hard to believe it’s baseball season already. As some of you may know, I thrive during college football (tailgate) season, and sure am enjoying Michigan basketball’s run through March Madness this year. But these sports have a critical need to invest in the right players in the right roles and the right time. Recently, I also had the ‘pleasure’ of speaking at a conference after Michael Lewis, who tells amazing stories often about data and sometimes about sports. So, I rewatched “Moneyball”, because rewatching the “Big Short” is too painful for us in the mortgage industry. “Moneyball” is not really about baseball — it’s about where leaders choose to focus. Some chase the obvious metrics. Others focus on what actually drives outcomes, even if it’s been overlooked for years.
That idea shows up clearly in mortgage today. Many leadership teams remain focused on the most visible levers — rates, products, and new production — while one of the biggest drivers of future growth sits just outside the spotlight: servicing. As we explore in this month’s InFocus article, retention is shaped far less by what happens at closing and far more by what happens after. The day-to-day servicing experience (payments, issue resolution, communication, etc.) quietly determines whether a borrower returns or looks elsewhere. What’s often treated as operational is, in reality, strategic. The lenders who elevate servicing to the executive agenda are best positioned to win in a relationship-driven market.
Mike Seminari reinforces this in his latest CX Tip with the idea of “teddy bear trust” — the kind of trust that feels reliable, human, and hard to replace. Borrowers don’t stay because of transactions; they stay because of how those interactions make them feel over time. When servicing is consistent, clear, and responsive, it builds confidence that turns routine touchpoints into lasting loyalty. In a market where being remembered is everything, that trust becomes a true competitive advantage.
Thank you for joining us for the March Insights Report. Your success remains our top priority, and we are here to support you every step of the way. STRATMOR provides a wide range of advisory services to facilitate, optimize and address the challenges lenders are facing today, including strategy design and implementation, financial benchmarking and performance, process review and improvement, maximizing servicing assets, optimizing your customer experience initiatives to get more business, technology procurement and implementation, M&A and strategic options, and much more. STRATMOR’s advisory team is available now to discuss these services. Please contact us to learn more. And meanwhile, Go Blue!
Despite its importance, servicing often remains outside the core leadership conversation, treated primarily as an operational function with a focus on cost reduction rather than as a strategic asset. In this article, we explore why servicing deserves leadership attention, where borrower experience is most at risk, and what executives can do to strengthen servicing as a customer and recapture advantage.
Are we confusing the ability to surface an opportunity with the ability to convert it? Because just like with my daughter and her stuffed animal, the “opportunity” isn’t worth much if the relationship hasn’t already been built.
Our question this month: Which will lead the recapture charge — AI modeling or customer experience?
Subservicing continues to play an increasingly important role in the mortgage industry. As more lenders consider subservicing as a viable option — and with recent M&A activity reshaping the landscape — it’s a good time to take a pulse on how the market is evolving.
Origination costs are at an all-time high. Given that sales costs will continue to be the largest component of retail origination costs, what can be done to manage this beast?
Understanding the key characteristics of the Expense Management Branch (EMB) and comparing the key performance metrics between it and the corporate branch model is essential to identifying which is best for your organization.
Secret shopping is the best way for lenders to remove the disconnection between perception and reality and pave the way for meaningful improvements in customer experience.
In a market where borrower behavior, technology adoption, and competitive dynamics are all evolving rapidly, lenders must not only anticipate change but also engineer it. Using the symbolism of the Year of the Horse offers a useful lens for thinking about abundance in 2026. This is not abundance defined as unchecked growth or volume at any cost, but by sustainable profitability, operational strength, and long-term relevance.
Mortgage lending today increasingly looks like a busy airport without sufficient air traffic control.
Leads arrive through multiple channels: calls, websites, emails, texts, and referrals. Borrowers expect immediate responses and clear direction. Loan officers juggle dozens of conversations at once while systems struggle to stay synchronized. Follow-up depends on availability. Status updates lag. Inconsistency and uncertainty creeps in, not because people are careless, but because the system relies too heavily on individual effort to manage volume.
This is where artificial intelligence is establishing a beachhead in mortgage lending.
In STRATMOR’s secret shopping research, one phrase continually shows up in borrower feedback: “It felt too transactional.”
That’s the quiet killer of conversion, trust and long-term loyalty.
Lenders pour millions into marketing and technology, yet lose qualified borrowers because the experience feels mechanical and impersonal. LOS and CRM systems capture the what and how, such as credit scores, income, and milestones, but almost never capture the why.
That missing “Why” is exactly where trust breaks down. And right now, in a market where the cost to acquire each borrower has doubled or quadrupled from just a few years ago, ignoring their Why isn’t just poor service. It’s poor economics.
Feel free to reach out with any questions or needs we might be able to help with.
