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In addition to responding to COVID-19, mortgage lenders face the challenges of retaining staff, increasing diversity, and attracting young professionals to this area of lending.
“Diversity is a topic across our credit union as whole, but especially in mortgage banking,” Paukovich says. “Our talent pool is drying up.”
Clockwise from left: Tracy Ashfield, Ashfield & Associates; Sue Dunbar, Hanscom Federal Credit Union; Jon Paukovich, Ent Credit Union.
Challenges mortgage leaders face include the threat of losing employees to competitors, who may offer higher salaries or benefits such as permanent work from home after the pandemic ends, says Susan Dunbar, chief lending officer at $1.6 billion asset Hanscom Federal Credit Union at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
Promoting candidates from within the credit union to fill certain roles—such as appraisers—also presents obstacles. The training requirements and certifications needed for appraisal professionals are challenging, and credit unions often don’t have the resources or staff available to mentor and train these new individuals, Paukovich says.
Mortgage professionals also are striving to make the mortgage process completely digital from the application through closing. This has become more important during COVID-19 and will remain a priority in the future.
“This isn’t a flash in the pan or a reaction to the pandemic,” says Tracy Ashfield, president of Ashfield & Associates. “This is forever changing our industry.”