In today's economy, financial institutions should aim to deliver personalized offers for products and services that consumers need precisely when they expect them. Unfortunately, many financial institutions house data about products, such as consumer and mortgage loans, in departmental silos, resulting in lost opportunities to cross-sell products and services.

Operations such as this may cause financial institutions to lose money and accountholders. When loan officers within each business unit are only interested in increasing the sales of their individual products rather than enabling the sale of multiple lending products across their institution, money gets left on the table. What’s more, accountholders may have different experiences when they apply for each loan type.

Meeting today’s borrower expectations and needs requires an innovative approach

Although credit unions are positioned to offer affordable loan products and services to consumers, today’s economic landscape requires an effective strategy to break down silos and reach borrowers where they are on their financial journey.

Millennials and Gen Z consumers, for example, are often first-time borrowers. As more accountholders of these generations look to purchase homes, lenders must be ready to provide top-notch digital and personalized experiences as well as educate them about other product offerings.

Although mortgage rates are decreasing, they remain higher than they have been in the recent past. One of the top challenges is affordability—home prices remain elevated, and mortgage rates are higher than in previous years, adding hundreds of dollars to a borrower’s monthly budget.

Between higher mortgage rates, fluctuating housing inventories, and consumers’ preference for digital lending, lenders have their work cut out. Not only must they remove unnecessary barriers to borrowing in a difficult housing market, but borrowers are also looking for help navigating these growing challenges.

In addition, lenders must meet the needs of borrowers who want to apply for loans anywhere at any time—and particularly on any device. According to the Maxwell 2022 Millennial & Gen Z Borrower Sentiment Report, 52% of borrowers apply for mortgages online using PCs, laptops, or tablets, while 30% of Gen Z borrowers are most likely to apply for loans using smartphones or mobile apps.

Rising costs due to inflation and today’s ever-changing economy are also taking their toll on consumers' pocketbooks as they deal with more debt, including credit card debt, student loans, and auto loans. In fact, 45% of millennial and Gen Z adults are concerned that they will be denied mortgage loans because they have more debt than income, according to the Maxwell report.

Forward-thinking lenders use data to customize their products for borrower needs, offering consumers the right products and services at the right time. This creates positive experiences and empowers accountholders to decide on additional banking products.

Consumers are more than willing to give their institutions the financial information necessary to streamline the mortgage process. According to theArizent Future of Mortgage Lending 2022 survey, 72% would agree to do so. That's because the top pain point for 51% of borrowers applying for loans is collecting, submitting, and resubmitting personal information, which delays the process.

Register for MeridianLink’s on-demand webinar to gain insight into trends and innovative solutions for helping meet borrower needs and empower your staff to deliver a better overall consumer experience.

Brandon Sisola is director of product management at MeridianLink® Consumer. David Wieczorek is director of product management at MeridianLink Mortgage.