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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 23 What technological innovations are you seeing that can help housing experts better gage the current economic environment? Over the past five years, we've seen an ongoing amount of notable investments taking place in fintech. A recent report from KPMG titled, "e Pulse of Fintech Q 4 2017" helps map out some of the major investments and trends. Investors see a significant opportunity for technology to drive change across different areas of financial services, and I believe we'll only see this interest grow in 2018 and beyond. One of the areas where we see this take off is the level of visibility for lenders, specifically in assessing risk of lending to borrowers. Now, lenders have direct access to data, instead of printed, scanned, uploaded pieces of paper, and are getting more detailed and reliable consumer financial profiles to assess risk. One example of this is Fannie Mae's Day 1 Certainty program, which allows lenders to know within 24 hours whether a loan will meet Fannie Mae's underwriting guidelines, and protects them from buyback risk later on. is allows them to make a more informed decision about whether the borrower is creditworthy. We're also seeing homebuyers benefit substantially from the various technology options they have available throughout the process of purchasing a home. For everything from the initial research on available properties to evaluating different loan pricing options, to scheduling an appraisal, they have many choices and can easily identify the best service or provider for their situation. Interest rates have been at a historical low, but are now starting to climb again. What impact does this have on housing? Typically we see interest rates have ripple effects throughout the economy, not just housing. While the monetary effects take many months to translate into tangible impacts on the economy, mortgage rates may see a slight increase as a result. Nonetheless, there are positive outcomes for housing. With higher rates, lenders are more incentivized and have a larger cushion for risk. Lenders should show greater bandwidth to consider borrowers who may not have had access to certain credit. I predict we'll see lenders expand access to a broader population, of course with the appropriate risk models in place. Refinancing will likely decline, which lenders may try to offset with more purchase loans. Finally, rising interest rates can push 'on- the-fence' prospective homebuyers to finally make that new home purchase, as they are incentivized to make the purchase sooner while rates are still low. The future of the GSEs is uncertain, what do you foresee for the enterprises moving forward? As we look forward, we will see this become a serious topic of discussion for reform in 2018, as the majority of government bodies that help shape mortgage finance will themselves see major leadership changes. It is tough to say which direction GSE reform will take, but given White House rhetoric, I expect the GSEs will continue to play an important role in our economy (even more so if placed into receivership), and the system will continue to rely on them in the absence of a complete overhaul. Also, there has been a lot of talk on Capitol Hill about leveling the playing field, so it's likely we will see some increased competition. is may come in the form of more guarantors and more uniform terms (price, credit, etc.) for large and small lenders. In essence, if we see the guarantor model remain intact, and there is an opportunity for more competition, the economy should benefit from retaining the 30-year mortgage, lower rates, and increased access to the credit market. "The GSEs will continue to play an important role in our economy (even more so if placed into receivership), and the system will continue to rely on them in the absence of a complete overhaul." THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com.

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