The PROGRESS in Lending Association released the names for its 2024 Innovations Award winners last week, including two vendors that are active in the reverse mortgage industry, according to an announcement.
The organization recognized LoanPASS for its loan pricing software, which can map out forward and reverse mortgage options side by side.
“In this current market, many lenders are looking for new lending products to offer to help expand their offerings and keep the company afloat,” the organization said in its announcement of the award winners.
It went on to state that independent mortgage banks, community banks and credit unions have shown interest in product pricing engines (PPEs) that allow them to price and make decision on nonqualified (non-QM) mortgages, reverse mortgages, fix-and-flip loans, construction loans or portfolio lending products.
This past January, San Diego-based reverse mortgage wholesale lender Smartfi Home Loans forged a partnership with LoanPASS to use the technology company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) product pricing engine in its reverse lending operations.
“Partnering with LoanPASS to implement their product and pricing engine was an easy decision as it seamlessly aligned with our vision,” Smartfi CEO Gregg Smith said in a statement in January. “Their innovative solution supports our commitment to streamlining the lending process for our partners.”
Also recognized by the PROGRESS in Lending Association was Mortgage Cadence, which was lauded for its technology innovation.
“With reverse mortgages on the rise, Mortgage Cadence knew it was important to include both forward and reverse lending in its platform,” the organization said of its award for Mortgage Cadence. “Lenders are enabled to work more efficiently, leveraging automation and workflow tools that enable an excellent borrower, sales and operational user experience. It was important to the team that this experience was available for reverse lending and not just forward.”
Last month, Mortgage Cadence announced the hiring of reverse mortgage industry veteran George Morales to serve on its sales team. The company is aiming to bring more reverse mortgage technology solutions to potential partners already in the industry, as well as those that have yet to enter.
“I’m standing in a place where I’ve got all this reverse experience, but I’ve also got a lot of forward experience, [having] been in the mortgage industry since 1999,” Morales told RMD in February.
“The reverse experience is particularly interesting right now, because we’re seeing traditional forward mortgage companies really starting to come around on the reverse product a little more than we’ve seen in a while. And so for me, I feel like it’s an opportunity to kind of open the door via technology, to how and what is happening in the reverse space.”
