With nearly 35-million people in the United States having quit their jobs as part of 2021’s “Great Resignation,” employers everywhere are experiencing labor shortages and resignations, and community banks are no exception. The number of people returning to the job market has remained low, creating an increasingly scarce labor market. Unsurprisingly, attracting qualified talent tops the list of bankers’ concerns this year, with 65% of respondents to a recent Cornerstone Advisors survey citing this as their number one concern for this year.
As community banks navigate the current period of post-Covid transformation, all are eager for experienced, forward-thinking and dedicated talent. And with mortgage lending requiring many highly specialized positions to execute origination activities in a compliant manner, community banks find themselves not only competing for mortgage business but also top talent. While there is an increase in available mortgage talent as the market continues to adjust to macro-economic changes, the number of qualified applicants for these positions may be finite in the geographic areas in which community banks operate, making the challenge of sourcing top talent difficult. Community banks should strongly consider managed services, enabling them to expand their talent search beyond their geographic footprints.
Managed services are also a cost-effective and efficient way to deliver white-glove service to bank customers while accessing seasoned mortgage expertise and maintaining healthy business margins. Of course, generating local jobs has always been a hallmark of the community bank operating model, which can make engaging managed services seem like a contradiction to this ethos.
However, it’s important to remember, community banks are a vital source for accessing key financial services within their local communities, making it incumbent upon them to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. Managed services provide community banks with a viable alternative to talent acquisition, ensuring they can continue to serve their communities and create increased access to homeownership. What’s more, managed services can also help community banks grow their customer relations, leading to increased employment over time, while also eliminating banks’ needs to downsize and/or restaff as market volumes fluctuate.
Managed services allow community banks to have mortgage departments that are always fully staffed by industry experts, eliminating the hiring-and-firing cycles. Despite the wealth of mortgage talent currently available, many banks find themselves relying on one or two individuals to manage all mortgage-related tasks, from processing to underwriting to compliance. Working with a seasoned managed services firm, such as Promontory MortgagePath, provides community banks the peace of mind in knowing their mortgage professionals are always properly trained in their respective areas and have the subject matter expertise to ensure each loan is compliantly originated and/or salable to their secondary-market investors.
As the leading managed services mortgage fulfillment firm serving the community bank market, Promontory MortgagePath helps community banks maintain high-touch, personalized service while also ensuring they have access to industry-leading talent to fuel their mortgage origination growth. Our seasoned operations professionals function as extensions of the community bank team, trained on the bank’s underwriting guidelines and reflecting the bank’s culture in all facets of how it does business with its consumers. With multiple service models available, community banks can take advantage of the economies of scale and reduced overhead that managed services can provide. In addition, community banks leveraging Promontory MortgagePath for their managed services needs also gain access to all the technology required to support the operating model, including our proprietary point-of-sale platform Borrower Wallet®
Interested in expanding your mortgage business and capabilities with Promontory MortgagePath’s team of tenured professionals? Contact us!
