2021 promises to be a year of evolution in the use of source data, especially for mortgage borrowers. With that in mind, we reached out to a pioneer and leader in this effort, Christy Moss, CMB, of FormFree®.
Christy and FormFree are continuing to innovate by providing GSEs, lenders and the industry at large broader access to data for not only credit decisioning, but also risk mitigation, servicing, cost reduction and more. Christy frequently emphasizes the importance of where consumer financial data resides, how it can be accessed by lenders and how to make the data actionable for lenders in the credit-decisioning phase. After many years of work toward digital solutions, FormFree and others believe 2021 is the year it becomes actionable.
We sat down for an interview on January 26, 2021. I am very excited to share the following highlights:
Faith Schwartz: Christy, I have known you for several years now and most notably when you were the client ambassador at Fannie Mae and their partnership relationships. Give us a sense of your background and what led you to your role at Fannie Mae?
Christy Moss: I have been in the industry for over 30 years, initially starting my career with GE Capital Mortgage Services and working for large enterprise mortgage lenders like First Union/Wachovia and CitiMortgage. My early career focused on really understanding lender operations and how loans are manufactured for sale into the secondary market. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, I worked with financial institutions and independent mortgage bankers helping to match the best products with their correspondent lending strategies to grow market share. I joined Fannie Mae just prior to conservatorship when the market was in real turmoil. The agencies were charged with providing liquidity to lenders to keep the housing finance industry healthy and support borrowers during a very tumultuous time. In my early years with Fannie Mae, I was a relationship manager assigned to manage a specific group of approved seller servicers with a focus on helping lenders maximize the tools and products offered by the agency. I later began working with the seller servicer approval team, guiding lenders through the approval process.
Then in 2016, when Day 1 Certainty® was introduced into the market, our focus shifted to helping lenders adopt the new technology for data validation as well as the other components of the rep and warrant relief program. This was the beginning of a huge shift in how lenders manufactured loans, using technology to create efficiency, improve the borrower experience and mitigate risk. This was my initial introduction to FormFree’s founder, Brent Chandler, who was instrumental in helping both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac develop their rep and warrant programs. I was so energized by this technology that allowed lenders to shave up to 20 days off cycle times and maximize every loan application — all while improving the consumer experience.
FS: Christy, you made a “leap of Faith” to move from Fannie Mae, a wonderful powerful firm, to join Fintech innovation firm FormFree. I admit I was hopeful with fingers and toes crossed that you would join FormFree and help them advance their “go to market strategy” and client intimacy. Tell us about that decision.
CM: I fell in love with FormFree from almost the first time I had a conversation with Brent Chandler. His vision to truly change how lenders interface with borrowers by using technology to improve the experience, access immutable data and reduce cost really spoke to me. It was like a dream come true for a long-time mortgage banker like me to be a part of one of the biggest shifts in the industry since the addition of automated underwriting systems. FormFree understands where consumer data resides, how to access it and most importantly how to make it actionable for credit decisioning. To me, that combination of mitigating risk and improving the consumer experience was brilliant. I knew that I wanted to be a part of changing lending for all parties in the transaction.
The culture, the brilliant team, and the technology are a perfect match for me. The passion that FormFree has to change lending for all parties — investor, lender and most importantly the borrower — is what drives this company to be the best. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of the biggest change in the industry this century? One of my favorite roles is when we work with a lender to help them adopt the technology, train their teams and then look at how it improved their workflow. It is so satisfying to hear a lender talk about the positive improvements our products bring to their organization.
At FormFree, we try to stay focused on the consumer journey. While our products serve lenders and partners, we also remind ourselves that with each order placed, there is a consumer working to complete a purchase or refinance and move their dreams forward. This focus on the consumer experience is what keeps us working diligently to serve our lenders and partners. Working with lenders and strategic partners is the best part of my role at FormFree. I could talk about our products and benefits all day long, as I truly believe that lenders who embrace the digitization of our industry will be the ones who have the greatest success in terms of consumer satisfaction and company growth.
FS: Tell us what you do every day in your role at FormFree.
CM: As head of sales and marketing, my responsibilities are really focused on developing and maintaining customer and partner relationships. This includes sales, relationship management, implementation and strategic partnerships all with the goal of helping lenders serve borrowers as they navigate the mortgage process. Our team at FormFree is amazing and dedicated to training lenders to reap the many benefits of using direct-source, immutable data in the loan manufacturing process. FormFree has an amazing creative and marketing team that has brought our story to the market in a way that resonates with lenders and partners and highlights our dedication to the industry.
The majority of my time is spent working with our lender partners, integration partners, agencies and strategic partners. One of the benefits we offer our partners is that our team is dedicated to helping lenders “do business better.” I really enjoy working directly with lenders to share our story and the benefits of our products not just at the transactional level, but at the organization’s strategic level: their bottom line, their operational efficiency and how that impacts their employees to make the entire company better.
I also spend time with our leadership team, strategizing how to bring our message to market and how to continue to innovate to provide maximum value to our customers and partners. FormFree was created out of Brent Chandler’s vision to help consumers borrow money with ease, sharing their financial DNA in a way that creates efficiency, reduces risk and most importantly puts the consumer at the center of transaction.
FS: As a CMB and leading mortgage executive, what do you see for lending over 2021 and the coming years in mortgage? It feels like we have had a significant change in technology and advancing the ball. Is it really possible now to think about a mortgage application end-to-end in a week or two?
CM: That’s a great question as we kick off 2021. In terms of the mortgage market itself, we are hearing from the MBA and other leading economists that this year’s production is expected to be in line with 2020. There could be a reduction in refinances against 2020, depending on rates, but I personally believe it will be another very busy year for lenders.
In terms of technology and the role it plays in the loan manufacturing process, we still see a lot of opportunity to help lenders embrace data validation. We have customers in various stages of adoption: some lenders have over 70% of their loans coming in with an AccountChek report in the file, while others are just beginning their journey with our products. We are seeing lenders beginning to dig into the metrics behind the technology and how it is enhancing their tech stack. For instance, lenders are looking closely at their technology partners to see which ones are creating that efficiency in the process. The metrics behind the technology are as important at the technology itself. Meaning, if your borrowers are not taking advantage of the products and tools that reduce risk under the agencies’ rep and warrant relief initiatives, then how can you measure the risk reduction? FormFree lenders see on average consumers connecting and linking their accounts to our platform in the 60% plus range. This high level of consumer adoption leads to reduced risk, improved borrower experience and improved profitability. I believe that 2021 will be the year that lenders take time to evaluate all of the technology tools in their arsenal and begin to focus on maximizing them.
In 2021, FormFree will also be focusing on helping lenders serve borrowers who may have been underserved in the past. Helping lenders leverage technology to evaluate a borrower’s true ability to pay, outside of traditional credit scoring models, will be important for all lenders. At FormFree, we have additional data analytics that we will be making available to help lenders feel comfortable expanding the credit box responsibly while mitigating risk appropriately.
And yes, I do believe that there is a way with technology and immutable data that we will see lenders reduce their manufacturing time to under 10 business days. FormFree sees the future as very bright for lenders who embrace technology. We are focused on creating a tokenized consumer data chain where lenders can access verified consumer data to expedite the loan manufacturing process.
FS: What do you do to have Fun Christy?
CM: Our family loves the outdoors. We enjoy playing on the lake, snow skiing, scuba diving, etc. I also enjoy cooking for friends and family and just spending time sharing life experiences with the ones I love. I really enjoy a good ladies’ beach trip with a good book, fellowship and some fantastic seafood. Curling up with a good book, either on the beach, in front of a fire or on the porch is the thing that keeps me sane in this fast-paced world.
FS: What else would like to add for our readers?
CM: As a longtime mortgage industry professional over 33 years, I have seen a lot of change in how lenders work with consumers, how they manufacture loans, how technology has evolved to give lenders the ability to access data and analytics to improve their overall operations, and more. But the one constant in our industry is that we are all here to serve the borrower. Behind all the processes, the regulation, the technology and the data is a borrower. A person or family that wants to secure a home or a loan to help them live their best life. I love being part of this industry and see so many dedicated professionals working hard to serve our borrowers.
At Housing Finance Strategies, we are leading change in all things housing. By interviewing key executives like Christy Moss, our intent is to educate and encourage the industry to constantly grow and evolve. Christy is an example of a leader who enjoys her work, her clients and strives to make a difference for millions of homebuyers engaging in the process for the first time.
The landscape for source data is unfolding, led by individuals like Christy Moss in key roles. We are well positioned to learn and address challenges and opportunities the industry faces. What a powerful interview!
Thanks to Christy for taking the time. And as I like to say: Grow, lead and mentor your peers!