CUES 124: Disruption Opportunities in Mortgage Lending—an Interview With Steve Hewins

Innovation is that flash of an idea—and it’s happening all the time. Disruption, on the other hand, might stem from innovation, slowly making changes in a marketplace until the whole landscape is different, according to Steve Hewins, senior vice president of CU Members Mortgage, a CUESolutions Bronze provider based in Texas. 

“A disruptor eliminates something that’s in the market today,” Hewins explains on this episode of the CUES Podcast. “And it normally comes in a phase. 

“Typically, it'll start off with initial disruption,” he continues. “And then you'll have very quickly some rapid or sequential evolution of that. And then … everything kind of starts coming together because people recognize it; they try to copy it; the status quo tries to adapt. And then basically, the status quo typically doesn’t adapt and then gets replaced with the ‘new normal’.

“And so disruption does have innovation in it,” he adds. “But it’s more about the market dynamics of how it impacts the rest of the market.”

During the episode, Hewins walks through each step of the mortgage lending process, talking about shifts in the marketplace that are happening right now—plus what credit unions might be able to do to compete with them—or to join them! 

Importantly, he emphasizes that credit unions should think about more strategically hiring lending staff going forward—that they should look to hire people who are natural innovators and ready to be part of marketplace changes.

Currently, credit unions aren’t hiring for lending innovation or disruption, he notes. “We don't have credit unions that are out there hiring disruptors. … if you start hiring those people, you have to have a culture in the organization to retain them.”

The show also gets into:

Changes in home buying and how they are affecting mortgage lendingChanges in how appraisals are doneChanges in the closing processChanges in the post-closing phase of mortgage lending

Links for this show

CU Members MortgageTranscript of this showThe New Normal of Mortgage Lending by Steve HewinsMore content by Steve HewinsBecome a CUESolutions providerSponsor the CUES PodcastPlansmith