"We are not fighting to be average," AIME's CEO reminds the troops
It’s not breaking news to report that the mortgage business has slowed down.
High mortgage rates, inflation and soaring property values have contributed. And the aberration of a global pandemic – when rates dipped to historic lows of 2% to 3% - have left homeowners locked in “golden handcuffs,” unwilling to sell their homes for fear of losing their uncommonly low mortgage rates for a higher version.
So you might say brokers are at something of a standstill in terms of activity. It fell to Katie Sweeney (pictured), CEO of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) to rally the troops amid the industry doldrums. She did so during the trade group’s recent FUSE conference, an annual conference of brokers staged in Las Vegas.
Time to build together
“We’re building something that nobody can stop, and we’re going to build it together,” she said to spontaneous applause from those gathered. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a one-person shop, a 25-person shop or a 1,000-person shop. You’re just getting started; you’re on this team. You are on ‘team broker’. You chose to be here, and whether you like it or not – you’re stuck with us forever.”
If there were ever any endorsement of the latter sentiment, it would be the applause that followed from a group of dedicated professionals looking to overcome the current market challenges.
Sweeney outlined the dynamics needed to persevere at a time when half of the number of originators from last year will be left to help consumers achieve homeownership. “Consistency, adaptability, ambition, resilience, team. That is what’s going to make this group of people the number one channel in mortgage. And we’re not going to stop until we get there.”
By her own acknowledgement, Sweeney has never originated a loan as her background is not in the mortgage industry. She told Mortgage Professional America in a prior interview that she was in high school during the Great Recession when many of the AIME rank and file lived – and persevered – through the event.
“When the market crashed, I was in high school,” she told MPA during a January 2022 interview. “It was a long time ago. Coming out of that, you saw broker market share pre-crash sitting at 60% to 70%-plus, drop all the way down to single digits because those same large lenders wrongfully pointed blame in the direction of independent small businesses, mortgage brokers.”
And yet Sweeney is praised not just for her institutional knowledge but for her abilities to assess the industry and fire up a crowd. Since she took the helm of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts three years ago, she has focused the membership on its mission as a group supporting independent mortgage brokers after a previous era fraught with divisiveness and controversy. A one-stop portal for members has been established, along with a series of new benefits. Renewed focus in service of the group’s mission aims to further unite membership, which has doubled in number.
Sweeney fires up the troops
During the FUSE conference, her powers to motivate were on full display. “We are not fighting to be average,” she reminded AIME members. “I’ve heard a lot of people say over the last six months, nine months, even 12 months: ‘We’re just trying to get to the other side without shutting down.’ That’s not good enough,” she said. “We are better than just getting to the other side. We’re better than average. We always have been, and now we have an opportunity to prove it. We can control certain things; we can’t control other things. That’s where adaptability comes into play.”
Notwithstanding the headlines on industry news or anecdotal evidence from those in the trenches, business is still being conducted: “There’s still 20,000 contracts being written every single day,” she reminded the gathering. “Those aren’t going to retail originators; those aren’t going to call centers. Those are going to mortgage brokers, and we’re going to continue to grow. So control what you can, navigate through what you can, and build. We aren’t here to make it to the other side – we’re here to take over on the other side.”
She reminded the troops that their mere survival is proof that they as independent brokers are the best option for consumers.
“Brokers aren’t back,” she said. “We’re better. Brokers were back 10 years ago; brokers were certainly back five years ago. We’re not back – we’re better than ever, and that matters.”
She reminded those gathered of the benefit to consumers of being in the broker channel: “We know that we’re the best option for consumers. It takes a lot of work, and it takes a lot of navigating around what we’re currently experiencing. But three years ago, we made it very clear that we’re going to be better than anybody ever imagined.”
What may have begun with word of mouth to convey that sentiment is now supported by statistics, Sweeney noted: “We’re less expensive than any other channel out there. We’re less expensive on average by 22 basis points than any other channel in the mortgage industry.”
In a previous interview, Sweeney described the feeling of this year’s FUSE conference as having taken on that of a sports competition. The challenges facing the mortgage players were palpable at this year’s gathering. But based on their cheers and applause, Sweeney has gone a long way in energizing the team ahead of when the playing field becomes friendlier.
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