Business intelligence (BI) is another term we hear often from industry leaders and vendors. Definitions of BI might vary a bit, depending on who's using the term and what their agenda is; but most versions describe it as obtaining, analyzing and acting on comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date information about an organization's operations, customers, and market position and conditions. You can use BI to evaluate how your business plan, teams, tech stack and goals are performing. The collection, integration and analysis of data is a huge component of BI; but it must be accessible, discernable and above all, accurate.
The InGenius team recently attended the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America's (NAMMBA) Connect 2024 Conference in Orlando. We had the pleasure of joining a presentation by Dr. Vanessa Montanez, Head of Community Lending at City National Bank in Pasadena, California. Dr. Montanez has made great strides helping City National to reach Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), majority minority census tract (MMCT) borrowers and other goals. In explaining how she assembled her team, Dr. Montanez reviewed InGenius data in real time to illustrate how she built a team that works with low-to-moderate income (LMI) in MMCTs, and illustrated business intelligence in action:
It's possible to search for loan officer candidates using several different parameters; it's extremely efficient to eliminate producers who don't fit the producer profile you're looking for. In Dr. Montanez' case, she sought to eliminate loan officers whose average loan amounts were in the jumbo category and hone in on loan amount ranges and product types that are suitable for LMI borrowers in MMCT areas. Dr. Montanez' success with her CRA and MMCT efforts are lauded industry-wide; but her process works for other specialties and niches in the industry as well.
There's a difference between data in general and business intelligence. Home Mortgage Data Act (HMDA) stats are a perfect example of common, retrospective data: They provide hindsight - not insight. The challenging market conditions of the last few years combined with the need to stay ahead of expected shifts requires real time data and the ability to access it in useful, customizable formats. Business intelligence should inform your business plans and can help you evaluate progress throughout the quarters and year; but you can also use it to keep track of your competition.
InGenius is an essential aspect of business intelligence for the lending industry in the areas of recruiting, business development, database reconstruction, and diverse market targeting. In a year of great change with the National Association of Realtors settlement and practice changes and hopefully a shift upward in volume, business intelligence can help companies focus their efforts and energy toward the people and prospects that will help them win.
Jeff Walton is CEO of InGenius. With over 35 years in home mortgage and as a CEO and President of large national mortgage companies, Jeff is focused on helping the industry achieve high performance using actionable intelligence. Interested in learning more? Book an intro call with InGenius Data.
