GENERAL SESSION: Navigating the Credit Scoring Terrain
MBA has been leading efforts to reform the industry’s credit reporting and scoring process to drive competition, better data and affordability. For decades, the process of assessing a borrower’s credit history has remained fundamentally the same. Modernization aimed at improving predictiveness, enhancing competition and lowering costs, including the 2018 Credit Score Competition Act, have fallen short, leaving the industry reliant on the FICO Classic, the mandatory tri-merge and ever-rising costs. In this session, industry practitioners lead a conversation about MBA’s recommendations to adopt the latest credit scores and move to the single-file credit report option. Add your voice to the discussion, including risk implications and implementation challenges. Sponsored by Relcu.
Speakers
Introductions
Abhijat Thakur has over 20 years of experience in product and technology leadership, building and scaling large engineering teams for multi-billion-dollar financial services organizations across mortgage and lending. He founded Relcu after firsthand experience with the challenges sales teams face managing disconnected systems for leads, pipeline, marketing, pricing proposals, and omnichannel communication. Most CRMs in mortgage are designed to record activity rather than drive action. Relcu was created to address that gap. With a vision to become the System of Action for mortgage, Relcu is an all-in-one CRM and agentic platform designed to help lenders drive conversion, retention, and cross-sell across consumer direct, retail, and wholesale channels.
Moderator
Owen Lee is the 2026 MBA Chair-Elect and Chief Executive Officer at Success Mortgage Partners, Inc., (SMP). He co-founded the company with his father, Vincent, in 2002. Under his leadership, SMP has closed billions of dollars of mortgage loans yearly since 2016, is licensed in 42 states, and has more than 600 employees. Lee is also a Managing Member of Title Partners, LLC, a full-service title insurance and escrow services agency. An active leader in the mortgage and financial services sectors, Lee serves on MBA’s Board of Directors, is Co-Chair of its Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council, and is currently the 2023-2024 Chairman of MORPAC, MBA’s political action committee, where he has been a successful political fundraiser, helping to advance the association’s top legislative priorities.
Speakers
Meghan Bartholomew, the senior executive vice president and co-head of Mortgage Insurance at Radian, is responsible for overseeing the company’s mortgage insurance business including credit and counterparty risk management, claims management, GSE relationships, housing policy, and government relations. Since joining Radian in 2002, Meghan has served in the company’s mortgage insurance business in roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as executive vice president, credit and counterparty risk management. Prior to Radian, she worked as a financial services consultant with Accenture and as an analyst with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Meghan is recognized for her strategic leadership and commitment to advancing affordable homeownership. She serves on Fannie Mae’s and MBA’s Affordable Homeownership Advisory Councils. She is also a strong advocate for developing women leaders in the mortgage finance industry, building and mentoring teams with significant representation of women in senior leadership roles.
Mr. Battany is the Executive Vice President of Capital Markets for Guild Mortgage Company. He oversees the firm’s capital market activities, including pricing, hedging, and secondary market execution. He’s also responsible for Guild’s credit policy, shipping, and product development functions. Mr. Battany manages investor relationships with GSEs, government agencies, and private investors. Prior to joining Guild, Mr. Battany was Chief Product Strategist for Penny Mac from 2012 to 2015, where he was responsible for managing the product development group, as well as its relationships with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA, Ginnie Mae, and mortgage insurance companies. From 1990 to 2012, Mr. Battany was with Fannie Mae, based in Pasadena, California where he served as Director of Single-Family Business and was responsible for managing the firm's relationships with west coast based lenders. Mr. Battany began his career in 1986 with First Interstate Bank of California, where he traded and hedged the bank's mortgage production. Mr. Battany is a member of the MBA’s Residential Board of Governors and is a member of the MBA’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. He was the previous chairman of the MBA’s Secondary and Capital Markets Committee, the MBA’s Residential Production Committee, and Co-Chair of the MBA’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Mr. Battany is presently the Co-Chair of the National Housing Conference’s Black Homeownership Collaborative’s Credit and Lending Workstream Committee. He was previously a board member of the California MBA, Habitat for Humanity, and Rebuilding Together. Mr. Battany graduated from the University of Colorado's school of Business Administration with a BS degree in Finance.
Kevin Bowen is a mortgage finance industry leader, currently serving as Managing Director and Head of Home Lending Product, Innovation, and Insights at JPMorgan Chase and Co. With over 16 years of experience, Kevin has consistently demonstrated his ability to drive growth and innovation within the mortgage and home equity sectors. His leadership has led to the successful launch and optimization of key products. Throughout his tenure at JPMC, Kevin has held several influential positions, including Origination Product and Policy Strategy Lead and Home Lending Controller. His comprehensive understanding of financial planning, capital markets, and regulatory frameworks has enabled him to deliver meaningful solutions that align with the firm's objectives for sustainable homeownership and equitable housing. Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honors and Distinction from The Ohio State University, specializing in Accounting. He is deeply committed to community engagement, serving on the Board of Kaleidoscope Youth Center.
Pete Carroll is EVP, Public Policy and Industry Relations with CoreLogic. Pete’s team drives enterprise strategic initiatives for CoreLogic, oversees industry engagement programs, leads enterprise positions on legislative, regulatory, and business policy developments, and expands opportunities for CoreLogic’s thought leadership and solutions expertise across the housing ecosystem. Pete was Executive Vice President at Rocket Mortgage where he led the development of Rocket Mortgage’s positions on a broad spectrum of public and counterparty policy issues. Earlier, he was Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and was the Assistant Director (Head), Office of Mortgage Markets, at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he co-led the teams responsible for the original Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) mortgage rulemakings.
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