SINGLE-FAMILY TRACK 2: Thin Margins, Smart Moves – Driving Profit in Mortgage Production
Sustaining profitability is an ongoing challenge in a mortgage market that has been muted since 2022. There are two levers to achieving profit: optimizing revenues and reducing or containing costs. This panel discusses practical strategies for optimizing gain on sale performance across origination channels and loan products. What are drivers, risks and frameworks that influence margin management? How are finance leaders rethinking how work gets done to become more efficient and contain costs?
Speakers
Moderator
As Director of Client Success at Advisent, Paul is focused on driving client growth, satisfaction, and retention by developing and implementing strategies that align customer needs and goals with the services offered by the firm, including accounting services, financial management consulting, audit, and tax. Paul has had a long career in the financial services industry, including 20 years in mortgage banking as the CFO of two independent mortgage companies and a mortgage warehouse lender. He launched his financial services career at Bank of America, where he worked for over 13 years. While working at Deloitte, he received his CPA Certification.
Speakers
Efe has more than 20 years of experience in the accounting and mortgage field. As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of SWBC Mortgage Corporation, Efe oversees the day-to-day financial operations that drive the financial vision of the mortgage company. Efe utilizes his expertise in accounting, mergers and acquisitions, and the mortgage industry to contribute to a successful mortgage operation. Before joining SWBC, Efe was Vice President of Accounting and Controller at Stonegate Mortgage Corporation. Efe also worked for more than 10 years at Deloitte in numerous roles. Efe received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is a CPA and holds the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Certified Mortgage Bankers (CMB) and American Mortgage Professional (AMP) accreditations. Efe serves on the MBA Affordable Housing Committee and Finance and Accounting Steering Committee. Lastly, Efe is a board member at HomeFreeUSA, a not-for-profit organization committed to assisting underserved individuals attain homeownership and reducing the wealth gap among minority communities.
Flat Branch is a Midwest-based, employee-owned mortgage lender specializing in retail originations while actively expanding its correspondent and wholesale channels. The company services its loans in-house, providing a fully integrated lending experience. Sarah, who joined Flat Branch in 2013, brings over 20 years of experience in finance and accounting—including 14 years in the mortgage industry—and plays a pivotal role as CFO. A licensed CPA and 2024 HousingWire Finance Leader, she oversees Accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, Payroll, ESOP Administration, Servicing, Corporate Taxation, and more. Known for driving strategic financial initiatives, enhancing operational efficiency, and building scalable systems and controls, Sarah fosters a culture that is both focused and fun. Her leadership is instrumental in aligning financial performance with the company’s long-term goals, particularly within the unique framework of its ESOP-owned, in-house servicing model.
Jenny Masoud is the Director of Analytics at the Mortgage Bankers Association. As part of MBA’s Research team, she leads various benchmarking and reporting efforts including MBA’s Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. She is also a lead analyst for MBA and STRATMOR’s Peer Group Roundtable program, MBA’s Servicing Operations Study and Forum, the Loan Monitoring Survey and MBA’s Technology Profile Survey. She also serves as staff representative for MBA’s Human Resource Networking Group. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where she earned her B.S in mathematical statistics and economics.
Mike Vough is head of corporate strategy at Optimal Blue. In this role, he focuses on business development to support the company’s integration partner network, as well as corporate development to drive its acquisition strategy. Mike also drives the continued growth of Optimal Blue’s data business, including the company’s data reseller partners. Prior to his role in corporate strategy, Mike led product strategy for Optimal Blue’s hedging and trading products. Mike joined Optimal Blue in 2021 following the company’s acquisition of Compass Analytics. At that time, he served as the product manager of Compass’s suite of MSR products and advised many servicers, investors, and MSR brokers on how to leverage Compass’s MSR model and general MSR strategies.
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