How Fifth Third Bank doubled Home Equity volume and strengthened customer relationships with a smarter, faster Home Equity strategy

Chad Powers, Head of the Home Equity business and Real Estate Systems at Fifth Third Bank, sat down with Srini Venkatramani, Blend’s Head of Product and Technology, at CBA Live 2025 for a candid conversation on the changing dynamics of home equity lending.

Together, they explored what lenders are seeing on the ground — how borrower behavior is shifting, what it takes to deliver the right product strategy, and the operational changes required to compete in today’s market. As Srini put it, “the conversation brings a grounded, data-meets-reality perspective on the realities of modern lending that every lender needs to hear.”

With Fifth Third’s home equity application volume more than doubling year over year, Fifth Third’s strategy offers a compelling blueprint for other banks and lenders seeking to modernize their home lending operations, deepen customer relationships, and move quickly in a fast-changing market.

Challenge: Tapable home equity isn’t always usable equity

The conversation kicked off with a myth-busting take on the idea of “tapable equity.”

“We all see these headlines — trillions of dollars in available home equity — but in reality, a huge portion of that isn’t accessible,” said Chad. “A third of those homeowners are older, settled, and have no interest in borrowing. Another big chunk are folks sitting on 3% mortgages with strong cashflow. They’re not biting either.”

Layer in rising remodel costs and economic uncertainty, and the equation changes. “That $100,000 home remodel now costs $150,000,” he added. “People are pausing — even if they technically have equity.”

This means lenders who want to grow their businesses can’t just rely on big data sets. They need targeted strategies, a flexible home equity solution, and strong execution to find and serve the borrowers who are actually in-market. As Chad explained:

“You can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. We needed a tech partner that could help us configure different journeys for different borrowers — quickly, without months of development work.”

For Fifth Third, that meant choosing a Home Equity solution that could support targeted borrower outreach, smart product matching, and operational agility — all critical for turning market opportunity into actual loan volume.

Solution: Meeting borrowers where they are — with the right tools and structure

Fifth Third’s response to this challenge wasn’t to pull back — it was to go smarter and go bigger.

“Home equity is a phenomenal relationship product. We’ll take as much of it as we can get,” Chad said. “But we also knew we had to modernize how we deliver it.”

In 2023, Fifth Third deepened its existing mortgage relationship with Blend by launching a digital home equity application — a key milestone in the bank’s broader modernization efforts. The team focused on an omnichannel approach, tightly aligning their retail, fulfillment, and product functions to create a seamless experience. And the results show that the strategy is working.

“About 70% of applications last month came from new-to-bank customers,” Chad shared when referring to a new loan source the bank started with last year. “And 60% of those opened checking accounts. That’s major value creation for the bank.”

By pairing the right tools with an institution-wide strategy, Fifth Third is positioning home equity not as a transactional product, but as a gateway to broader customer engagement.

As Srini noted,

“What stood out to me was how Fifth Third is using data to work smarter. They’re not just looking at volume — they’re looking at where and how to create meaningful customer relationships.”

Operational Improvements: Faster, smarter, more efficient lending processes

As application volume grew and borrower needs became more complex, Fifth Third recognized that scaling successfully would require more than headcount — it would require smarter workflows and sharper execution. The team took a close look at where friction existed in the process and made deliberate operational changes to reduce bottlenecks and improve throughput.

• Centralized fulfillment: Instead of expecting front-line bankers to manage the full loan process, Fifth Third designed a model where retail staff initiate the application and build the relationship, then seamlessly hand off to a centralized team of specialists for fulfillment. This ensured that deals — especially more complex ones — could be handled efficiently and accurately, allowing branch team members to focus on serving customers.
• Offshore task management: The team identified routine, low-risk tasks — such as document review, file movement, and standard communication — that could be managed by a trusted offshore partner. This shift freed up resources almost immediately, allowing onshore employees to focus on higher-value activities like exception handling and customer communication.
• Pipeline segmentation: By analyzing more than 20,000 home equity applications, Fifth Third was able to identify common traits of “easy” deals — for example, W-2 borrowers with single-family homes — and fast-track those applications through the pipeline. This segmentation strategy allowed the team to prioritize speed where appropriate, without compromising accuracy or oversight.

“Almost a third of our loans now close in under 20 days,” said Chad. “That’s because we’re using our own data to prioritize, route, and fulfill deals differently.”

Blend’s platform provided the configurability and data visibility required to enable this model. With tools that support dynamic routing, loan-level insights, and operational automation, the Fifth Third team was able to implement these changes without lengthy custom development or system overhauls. “This is exactly where tech and strategy intersect,” Srini added. “We build for this kind of flexibility — so banks like Fifth Third can create their own version of speed and scale.”

Partnering with Blend: Configurability and trust

Fifth Third is in the midst of a core loan origination system (LOS) transition — a significant undertaking for any institution. But rather than pause progress until the new system is fully in place, the team has taken a pragmatic approach: deliver value now, and lay the groundwork for deeper transformation later.

“I’ve been on the software side before. I’m a buy-over-build guy,” said Chad.

“I want partners focused on my business, who keep investing and evolving. That’s what we get with Blend.”

That mindset has been critical in choosing the right technology strategy. Instead of relying on custom in-house builds or waiting for a future-state infrastructure to be ready, Fifth Third’s real estate lending team prioritized flexibility, speed, and alignment with long-term goals. Blend’s platform provided the capabilities to move forward without delay — while still supporting a multi-year vision.

Chad outlined a few non-negotiables in the bank’s selection process:

• A highly configurable and nimble platform: The ability to tailor workflows without heavy IT lifts was essential — particularly given the variation in borrower needs and internal operations across channels.
• Deep integrations with key partners: From title and appraisal providers to income verification tools, Fifth Third needed a solution that could plug into its broader ecosystem and allow for real-time optimization.
• The ability to deploy value now — not years from now: With Blend, the bank didn’t have to wait until its LOS migration was complete to deliver faster experiences and improve operational efficiency.

“We can’t just wait until the LOS transition is done,” Chad said. “Blend is helping us drive value now, not in two years.”

This approach reflects a broader shift in how leading banks are thinking about digital transformation — not as a single project tied to a core system overhaul, but as a continuous journey enabled by adaptable platforms that meet the institution where it is today and grow with it over time.

Outcome: Real business results and growing momentum

Since launching its digital home equity application and rethinking how the bank engages borrowers across channels, Fifth Third has achieved:

• 2x application volume growth year over year, signaling strong market response and growing borrower demand
• 60% increase in retail-driven production, highlighting the effectiveness of the bank’s omnichannel model and in-branch activation strategy
• ~30% of loans closing in under 20 days, thanks to pipeline segmentation and fulfillment optimization
• 60%+ utilization of Blend’s debt consolidation tool, enabling borrowers to stay in low-rate mortgages while still accessing equity

These outcomes speak not only to the strength of the technology and operations behind them, but also to the bank’s ability to act quickly in response to market signals.“When interest rates dipped briefly in 2024, we saw application volume jump 15% almost immediately — and we hadn’t changed a thing in our marketing,” Chad said. “That tells me the demand is there. You just need to be ready to capture it.”

By building the infrastructure to respond with speed and precision, Fifth Third has positioned itself to outperform in moments of opportunity — and sustain that momentum long-term.

Looking ahead: Preparing for what’s next at Fifth Third

For Fifth Third, this work with Blend is just the beginning of a strategic focus on helping the bank’s customers unlock home equity. “We’re still early in this journey,” Chad said. “But we’ve proven that home equity can drive meaningful growth — not just in lending, but in deepening the customer relationship.”

Blend is proud to be part of that journey. As Srini wrapped up the session:

“Working with forward-thinking leaders like Chad and the Fifth Third team is what makes this work so exciting. When strategy and execution are aligned, real transformation happens.”

Ready to move faster — and smarter — in home equity?

Fifth Third’s results demonstrate what’s possible when the right strategy and the right technology come together. For lenders looking to modernize their own home equity experience, Blend’s Rapid Home Equity solution offers a faster, more efficient way forward.

Learn how you can accelerate your home equity strategy with Blend

• Explore Rapid Home Equity