Delivering better lending with Fannie Mae

We are excited to announce that Blend is officially approved to supply asset verification reports for Fannie Mae’s innovative Day 1 Certainty™ program. This is a huge milestone for us in our journey toward creating a more data-backed experience that drives a more sustainable industry.

Today also marks a major win for the industry because it is the first time an out-of-the-box digital mortgage solution offers lenders everything they need to enter the digital age. They can now take advantage of an elegant borrower experience, seamless asset connectivity, and the peace of mind offered by Fannie Mae’s protection against repurchase all at the same time.

Working to build a more secure and sustainable lending ecosystem

Since our entry into the market five years ago, we at Blend have focused on changing the way the industry thinks about lending. Our goal was never to digitize the current mortgage origination process or simply digitize its different steps. We’ve always been aiming higher – we want to perfect an elegant consumer experience, offer seamless data connectivity and drive operational efficiencies for loan teams with our product.

Through strong relationships and collaboration between technology and industry players, like Blend and Fannie Mae, we have the opportunity to reimagine lending and bring loan origination into the 21st century.

Elegant, straightforward design builds trust and is inviting to borrowers – that translates to more borrowers being willing to seamlessly connect their accounts to source data. With the Blend product, we’ve seen up to 70% of borrowers connect their accounts, making all those loans eligible for Fannie Mae’s program.

In turn, that account connectivity and data validation from the start allow us to give lenders greater operational efficiency and risk reduction that translates to cost savings across the board.

What does Day 1 Certainty mean for lending?

Day 1 Certainty is a program that leverages source data to provide better, lower-risk decisioning for lenders with Fannie Mae as the investor. Loans that are underwritten through Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) and have loan components validated through the DU validation service part of Day 1 Certainty get relief from certain reps and warrants – the risk of having to buy back loans in the event a defect is discovered.

Seamless account connectivity in Blend’s consumer lending process means lenders who already see up to 70% of their borrowers connecting directly to source data, now have their loans with validated components automatically eligible for Day 1 Certainty.

What’s more, Fannie Mae’s acceptance of Blend’s asset data during the origination process translates to meaningful efficiencies for our lender customers; as they put it, it means “freedom from paper-based processes with validation of income, assets, and employment.”

Looking at 2018 and beyond

This approval is an early milestone in our journey toward reinventing the process as a whole. We’re excited to build more, strong relationships like the one with Fannie Mae and continue to foster a better lending experience for all.

As we look at the rest of 2018, we’re working to gain efficiency by cutting down loan processing time with insights, improving our design to win even more trust, and driving more participation from borrowers who connect their accounts, resulting in more Day 1 Certainty eligible loans.

We see a future where consumer lending is more straightforward, secure, and accessible, and we can’t wait to announce more wins in the coming months.

Stay tuned or learn more about Blend on our new product page or read about opportunities to join our team here.