Blogs

AAPI Homeownership Gaps: What Credit Unions Need to Know

By Bernard Nossuli posted 3 days ago
The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is a more diverse, complex ecosystem of households than its aggregate trend of upward mobility shows. iEmergent conducted an in-depth analysis of homeownership trends among the AAPI community , the fastest growing racial group in the United States, showing the disparities between its two population segments and how credit unions can move beyond one-size-fits-all strategies. While key housing metrics show Asian Americans track closely with national averages, Pacific Islanders lag far behind. This knowledge reveals the need for credit unions to consider how progress for one member segment does not mean ...

Tech Should Support – Not Replace – Your Loan Officers

By Courtney Dodd posted 5 days ago
By Jason Mapes, Head of Sales, Floify _______________________________ As someone who’s bought a few homes and spent over two decades in mortgage and lending tech, I’ll tell you this: I would never go through a mortgage process that was 100% online and 0% human. That may sound odd coming from someone in mortgage technology, but it’s because I’ve seen both sides. I understand the efficiencies automation brings. I know what’s possible with AI, machine learning and digital transformation. But here’s the thing: I still believe in the irreplaceable value of a skilled loan officer, especially in mission-driven lending environments like credit unions. Because ...

Understanding HMDA Data Releases: Your Essential Guide for Unlocking Mortgage Market Insights

By Lyubomira Buresch posted 18 days ago
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data stands as the bedrock of mortgage industry intelligence , offering unparalleled transparency to lenders, regulators, and market researchers. However, many industry professionals don't fully understand the careful choreography involved in collecting, releasing, and continuously updating this critical data throughout the year. If your role touches mortgage lending, fair lending compliance, market analysis, or housing policy, a deep understanding of HMDA data releases isn't merely beneficial—it's essential to informed decision-making and strategic growth. At Polygon Research, we transform HMDA data into strategic ...

How Credit Unions Are Keeping Equity in Focus

By Bernard Nossuli posted 27 days ago
In today’s shifting mortgage landscape, one thing remains clear: credit unions are uniquely positioned to lead with purpose. During iEmergent’s April 30 webinar, “Not Sold on Diversity? Fine. Let’s Talk About Your Bottom Line,” John Harpst of Lake Michigan Credit Union emphasized that mission-driven lending doesn’t just endure disruption—it thrives on it. Credit Union DNA: Member-First, Mission-Always Recent rollbacks in DEI policies and changes to GSE support for special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) have left many lenders questioning the long-term viability of equitable lending efforts. But credit unions like LMCU aren’t backing down. When regulatory ...

Credit unions can no longer afford outdated mortgage tech. Here’s what to do about it.

By Courtney Dodd posted 06-11-2025
By Sofia Rossato In today’s mortgage environment, one thing is clear: Change is no longer on the horizon; it’s here. For credit unions, which are trusted by millions of members to provide personalized, affordable financing solutions, adapting to this new reality is essential. Credit unions that continue to rely on outdated technology, particularly in their mortgage and home loan operations, are not just at a disadvantage; they’re falling behind. Today’s members are staying in their homes longer, holding on to low-rate mortgages and exploring new ways to tap into their home equity. This is fueling a boom in demand for HELOCs and home equity loans. In fact, ...

A New Chapter for Dark Matter Technologies

By Lyndsey Hearn posted 06-04-2025
By Sean Dugan, CEO, Dark Matter Technologies It was a pleasure connecting with many of you at our Horizon user conference. For those who couldn’t attend this year, we hope to see you at next year’s event. Your insights and partnership are what make gatherings like Horizon so valuable. As I step into the role of CEO at Dark Matter Technologies, I’m excited about the road ahead and deeply committed to supporting our credit union clients in navigating the evolving mortgage landscape. Together, we share a mission rooted in service, trust, and community impact. Credit unions and the members you serve are at the heart of everything we do. After more ...

Turning Market Shifts into Growth Opportunities with 2024 HMDA Data

By Bernard Nossuli posted 05-07-2025
Each year, the release of HMDA data provides new insight into how the mortgage landscape is evolving. The 2024 data reveals early signs of recovery from the challenges of 2023, with a notable rebound in refinance activity and continued shifts in market leadership. For credit unions, these trends offer both a reality check and a strategic opportunity: competition is rising, but there is room to grow by leaning into mission-driven lending and deepening service to members. Loan Volumes Are Rebounding, but Affordability Pressures Remain In 2024, U.S. lenders originated 4.9 million purchase and refinance loans totaling $1.67 trillion in volume, a modest increase ...

3 Must-Have LOS Features for Credit Unions

By Lyndsey Hearn posted 05-06-2025
By Wes Horbatuck, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Dark Matter Technologies Credit unions have long been recognized for their member-first approach, community focus, and commitment to trust and transparency. But in today’s lending landscape, those values must be supported by modern, efficient technology, especially when it comes to your loan origination system (LOS). Whether you're upgrading your current system or exploring LOS options for the first time, the selection process can be overwhelming. You’re not just picking software — you’re choosing a core partner that will impact your lending efficiency, compliance, member experience and bottom ...

LOGS Legal Group, How Law Firms Like Ours Can Support Credit Unions – Without the Legal Jargon

By Tammy Parks posted 04-24-2025
Hi there! I’m Tammy Parks, Business Relations here at LOGS Legal Group (and a proud non-lawyer!) I work hand-in-hand with our legal team to make sure our clients—especially credit unions—feel supported, understood, and equipped to navigate today’s complex world. We know credit unions wear a lot of hats—member service, compliance, risk management, and more. That’s where we come in. We’re not just outside legal counsel—we’re your behind-the-scenes partner to help: ✅ Stay compliant – From lending and collections to foreclosure and consumer protection, we help you avoid the pitfalls. ✅ Recover faster – Need help with charge-offs, replevin, ...

Reversing Redlining: How Lenders Can Turn a Legacy of Exclusion into a Path Toward Growth

By Bernard Nossuli posted 04-14-2025
The term “redlining” may seem like a relic of the past, but its legacy lives on—less visible, perhaps, but still deeply embedded in lending patterns and practices today. While historic redlining policies systematically excluded entire communities from homeownership opportunities, modern redlining often emerges in more subtle forms: a lack of marketing in specific neighborhoods, branch locations concentrated in affluent zip codes, or business models that overlook the needs of lower-income or majority-minority borrowers. The impact of these patterns is real—and so is the opportunity for lenders, including credit unions, to rewrite the narrative. By proactively ...

Why Credit Unions Can’t Afford D-I-Y AI

By Lyndsey Hearn posted 04-09-2025
By Blake Gibson If you're a credit union leader, you may be exploring options for artificial intelligence (AI) for loan origination and thinking, “That sounds like something we could use to boost efficiency; let’s build it in-house.” That would be an unwise leap of faith. Implementing AI for loan origination is far from a quick or simple task. In fact, it’s a sophisticated and expensive endeavor. And there’s a lot of risk involved: AI regulation was listed as a “risk factor” in the annual reports of 137 Fortune 500 companies. This is a field that demands strategic planning, significant investment and specialized expertise. Success with AI in lending ...

April is Fair Housing Month

By Lyubomira Buresch posted 04-07-2025
Fifty-seven years ago, the Fair Housing Act became law. A cornerstone of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, it outlawed housing discrimination based on race, religion, and national origin. Over the decades, its protections expanded to include sex, disability, and families with children. But even after all this time, access to homeownership still isn’t equal across the board. Fair Housing Month is a moment to reflect, yes - but also a prompt to act. Expanding access to credit can be a smart business move when done thoughtfully. It opens doors to new customers, builds loyalty, and drives growth by tapping into underserved markets. Lenders have been looking ...

Why Today’s Annual HMDA Data Release Matters More Than Ever

By Lyubomira Buresch posted 03-31-2025
In a world of incomplete and closed-off mortgage data, HMDA stands apart - transparent, comprehensive, and essential for smart strategy and fair lending. Why Today’s Annual HMDA Data Release Matters More Than Ever Picture a Gartner Magic Quadrant-style graph, charting transparency on one axis and completeness on the other. If you're a lender, servicer, investor, fintech, or advocacy group, you want your data sources to land squarely in the upper-right quadrant: transparent and complete. That’s where you’ll find the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. Why HMDA is the Benchmark Today marks the release of the annual HMDA dataset, and ...

Who is Midwest Loan Services and Why Did We Become a Member of ACUMA Services?

By Kelly O'Bannon posted 03-20-2025
Who is Midwest Loan Services and Why Did We Become a Member of ACUMA Services ? Midwest Loan Services has been a proud member of the American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA) Services network since its inception , and we remain committed to our established partnership. For over 30 years, we have been dedicated to one mission: providing credit unions with exceptional loan servicing solutions that help their members achieve their homeownership dreams. As longstanding members of ACUMA, we continue to bring our expertise , passion, and commitment to the credit union community without expanding our current relationship. This ...

Strategies to Expand Black Homeownership and Build Wealth

By Bernard Nossuli posted 03-14-2025
Homeownership is one of the most powerful tools for building generational wealth, yet Black households continue to face systemic barriers that limit their access to mortgage credit. Earlier this year, iEmergent conducted in-depth research on Black homeownership trends , highlighting key disparities in mortgage lending and the steps the industry can take to create a more inclusive housing market. Addressing the racial homeownership gap requires year-round commitment from lenders, policymakers, and financial institutions—including credit unions. Understanding the Homeownership Gap Despite representing 12.2% of all U.S. households, Black households ...

How AI is Empowering Credit Unions

By Lyndsey Hearn posted 03-13-2025
The game-changing " Attention Is All You Need " paper marked the beginning of the Transformer model movement, which introduced a new way to handle sequential data. This architecture is the foundation for many of today’s advancements in AI, particularly in natural language processing (NLP). Unlike older models, which used Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) or Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Transformer models rely exclusively on attention mechanisms. These mechanisms allow the model to focus on the most important parts of data, whether it’s translating text, classifying documents, or understanding complex language patterns. These advances have ...

iEmergent CEO Laird Nossuli to speak at 2025 CU:REALM Live! in San Diego

By Bernard Nossuli posted 03-06-2025
iEmergent , a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced that its CEO, Laird Nossuli, will present at the 2025 CU: REALM Live! April 14–15 in San Diego, California. Nossuli will lead the day one session on “Utilizing Market-level Mortgage Data to Increase Referrals and Grow Originations,” offering credit union leaders actionable strategies for leveraging localized mortgage data to expand their member base and grow lending volume. CU:REALM Live! is an annual event that brings together credit union professionals, industry experts and thought leaders to share insights, strategies ...

Mortgage Loan Originator Prospecting Boot Camp

By Skip Willcox, AMP, CMB posted 02-27-2025
💥Mortgage Loan Originators & Companies💥 Are YOU ready to take control of YOUR business? I’m excited to introduce the Kairos Sales Group Prospecting Bootcamp Series. These events are designed specifically with the audience in mind-MLOs. NO generic or watered down material 🎯 If you or your team need to- 💪🏻Take control over your pipeline 📈Increase your volume 🚀Elevate your closed loans to the next level 🔪Sharpen essential skills ➕Add to your referral base 🥷Become a prospecting ninja Then the MLO Prospecting Bootcamp is for you! Don’t leave success to chance. If you’re ready to close more, do more ...

Unlocking Mortgage Growth: How iEmergent’s Market Intelligence Dashboards Empower Lenders

By Bernard Nossuli posted 02-24-2025
iEmergent is not only an ACUMA affiliate member, we’re also part of the ACUMA Services Program , a strategic partnership that brings valuable products and services to ACUMA members at a substantial discount. Credit unions face increasing pressure to navigate an evolving mortgage market. From growing market share to recruiting top-performing loan officers to identifying high-impact referral partners, success depends on access to r eal-time, actionable data . To simplify this process, iEmergent has launched four new market intelligence dashboards that deliver instant insights into loan production, competitive positioning, and referral ...

Humans + AI: A Smarter Approach to Document Processing

By Lyndsey Hearn posted 02-17-2025
By Brian Swanson How AI-Powered Solutions Can Strengthen Credit Union Operations Managing loan and member documents is a critical function for credit unions, but manual document review can be time-consuming and prone to errors. That’s why AI-powered tools, like AIVA® Docs by Dark Matter ® , are transforming how financial institutions handle document classification and data extraction — ensuring greater accuracy, efficiency and consistency at scale. Why This Matters for Credit Unions Your lending and member services teams deal with thousands of documents daily, from mortgage applications to verification forms. Junior staff and new hires often ...