00:07I'm Allison LaForgia from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm sitting with Jason Bressler,
00:13the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at United Wholesale Mortgage. Thanks for
00:18having me. Thank you for joining me. It is a big day. It is. Today we are celebrating National
00:25Mortgage Brokers Day at the Stock Exchange in New York City and we are excited to talk about how
00:34mortgage brokers are more important than ever in today's lending environment. Can you tell me a
00:39little bit about what does this day mean to UWM? It means everything to us. I mean we have staked
00:46our reputation and built our business as the number one overall mortgage lender in the country because
00:52of our broker partners and because of the Wholesale Channel and our support of it but then also
00:57the partnership and the relationships that we've been able to build with the Wholesale Channel in
01:03general and all of our broker partners. To be able to celebrate and recognize them means everything to
01:08us. Now it wouldn't be a mortgage conversation if I didn't ask you an AI question. Of course. It has
01:15become a major topic across the industry. How are mortgage brokers currently using AI to improve
01:23their business and to better serve their borrowers? I mean without making it sound like a shameless plug
01:30it's because they're using UWM. So we've built I've been at UWM for 10 years. I brought with me a
01:37what's
01:38called a build versus buy mentality and so we build all of our technology. I've got 2,000 IT team
01:44members that
01:44work alongside me and because of that build versus buy we've built and infused AI into everything that
01:53our broker partners use. One of the best ways that we did become the number one mortgage lender in the
02:01country is through technology. I mean we've got great products, great customer service, great rates but
02:05the technology differentiator is we built all of these products and then we give them away for free
02:12to our broker partners. So if we really do practice what we preach and want to make sure that we
02:19are
02:20leveling the playing field and we're supporting broker partners and we are giving American consumers
02:26the choice by using a broker partner to be able to shop around for the best product we shouldn't be
02:32charging for our products and so if we give it away for free these smaller shops now can compete these
02:38you know one and two
02:39mom-and-pop shops or you know ten people can now compete with large banks and retail lenders and so
02:46the
02:47way that AI floats into that is they don't even necessarily need to know it because we've we've built it
02:53all into
02:54our products and then we train them on how to use it. So now there's so much more certainty
02:59every time a wholesale loan officer submits a loan to UWM we're automatically calculating
03:06income, calculating assets, finding the best products, listing them all out, showing near misses
03:11all through AI on everything that they can do and then as the documents are uploaded
03:16we're reading them, we're extracting them, now we're literally doing so much of the
03:21work to make sure that the brokers are finding the absolute best product and then
03:26that obviously only helps the consumer. Now Jason I have seen you appear on industry stages,
03:34podcasts, article bylines, talking about artificial intelligence and I want to pick your brain and
03:41see what your stance is on what separates brokers who are successfully adopting AI from those who are
03:49struggling to implement it effectively. So there's a saying that nobody likes change, I don't actually
03:56believe in that nobody likes drastic change and so what's happening in my opinion is we have a lot of
04:03loan
04:03officers that are adopting AI. They're doing their own research, they're asking the right questions,
04:10those will be the most successful loan officers moving into the rest of 2026 into 2027 and the ones that
04:17aren't,
04:18the ones that are too afraid, that want to sit back and wait, they're going to end up getting left
04:23behind and so
04:24everything right now is about education, it's about failure, it's about trying things that you don't know,
04:31asking questions, there is no such thing as a stupid question as it relates to artificial intelligence
04:35because artificial intelligence doesn't have emotions and so it's not judging you.
04:40You can go right into ChatUWM for instance and literally ask anything you want on AI,
04:46doesn't have to be on the mortgage industry and really educate yourself on those because we will see
04:52a seismic shift and I feel very confident in saying this over the next let's say 6, 12 to 18
04:58months
04:59of a separation of loan officers that are successful because they've learned AI
05:04and from the ones that have not and are not doing anything with it, they will be left behind.
05:09You touched on earlier how significant UWM has taken and invested in AI and technology and automation,
05:20can you share some examples of how AI and other innovations are helping brokers close loans faster
05:27while still delivering the personalized guidance that borrowers expect? Sure, so closing loans faster,
05:33if we start with that, it's all about efficiency, how quick can you actually close and so those are the
05:39tools that we've built internally for our processes and our workflows to make sure that borrowers can
05:45close as fast as days really now using AI. As the documents come in, they're automatically read,
05:51sorted, extracted, calculated, run through large language modeling that we've built and providing
05:57underwriters and operational staff and everybody else such quick answers on everything. It doesn't take
06:04the human out. It just allows the human to have the capacity to do more work, to do different work,
06:10to do more skilled work and that's really what's most important I think as it relates to Clear to Close.
06:16Now on the other side I would say the biggest technical revolution I think and again I'm slightly
06:22biased but that the mortgage industry has seen is when we rolled out MIA. So that stands for most
06:28intelligent agent and so we've really been able to leverage generative voice AI in a way that is a
06:35complete shift in the way anybody's done anything and by allowing MIA to be a virtual loan officer
06:44assistant that works 24-7, never sleeps, never takes a bathroom break and makes all of the uncomfortable
06:51calls but as well as the comfortable calls to every borrower in every loan officer's pipeline
06:57on very specific kind of guided journeys and paths really allows our loan officers to focus on exactly
07:07what they should be focusing on which is getting more business, helping more consumers and saving
07:11them more money and that's really where I think the change has been. That was a fantastic answer and you
07:18touched on the concern that the industry does have around technology potentially replacing human expertise.
07:26How do you see AI changing the role of the mortgage broker over the next few years?
07:32So if we went back to our earlier question on who's going to be replaced, the ones that use AI
07:39and the
07:39ones that don't. So I really, we are not going to see people being replaced in the mortgage process
07:47anytime soon. As it relates to loan officers, the number one thing that separates humans from machines
07:55is the critical thinking and the communication and the human empathy. That's where the best loan
08:01officers live. I mean that's their world and so being able to leverage the AI but keeping your human skills
08:08skills and actually looking at AI as a true assistant, as somebody that you can delegate the work that is
08:16more menial, that's more task driven, that isn't getting you more business, that isn't saving your
08:21borrowers more money and then shifting that extra time now that you have into focusing into those areas,
08:27into saving more money and finding the right products. That's really where everybody's going to start
08:32excelling because now you know the AI, you know how to leverage it properly and now you can lean into
08:37your strengths. People will not be replaced by the AI. The people that will get replaced are the ones
08:43that aren't using the AI. That is such a great point. So you're setting up industry professionals to be
08:50able to deliver those engagement experiences to borrowers that make the whole experience fantastic.
08:57Absolutely, absolutely and now think about how many consumers have been able to educate themselves
09:01because of ChatGPT, for instance, where you know five years ago it was a daunting process as a borrower,
09:08especially a first-time home buyer, to go in and try to figure out how do I get the best
09:12mortgage,
09:13who do I get to use, things like that. Well now they get to educate themselves and a lot of
09:16them do,
09:17you know. So now that they're educating themselves and you've got loan officers that know I've got a more
09:22educated borrower so now we can really dig into the details of exactly what is the best product for you.
09:28It's so exciting. It is very exciting. So looking ahead, what advice would you give mortgage brokers
09:35who want to remain competitive and take advantage of emerging technologies while still continuing to
09:41grow their business? And how is UWM playing a role in helping brokers navigate that question?
09:49I mean, number one is use AI. Learn the AI. Do not be afraid of it. But as it relates
09:56to UWM,
09:57I mean, I would say the number one thing is come to SuccessTrack. We train you on how to use
10:03AI
10:03specifically to get more business, to be more efficient. We train you on what the AI can do and how
10:12you can get creative in using it so that you're really armed in exactly the same way that I would
10:17be, right? Or that Matt Ishbia would be. It's all the same thing, but you have to actually invest the
10:24time in learning the AI. If I could give any advice in anything, it's do not be afraid of the
10:30AI. Don't
10:31be afraid to fail. Don't be afraid to look stupid. Just go in and start with something. Jason, thank you
10:38so
10:38much for joining me today. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. It was so great to talk to you and
10:42congratulations on 40 years at UWM. What a fantastic company anniversary to celebrate. Thanks, Allison.
10:48I appreciate it. Thank you.
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