Mortgage fraud has increased exponentially in the last few years. As volumes decline, more lenders are chasing fewer loans, and the risk is certainly increased. Our strategy includes a technology-based solution that sends up a red flag during the origination process to alert lenders that further review of the proposed loan may be necessary. The data Fannie Mae has gathered on property values, Social Security numbers and other data points makes Desktop Underwriter a useful technology tool for lenders in identifying questionable loan transactions.

"Now that you see some contraction in the market, technology on the front end will help lenders from having to reduce staff."

Coming more from a secondary marketing perspective, I understand the cyclical nature of mortgage banking, where you're hiring when volumes are up, and you're letting people go when volumes are down. I really think technology has helped a lot; for example, the refinance wave in 2003 could not have been handled without technology. Now that you see some contraction in the market, technology on the front end will help lenders from having to reduce staff, at least not to the extent that we have during my 20 years of watching mortgage banking cycles.