How Savvy Warehouse Lenders Can Navigate a Volatile Mortgage Landscape

More warehouse lenders are adopting technology to enhance flexibility, scalability, efficiency and speed in an evolving mortgage market. Anthony Beshara, SitusAMC Head of Warehouse Financing and Custody Solutions, spoke with MPA TV about what lenders should look for in a partner and platform, and how software-as-a-service (SaaS) cloud-hosted solutions are changing the game. Watch the full interview here. 

Lenders evaluating different systems should look for a strong strategic partner, Beshara said. SitusAMC touches 75% of the warehouse market through its ProMerit and WLS platforms. They provide a one-stop shop to manage, track, fund and secure repayments, automating manual processes and eliminating human error. SitusAMC also offers robust custodial solutions through its emBTRUST product. 

"We continue to maintain a very strong market share because of our experienced people, our  technology and the way we engage with clients,” Beshara said. “We focus on the issues our clients are concerned about: ease of use, liquidity, timely execution. From an institutional standpoint, we're very mature in terms of our legal, information-security and client-audit teams, and from a financial standpoint.” 

In terms of process, WLS is more manual while ProMerit is more customizable, with enhanced automation and API integrations. But both ProMerit and WLS systems are SaaS cloud-hosted solutions powered by Amazon Web Services. “It's really transformed the technology and the way that we provide services to our clients,” Beshara said. 

SaaS cloud-hosted solutions ensure a unified codebase, allowing for custom automation while maintaining product integrity and consistency. They also promote agile development, with clients receiving monthly releases of updates and enhancements. 

"We are constantly improving the functionality, features, look and feel of the product,” Beshara said. “Our system benefits from years of working with customers, building up and testing functionality, identifying various use cases, and then putting them to work. It's not the sort of thing you can build overnight.” 

Bridging the Gap: Warehouse Administration as a Key Differentiator 

In 2022, SitusAMC launched its warehouse administration services to complement its technology platforms, providing round-the-clock, remote support. This allows for seamless execution of key processes such as fundings, payments, margin calls and reporting. Administration services also provides the training, resources and expertise necessary to ensure smooth transitions. 

“We've been very successful in migrating clients off of other systems, as well as firms operating in emails and spreadsheets,” Beshara explained. “Clients’ teams have to adapt to some new processes and procedures, so we provide training to help configure the platform and avoid a steeper learning curve.” 

The Benefits of Scalability and Adaptability  

A key benefit of a SaaS cloud-hosted model is the ability to navigate peaks and valleys in warehouse finance. “Banks that generally have fared the best are the ones well-positioned to scale up or down as they build a business,” Beshara explained. “It can be difficult to quickly assemble a team in Tampa or Dallas or Chicago, or wherever demand may be, and retain talent as an organization grows. SitusAMC's experienced team provides additional resource capacity in a remote format, which really gives our clients a competitive advantage.” 

SitusAMC can also help institutions avoid the pitfalls of rigid hiring models. “Nobody wants to build a business where you go out and hire 20 people, and then let them go when market conditions change,” Beshara said. “A lot of our bank customers are trying to move away from that hire-and-fire model, and utilize strategic partners for services and technology, so that they can focus on their customers and strategy.” 

Better Data Standardization to Drive Speed 

SitusAMC is also committed to data standardization, which reduces reliance on manual data mapping, and allows clients to accelerate transaction execution. This is especially critical as lenders diversify into more complex mortgage products, Beshara said. 

“We've seen a lot more clients go from financing agency loans to expanding into more nuanced products,” Beshara said. “If you have 20, 30 or 50 different clients delivering data in different formats, you could spend half your day or more just formatting data. Our team built out collateral subgroups and created standardized data sets, which has greatly reduced reliance on manual data mapping. It's created a lot of efficiency, so our customers can turn around and execute fundings in a timely manner for their clients.” 

Strategic Partnerships and an Integrated Environment  

Through strategic API integrations with industry-leading providers—such as Funding Shield for wire verification and Snapdocs for e-notes and e-vault solutions—SitusAMC streamlines warehouse lending processes. Instead of navigating multiple disconnected systems, clients can execute fundings in a single, integrated environment, drastically improving efficiency. 

“We've seen some clients going in and out of 10 to 15 different systems just to process a funding request, which can really put them at a competitive disadvantage,” Beshara said. “We're making interactions with the system interface more efficient by integrating various types of API vendors, who are important to the day-to-day execution of our warehouse lending clients.”    

Watch the MPA TV interview here. 

SitusAMC has been a leader in warehouse financing technology for 36+ years, helping clients achieve more efficient, effective and connected warehouse lending and borrowing. Our SaaS-enabled, cloud-hosted platforms ProMerit and WLS are the most widely selected platforms by the top warehouse lenders for their ability to automate functions and scale to any size of operations. For more information, visit our website.