In this case study, Mrs. Haeffner highlights the significant transformation her team has experienced by implementing MCT’s full-service lock desk and hedging solutions, detailing the positive impact on efficiency, education, and overall processes within their organization.
Amy Haeffner
Senior Vice President & Loan Production Manager, Lincoln Federal
Mrs. Haeffner is the Senior Vice President and Loan Production Manager at Lincoln Federal, where she has dedicated 26 years of her career to the organization. Amy began her journey at Lincoln Federal as a part-time teller and has since progressed to her current leadership role. She is set to transition into the Chief Lending Officer position.
Leveraging Centralization and Automation to Improve Efficiency
Lincoln Federal has leveraged the lock desk, hedge advisory, and MCTlive! to create a more efficient and effective loan management experience for their team. Learn more about these tools below.
Lock Desk – Our professional lock desk management services increase productivity, improve data integrity, and gain full control over lock management. Effectively outsource some or all of your centralized lock desk functions to MCT’s established team of secondary market analysts. The variable pricing model allows you to select from a menu of customizable service levels and only pay for the services you need to grow volume without the hassle of recruiting and training staff.
Hedge Advisory – MCT’s Hedge Advisory blends technology and service to achieve your goals. As the industry leader in pull-through analytics and best execution with the highest staff-to-client ratio, lenders of every size trust MCT to manage risk and optimize profitability in their mortgage loan pipeline management.
MCTlive! – A powerful platform available for day-to-day loan pipeline management, trade positions management, and loan sale best execution. MCTlive! automates repetitive tasks and frees your time for other high-value functions.
– Amy Haeffner, Lincoln Federal
Summary of Lincoln Federal’s Top Takeaways:
Since engaging in full-service lock desk services with MCT in June 2022, Lincoln Federal has significantly enhanced its operational efficiency and service delivery. The introduction of hedging services in September 2023 further solidified their commitment to optimizing profitability and managing risk effectively.
These initiatives have resulted in impressive improvements in accuracy and margin, leading to substantial cost and time savings.
Verification
“The Lock Desk team consistently reaches out to verify details if something looks off, ensuring accuracy.”
%
Accuracy rate
Centralization
“Centralizing with MCT has saved us at least $1,000 per month, solely from the small discrepancies we used to struggle with.”
Dollars saved per month
Scale
“With MCT’s lock desk, we can easily scale up or down as we have more or less volume without the need for onboarding and training, even when fluctuations reach as high as 347% in units.”
%
Fluctuation in volume
Automation
“Our servicing team benefits from the Lock Desk’s help and process automation, saving me hours each week.”
Hours saved per month with MCT
Lift
“For a while, our basis points were stuck around four or five, then it crept up to six to eight, and we were feeling frustrated. Now, just a few months later, we’re up to 20 basis points.”
BPS over best efforts
Bid Ask Spread
“We’ve averaged 1.76 ticks or 5.5 bps bid ask spread on the total volume, 23.5MM total AOTs, committed.”
Total savings
Full Interview: Lincoln Federal
What was your lock process before MCT?
Before MCT, we were decentralized, and loan officers were locking their own loans. That created a lot of behind-the-scenes work for me to ensure profit margins were being met. Often, by the time I reviewed loans, it was too late to make corrections.
Some of our loan officers would lock at rates that were just slightly off, and those little differences of $200-800 per loan added up.
I kept pushing for centralizing our lock desk, and eventually, they realized we could hire someone internally or use MCT’s service. We figured we’d be paying MCT, but hiring someone in-house would cost even more — and there’s always the risk of turnover plus hiring and training costs. With MCT’s Lock Desk, they’re always there handling volume fluctuations, like 347% in units and 288% fluctuation in volume, seamlessly.
%
Fluctuation in units
Describe your experience with MCT lock desk services.
The difference between a decentralized lock desk and centralizing with MCT has been significant. We no longer face the small pricing issues we had before, which saves us thousands of dollars annually.
The Lock Desk team consistently reaches out to verify details if something looks off, making the process smoother and ensuring accuracy. I estimate that centralizing with MCT has saved us at least $12,000 a year, solely from the small discrepancies we used to struggle with.
Discrepancies are almost non-existent, unless it’s something I knew about, because the loan officers now know that the lock desk is going to reach out to me every time.
What kind of education has MCT provided to your team?
Our education from MCT is ongoing, with regular calls to address questions and updates.
On the Lock Desk side, Natalie Arshakian has been amazing. She’s knowledgeable and patient. At the beginning of the engagement, I’d be on the phone with her, feeling like I didn’t know anything because we’d never used that part of the system before. But she would walk me through it step-by-step until I understood everything end-to-end.
There’s been a lot of education, and the team provides us with detailed resources like whitepapers and webinars for continued education.
When we began hedging, we had weekly recurring calls which are now held monthly. Whenever I have an ad hoc question, I email Rob Barnhill who is always happy to help answer my questions.
For example, we recently got approved with Fannie Mae which was a big process. It took over a year to get approved and it was pretty painful, but we finally did it and we just sold our second loan to them.
I had to rely on Mr. Barnhill to guide me through a lot of the process because it was all new to me. We didn’t know what we were doing at first, but MCT always had answers.
I really appreciate that the team takes the time to explain things in a way that makes sense, especially in the beginning when a lot of the terminology was new to us.
Have there been any technological improvements recommended by MCT?
Definitely. One big change is using the lock request screen in Encompass, which we didn’t use before working with MCT.
Now, data from the lock screen automatically integrates with other systems versus pulling the information manually, saving us time and reducing redundancy. This will only improve as we continue fine-tuning our process with our Encompass admin.
To illustrate, before MCT’s Lock Desk, if a borrower decided they wanted to increase their loan by $50,000, loan officers would come to me asking how to figure out the new rate, because it would revert to the original lock date and the loan-to-value ratio would change.
Since we didn’t have archive pricing, I had to train them to estimate it, but many weren’t comfortable with that, and the pricing numbers could be confusing.
But now, the Lock Desk can easily pull archive pricing for us. Loan officers simply email the Lock Desk with details like, ‘This loan was at 95% loan-to-value, and now they want to switch to 3% down.’ The Lock Desk responds with multiple rate options, such as, ‘Keep the rate and pay points or adjust to this new rate.’
This has made things so much easier. Before, I was manually estimating and often had to log into the investor’s website to verify adjustments from a month ago, which could have changed since then.
With archive pricing, the Lock Desk provides the exact numbers, saving me from double-checking and simplifying the process dramatically.
Have you noticed any impact on efficiency and accuracy?
Working with MCT has made a huge difference in terms of efficiency. Now that our data flows directly from the lock desk to other departments, we no longer have to manually enter and verify information.
Our servicing team also benefits from this automation. I used to spend a lot of time checking files and answering questions; now, the Lock Desk handles much of that. It’s saved me hours each week.
Prior to MCT, every time something came in below our planned profit, our servicing person would reach out asking, ‘Were you expecting this?’ Then I’d have to log into the file, check my notes, and confirm.
It doesn’t sound like it takes long, but logging in and out of Encompass is slow — it’s a hassle to go through multiple files a day just to verify details. Now, all that information is already there, so I don’t have to log in 10 times a day. Instead, maybe once a month, the servicing person might find something that doesn’t match and reach out to me, instead of doing it constantly.
The Lock Desk has also lightened my workload. Before, loan officers would come to me if they couldn’t lock a loan or if there was an issue. Now, they’re submitting everything to the Lock Desk, and if there’s an error, the Lock Desk usually knows what it is and handles it. It’s cut down on a lot of small, time-consuming tasks for me.
What is the loan officer’s sentiment about the lock desk team after working with MCT for a few months?
At first, there was some hesitation — especially from loan officers who had been with us for 20+ years and were used to doing everything themselves. But after a month or so, they realized how much time the Lock Desk was saving them.
They no longer need to log into the investor’s website for every lock, and the overall process is much smoother. While they’ve had to adjust to not having the same flexibility as before, they’ve also seen the benefits.
Have you been introduced to any new contacts through MCT?
Constantly. There was a panel with a Fannie Mae representative at the last MCT Exchange I attended, which was super interesting, and I’ve met a lot of new peers through that conference.
Moreover, when we first reached out to MCT about the Lock Desk, we asked for some references. Chris gave me a couple of contacts, and to this day, the three of us — one in Nebraska, one in Missouri, and one in Oklahoma — stay in touch. We’re not competitors, so we often exchange questions, like ‘How do you guys handle this?’ or ‘What do you do about that?’ It’s been really valuable.
What’s great is that the referrals MCT gave me have turned into peers I can regularly connect with and rely on for advice.
What was the experience like working with the MCT team?
The MCT team is incredible. They always have answers to our questions and are proactive in reaching out if they need clarification. I’ve built great relationships with key contacts like Natalie Arshakian, Rob Barnhill, and Justin Putz, and even met some of the MCT leadership at events.
Our sales rep, Mr. Putz, lives in Minnesota. Last year, when Nebraska played Minnesota, we were texting each other about the game. That kind of relationship is rare; I don’t usually text my other reps, and I only have one other contact like that. The close and personal connections I’ve built with MCT really stand out.
It’s been great to have such a close-knit relationship with the team — everyone is super helpful, and I know I can rely on them.
Describe your experience migrating to hedging with MCT.
My experience migrating to hedging with MCT has been positive. I still rely on MCT’s expertise because I can’t say I completely understand the AOT and trading aspects.
In the beginning, I would simply send MCT the loans I needed to process for the day, and they would handle all the bidding. It’s a seamless process; I look at what to commit to, and it just flows.
Overall, the process is smooth. I send in the loans, the traders respond quickly, and then I receive the bids back. They’ll suggest which is the best execution, and soon after, I start getting emails that the loans are being locked and committed.
Honestly, you don’t have to fully understand the hedging process to benefit from MCT’s services. I’ve learned a lot and have a better grasp than I did before, but there’s still more to learn.
As long as I’m juggling other responsibilities, I may never fully understand everything, but it’s reassuring to have a team I can trust with such significant amounts of money. When we have concerns, they’re always there to help.
Is hedging with MCT worth it?
Absolutely. We decided to start hedging when our team had the bandwidth to learn. For a while, our basis points were stuck around four or five, then it crept up to six to eight, and we were feeling frustrated. Now, just a few months later, we’re up to 20 basis points.
Our board expects to see clear results from our hedging efforts. They wanted to ensure this is profitable enough to justify the time and resources we put into it.
Honestly, I don’t spend much time on it each week — less than an hour. I have a pipeline set up, and I check in daily to see which loans are closing. Sometimes I don’t need to look at it for days.
Basis points
As I transition into a new position, we’re hoping to bring on someone dedicated to monitoring these details daily. It’s important to stay on top of which lenders are performing well and which ones to avoid.
Our performance is already improving — up from a frustrating eight basis points to 20. Once we hit a higher volume, I’m confident we’ll keep progressing.
What would your reaction be if you were told you could no longer use MCT?
Honestly, I’d probably go home for the day and tell our team, ‘You better figure out who’s taking this over because I don’t have time for it!’ I’d be very disappointed. I’m confident I’d be able to talk our leadership into staying with MCT — they’ve made such a positive impact on our processes and efficiency.
FURTHER READING – Additional Education
Webinar – Moving to Mandatory Loan Sale Delivery – In this webinar, MCT discusses how lenders leverage mandatory loan sale delivery to improve profitability and manage risk with pipeline hedging. MCT also covers the operational changes needed to move from best efforts to mandatory loan sales.
About MCT
For over two decades, MCT has been a leading source of innovation for the mortgage secondary market. Melding deep subject matter expertise with a passion for emerging technologies and clients, MCT is the de facto leader in innovative mortgage capital markets technology. From architecting modern best execution loan sales to launching the most successful and advanced marketplace for mortgage-related assets, lenders, investors, and network partners all benefit from MCT’s stewardship. MCT’s technology and know-how continue to revolutionize how mortgage assets are priced, locked, hedged, traded, and valued – offering clients the tools to perform under any market condition.
Contact us to discover how MCT can improve efficiency in your loan sale process!
