By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The new executive vice president and chief operating officer at LendArch says they can enable lenders to optimize the mortgage experience from start to finish by digitalizing the real estate financing process.
Karthik Kumar has 25 years of experience in the industry. He worked for Tata Consultancy Services from 2004 to May of this year.
Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank are among his previous employers, according to a press release.
Kumar shared his excitement about the new position during a recent interview with The Mortgage Note.
“I am in a company that is capital adequate, that has given me all of the empowerment to create, to experiment, in a way, to transform, to disrupt, so I am very excited. I feel like, I would say, a teenager getting his first paycheck,” Kumar said.
Kumar explained that the top 20 lenders describe the digital mortgage experience in different ways.
“There are too many hashtags, too many fancy words, disruption, digital transformation. It’s as simple as what is a digital mortgage? I think we will be able to help and define what purely could be a digitalized version of mortgages. And let’s not talk about what technology provides, what your innovative mindset is. Let’s talk about what borrowers ask for,” Kumar said.
Kumar said mortgage lenders are competing with those who offer credit cards and auto loans.
“If I need a credit card, I go online. In less than a minute, I have a credit card. If I need an auto loan, I walk into a dealership and pick my car and I do my loan and I drive off with a car,” Kumar said.
Kumar said the lending community takes too long to process mortgages in comparison. He asks, “Why?”
Kumar said that is not keeping the modern expectations of customers in mind.
Kumar, who received HousingWire magazine’s 2020 HW Vanguard Award for launching an entire suite of digital solutions across the mortgage value chain, is a Chartered Accountant and an Alumni of the LEAD Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, according to the press release.
LendArch is a fintech founded by Tammy Richards.
Richards has experience at Bank of America, Caliber Home Loans, and most recently served as chief operating officer for Loan Depot, according to LendArch’s website.
In a statement, Kumar said Richards has fundamentally changed mortgage technology and operations at each organization she has been at.
“We also share the same vision of creating a truly end-to-end digital mortgage experience. So, when she offered me the chance to be a part of the LendArch journey, I knew it would be an excellent opportunity to have a positive impact on the mortgage industry,” Kumar said.
Richards said Kumar is the ideal leader to help them continue to disrupt the real estate finance industry.
“He will provide invaluable assistance as we pave the way to transform the customer experience while improving efficiency for lenders,” Richards said in a statement.
LendArch is based in Incline Village, Nevada.
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