After my July 1 Dispatch, Are Standards Un-American?, Dan Szparaga at the Mortgage Bankers Association pointed me toward the work that MISMO is doing to "reduce friction in the transaction process." With the creation of e-mortgages, critical loan documentation -- like the promissory note, assignments and security instruments -- will be created, transferred and stored electronically.

That sounds way out there. But according to Szparaga, industry leaders like Catherine Rodewald (Prudential Mortgage Capital), Ken Beyer (MortgageRamp) and Joanne Denver (David L. Babson & Company) are firmly pushing this initiative forward. So their firms clearly believe that they can benefit more by reducing friction than by profiting from friction.

Szparaga pointed out that there are roughly 3,800 paper-based recording offices in the United States. Does that sound efficient? As BusinessWeek (August 25, 2003) calculates, the financial services industry may achieve productivity savings of $44 billion in the next five years, based on technology investments. Of course, these innovations will require an even greater dosage of cultural change!

Executive Search... Have a job opening that you'd like to announce? Spread the word via the PikeNet Dispatch. Send e-mail or call me at 415-485-6700.

--Peter Pike