The Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA) announced at its 2023 Annual Convention & Expo that
five companies have been recognized as 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(DEI) Residential Leadership Award recipients. The annual awards recognize MBA
members for their leadership efforts in DEI in three award categories:
organizational DEI, market outreach strategies, and non-lender.
“Now in its eighth year, MBA’s
Residential DEI Leadership Awards continue to showcase the best DEI programs in
the real estate finance industry,” 2024 MBA Chairman and President of Union
Home Mortgage Mark Jones said during the conference. “This year’s DEI
Leadership Award winners have demonstrated their commitment to creating a more
diverse and inclusive environment at their respective organizations and in the
communities they serve.”
This year’s submissions were
reviewed by a panel of judges consisting of members of MBA’s DEI Advisory
Committee, previous award winners, and MBA staff, according to an MBA press
release. The companies were divided into two groups, based on number of
employees and company type. They were then scored by the quality of their
overall submission, identification of a target audience and annual goals,
demonstration of a tangible benefit to participants and the overall enterprise,
and the replicability of the program. Innovative program approaches and
potential success in broadening the culture of the organization through the
values of DEI were also considered.
The five 2023 DEI Residential
Leadership Award winners are:
Organizational DEI Award:
Fifth Third Bank
The Organizational DEI Award
celebrates company initiatives that were specifically developed and designed to
increase DEI within the leadership and employee base of member companies,
thereby leading to a mortgage banking industry that may better reflect and
understand its customers, the release states.
The award recognizes Fifth
Third Bank for its dedication to advancing inclusion and diversity in the
banking and financial services industry and in its communities, the release
states. In 2019, Fifth Third Bank shared its Six Bold Goals to focus its
efforts on inclusion and diversity. In May 2020, Fifth Third Bank extended its
racial diversity efforts, and its Board approved an additional $2.8 billion
commitment to further accelerate equity, equality, and inclusion for its
workforce and suppliers by launching the AREEI (Accelerating Racial Equality,
Equity, and Inclusion) Initiative, which focuses on expanding on inclusion
efforts for employees, customers, and communities.
Market Outreach Strategies
Award: U.S. Bank Home Mortgage and Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group
The Market Outreach Strategies
Award recognizes company initiatives specifically developed and designed to
increase outreach, marketing, and products to attract customers from the
industry's fastest-growing market segments, according to the release.
For companies with more than
1,000 employees, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage is being awarded for its
dedication to closing the racial homeownership gap. One of its premier
initiatives is Access Home, a program aimed at advancing Black homeownership. A
component of U.S. Bank Access Commitment TM, – the company’s long-term approach
to building wealth in diverse communities by supporting communities, families,
small businesses, and employees – Access Home is a carefully planned, long-term
program with a sweeping initiative focusing on four key pillars to address the
financial challenges and goals of individuals and families: Enhanced adult
financial information, youth outreach, strategic community outreach, and a
Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) Development Program. Additionally, it has
committed over $1.5 million to 18 community partners in these markets to
support their efforts to expand Black homeownership.
For companies with fewer than
1,000 employees, Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group is being awarded for its
development of the innovative program SmartPath to Homeownership. SmartPath
focuses on creating awareness for affordable housing opportunities for
low-to-moderate (LMI) borrowers and first-time homebuyers. Within SmartPath,
Atlantic Bay offers La Bahia – a Limited English Proficient (LEP) Program. Its
geographic footprint encompasses diverse consumer bases, and to better meet the
needs of consumers whose first language is Spanish, it created the La Bahia
program to offer education and access regarding homeownership. The Program
encompasses (1) consumer outreach, (2) marketing materials, (3) URLA, (4)
initial disclosures, and (5) ongoing support from a bi-lingual operational
compliance team member. Furthermore, in 2022, 48 percent of loan
applications were first-time homebuyers, accounting for $2.01 billion in new
home loans.
Non-Lender Award: Radian
Guaranty and iEmergent
For the Organizational DEI
non-lender category, Radian Guaranty is being recognized for its expansion of
internal DEI initiatives. One of the initiatives included Allyship Academy,
which allows Radian to feature an assortment of DEI learnings for employees
into a cohesive program and lets them build upon their learnings by taking
different DEI courses, allowing them to move to the next level of allyship and
advocacy. Additionally, in 2022, Radian Guaranty launched its revised internal
DEI strategy – DEI Ambition, focusing on three pillars: Amplify Voices,
Advocate for Access, and Practice Inclusion. Based on multiple focus groups and
co-created with their employees, Ambition allowed them to expand and rethink
how their teams approach DEI.
For the Market Outreach
Strategies non-lender category, iEmergent is being honored for its technology
platform and strategic approach to help lenders locate, understand, and meet
the needs of racially and ethnically diverse markets. As a data-based
organization, iEmergent prides itself on developing solutions that will tackle
housing inequities. So far, iEmergent has developed:
· Mortgage MarketSmart 360: the industry’s only
market intelligence and forecasting platform that helps lenders and other
housing practitioners locate and engage home-ready, underserved markets;
·
DIVERSIFi: a diverse-lending solution built on
the Mortgage MarketSmart framework that will help loan originators and mortgage
brokers grow their minority lending business; and
·
SPCP 360: the industry’s first comprehensive
analytics and advisory solution that assists lenders in the creation,
execution, and evaluation of Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs).