How leaders are rethinking their approach for 2025
Mortgage lenders are now prioritizing business process streamlining over cost-cutting for 2025, according to a new report from Fannie Mae.
The Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® Special Topics Report highlights a notable shift in focus as the industry grapples with the adoption of electronic mortgages, or eMortgages. While most lenders are familiar with the digital tools, significant hurdles, including investor and partner acceptance, are slowing their widespread use.
A new top priority
For the first time in three years, cost-cutting has been supplanted as the most important business priority for lenders. The survey, which polled over 200 senior mortgage executives in early May 2025, found that 37% of respondents now cite “streamlining business processes” as their top or second-most important goal. This is a considerable increase from the 29% who held that view in the second quarter of 2024. In contrast, 29% of lenders named cost-cutting as a priority, a slight drop from 31% the previous year.
When asked where they plan to cut costs, a majority of lenders (59%) said they would focus on back-office staff. The priority of cutting “general and administrative” expenses fell sharply to 35% from 64% in 2024.
Digital adoption lags behind awareness
Despite the move toward streamlined processes, the adoption of digital loan documents, specifically electronic notes (eNotes), remains low. The report shows that three-quarters of lenders are familiar with eNotes, which are used in eClosings. However, only 22% have currently adopted them. There is a forward-looking optimism, with 62% of lenders saying they plan to use eNotes within two years.
The perceived benefits of eNotes, cited by lenders, are “improved operational efficiency” and “enhanced borrower experience.”
The barriers to progress
The report identified significant challenges preventing a broader rollout of eNotes. The most prominent barrier is a “lack of support and/or low acceptance from key investors and business partners.” This was cited by 46% of lenders who use eNotes on a limited basis and 52% of those who have not adopted them at all.
For full eClosings, other issues were raised. Among lenders, 40% pointed to a “lack of uniformity in RON (remote online notarization) legislation across states” as a key challenge for RON. For both RON and in-person electronic notarization, a concern for a significant portion of lenders was “unclear/low investor acceptance,” which was cited by 34% and 31% of respondents, respectively.
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