This article originally appeared in the April 2025 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now.
Rick Hill is VP of Industry Technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and acting President of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). He is responsible for managing MBA’s technology initiatives within the real estate finance industry, managing MBA’s Technology Committees, and developing technology content for MBA conferences and events.
Before joining MBA, Hill was the Director of Data Strategy at Fannie Mae, where he was responsible for data standards and best practices, data management including the company’s data warehouse, and managing the relationship with regulatory agencies relating to information requirements.
He began his career as a Senior Auditor at Deloitte, after earning his BBA in accounting from The College of William and Mary. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
MortgagePoint had a chance to chat with Rick about his career in the mortgage tech space, artificial intelligence, tends in the marketplace, and MISMO’s latest initiatives, the Housing Agency Servicing Group and Servicing Transfers Group.
Q: How did you first get your start in the mortgage space?
Rick Hill: I started my career working as a CPA at Deloitte. One of my first assignments was auditing a lender, and I guess I caught the mortgage bug which eventually led to my employment with Fannie Mae.
Q: What led you to your current role as MISMO President?
Rick Hill: The long story starts in the early 1990s. Fannie Mae was having difficulty replicating information it was providing to regulators—in essence, we could not provide the same file two days in a row because we did not have the proper controls in place.
A senior executive hired a bunch of accountants to get control over the process. That led to my transition from CPA to technology and data. We started building what became Fannie Mae’s data warehouse, as well as corporate standards around data. It is what led me to realize that standards, whether they are data, forms, calculations, disclosures, or something else, are critical to an efficient mortgage marketplace.
Q: How did your time as Director of Data Strategy at Fannie Mae prepare you for your current role with MISMO?
Rick Hill: The adage that you learn more from your failures has been true for me. I realized that thinking you were “right” might not be enough, that you needed to be able to influence others. It was a hard thing to learn, because I was so sure I was right on some things, but I failed to make them happen. MISMO serves the entire mortgage ecosystem, from lenders to regulators to investors to the consumer. l learned that you need to be able to collaborate with others in everything you do or MISMO will not be able to successfully serve the industry.
Q: What is the importance of a group like MISMO in today’s marketplace?
Rick Hill: Bluetooth is the standard that allows devices to connect easily with one another. MISMO does the same thing for the mortgage industry. Every residential loan utilizes MISMO standards. Every eNote was created using MISMO standards.
As we look to the future, one that will be even more dependent on high quality data to power artificial intelligence (AI), the speed at which we can develop standards will be critical. We will need to invest in MISMO in good years and bad so we can continue to drive efficiencies, while supporting the incredible innovation that is happening.
Q: What are some current trends you are observing in the mortgage tech space?
Rick Hill: eNote adoption is significant–more than 10% of notes registered recently on the MERS Registry were eNotes. eNotes utilize the MISMO SMARTDoc standard. We are very close to the tipping point with these digital transactions. And obviously artificial intelligence. Everyone is trying to determine how to utilize AI in a responsible manner to serve whomever their customer happens to be. I do not see interest in AI abating … its promise is too real to ignore.
As an example, AI continues to improve in its language translation capabilities—might it soon be able to converse with non-native English speakers in the lending process? MISMO has an AI Workgroup focused on this rapidly evolving technology to determine what we might be able to deliver to enable the use of AI in a responsible manner.
Q: What is the overall comfort level of first-time buyers when relying on mortgage technology? Do you feel that human interaction will always be part of the homebuying process?
Rick Hill: First-time homebuyers who are digital natives will be more comfortable than others, but there are parts of the process where they may want to reach out to a human. The outreach is not based on comfort with technology, but rather, the fact they are going through this for the first time.
Buying a home for the first time is a big step, and buyers want help to make sure they do not make a major mistake. So yes, humans will always be available to help with whatever question a first-time homebuyer may have.
Q: Can you describe MISMO’s Housing Agency Servicing Group initiative?
Rick Hill: This is a group working within MISMO to lower the costs associated with the servicing of government loans. The plan is to develop standards that can be utilized across the housing agencies (VA, FHA, GNMA, and USDA). Alignment with standards can eliminate distinct and proprietary requirements for each agency, and therefore, reduces costs.
Q: How was the Servicing Transfers Group initiative started? Who will be entrusted to draft the standards and practices they will set forth for the industry?
Rick Hill: Servicing transfers was a topic of conversation for years. Numerous individuals highlighted the difficulties in this space—servicers, service providers, government housing agencies, really anyone involved in servicing has been involved. Even originators are involved, as the first servicing transfer is the loan boarding process. MISMO has a multistage plan to tackle this topic, and anyone interested in this activity is welcome to participate.
Q: What technology do you feel every mortgage professional should have in their skillset in order to thrive in today’s marketplace?
Rick Hill: Their brain. Our brain is still the most incredible tool we have, and a mortgage professional whose brain is open to learning how to use the next innovation will always have a job in this industry.
Q: What trends in technology will drive the market in 2025 moving forward?
Rick Hill: Digital, AI, self-serve tools, and MISMO SMART Docs will drive the market moving forward.
