Mortgage lenders and servicers considering artificial intelligence now have another option beyond buying an off-the-shelf product or developing the technology entirely in-house.
BlackWolf Advisory Group, a mortgage servicing advisory firm, has partnered with software engineering company Authority Partners to help mortgage companies identify, develop, and implement custom AI and automation tools.
The partnership targets an increasingly important build-or-buy decision for mortgage firms: whether an existing vendor product can address an operational problem, whether a current platform should be enhanced, or whether the company needs technology designed around its particular workflows.
BlackWolf will lead the initial advisory work by assessing a company’s operations, technology, and readiness to adopt AI. The firm will then recommend an implementation strategy based on the organization’s business objectives.
When custom development is the preferred approach, Authority Partners will design, build, and deploy the technology. BlackWolf will remain involved during implementation to address the mortgage-specific operational, integration, and regulatory requirements involved.
“Servicers don’t have a credible path from idea to production inside a regulated servicing environment,” said Mirza Hodzic, founder and managing partner of BlackWolf Advisory Group. “The compliance requirements are real, the system integrations are complex, and the margin for error is low.”
Hodzic said BlackWolf will help servicers determine where AI can produce the greatest business value before Authority Partners builds and deploys the selected technology.
Beyond Borrower-Facing AI
The companies are focusing on operational functions across servicing and lending rather than limiting their work to customer-facing chatbots or sales tools.
Potential applications include automating repetitive and exception-based workflows, improving data reconciliation and investor reporting, strengthening compliance documentation, and creating dashboards or integrations tailored to a mortgage company’s operating model.
The partnership will also explore technology that improves borrower communications, inquiry routing, and issue resolution. However, the companies did not identify any lender or servicer already using a jointly developed product.
“Many of the most repetitive, process-driven activities in servicing and originations today can be automated, freeing up professionals to focus on borrower engagement, exception handling, and higher-value work,” Hodzic said.
Authority Partners Client Executive Faris Nizamic said the companies intend to introduce AI without interrupting the critical processes on which mortgage operations depend.
“Our teams build and deploy software in complex environments every day,” Nizamic said. “Together with BlackWolf, we help organizations adopt AI in a way that delivers practical value without disrupting critical business processes.”
An Alternative To Building In-House
The partnership is aimed in part at mortgage companies that want proprietary technology but do not have an internal software development team large enough to build and maintain it.
BlackWolf brings servicing, compliance, and operational experience to the arrangement. Authority Partners has more than 450 professionals across 30 countries and develops AI and other software for regulated industries, including financial services.
*This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by a human editor before publication.
