Digital mortgage company Better HoldCo is partnering with data analytics giant Palantir Technologies to launch a marketplace that it says will help Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other investors in mortgage-backed securities make better, data-driven decisions.
Better describes the Tinman Marketplace as “the next evolution of Better’s proprietary loan platform,” powered by Palantir’s Foundry operating system.
The Tinman Marketplace “will move the mortgage industry from archaic rate sheets and 200+ eligibility PDF files to a rich interface on top of Better’s existing investor/pricing matching engine,” the companies said in announcing the partnership Wednesday. “This will make it easier for government-sponsored enterprises [GSEs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] and mortgage industry investors to make richer and deeper data-driven mortgage capital allocation decisions.”
Better said it’s already using Foundry to make data-driven decisions in its mortgage loan originations and expects to have the combined technology running the Tinman Marketplace following a test period.
Vishal Garg
“The marriage of Foundry and Tinman will permit a GSE to identify portfolio rebalancing opportunities and almost instantly identify the specific points to target to ensure optimal pricing and credit with ease and new speeds not seen in the mortgage market,” said Better CEO Vishal Garg in a statement. “This type of tool is a key step in achieving a fairer and better housing finance market.”
Launched in 2016, Better’s mortgage lending affiliate Better Mortgage Corp. funded $58 billion in home loans last year. But this year, Better has laid off thousands of employees as it struggles to complete a deal to take the company public in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.
According to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, Better Mortgage is licensed to make home loans in all 50 states and sponsors 323 mortgage loan originators working out of 11 branch locations, down from 1,444 originators in March.
In March, Ally Home, the residential mortgage lending arm of Better HoldCo investor Ally Bank, announced that it would offer home loans to customers nationwide through a partnership with Better Mortgage. Under a pilot program in nine states last year, Ally originated $10.4 billion in mortgages through its “powered by Better” direct-to-consumer channel.
Better also provides real estate brokerage, title and homeowners insurance services through affiliates Better Real Estate LLC, Better Settlement Services LLC and Better Cover LLC.
Shyam Sankar
“We’re excited that Better has selected Palantir as the operating system to build its next generation of tools on and to support Better in offering their platform to GSEs and other private portfolio managers to identify and rebalance their loan exposures,” Palantir COO Shyam Sankar said in a statement.
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