Key facts
- Sagent CEO Sridhar Sharma discussed the company's Dara platform for mortgage servicing.
- Sharma projects Dara can achieve 3x to 4x efficiency gains in mortgage servicing operations.
- Dara integrates AI-driven automation, embedded compliance, and real-time capabilities.
- The platform allows servicers to integrate their own AI agents.
- Dara provides full auditability and traceability for all operations.
- The platform can process new regulations in near real-time.
Sagent CEO Sridhar Sharma outlined his vision for modernizing mortgage servicing through Dara, the company’s connected servicing platform, in a conversation with HousingWire. Sharma discussed how AI-driven automation, embedded compliance, and real-time capabilities could help servicers achieve greater efficiency while improving the borrower experience.
Sharma described Dara as a "one connected platform across the entire lifecycle," designed to solve the fragmentation currently present in the servicing ecosystem. He identified three core priorities for Dara: AI-driven automation, compliance built into the core, and friction-free experiences. Together, these capabilities are intended to significantly boost servicing productivity.
"We are very confident we can take, and we are already seeing this with some of our early adopters, a servicing operation to 3x to 4x efficiency," Sharma stated, emphasizing this is a substantial increase beyond incremental improvements.
Sharma acknowledged that industry transformation requires a shift in how servicers approach technology and operations, noting that "change is hard." Drawing on his experience at Mr. Cooper, where he saw a servicing portfolio grow from one million to ten million loans with the same number of employees through technology adoption, he stressed the need for the right technology and a willingness to change.
Regarding AI, Sharma explained that Dara was built with AI in mind and offers flexibility for servicers to integrate their existing AI capabilities through a "bring your own agents" approach. He stressed that effective AI deployment requires more than automation, emphasizing the importance of compliance, oversight, and transparency. "Think of the AI capability as a toolkit," he said, adding that "Everything that is done inside of Dara, whether you use AI or you do it by hand, it gets audited, so you have full traceability."
Beyond automation, Sharma highlighted Dara's real-time capabilities, which he said can give servicers greater flexibility and speed in responding to operational changes, potentially reducing processes that took months to days. This operational flexibility also contributes to improving borrower relationships, which is crucial for customer retention and recapture opportunities.
Sharma also detailed how Dara's embedded compliance features are mapped to the regulatory framework. He explained that the platform can ingest new regulations and, in near real-time, pinpoint all affected areas within the servicing operation, enabling operators to adapt rapidly.