SWOT Analysis Mobile Logo
Fannie Mae logo

Fannie Mae Engineering

To leverage technology solutions that enable reliable, affordable mortgage financing while innovating to make housing more accessible nationwide.

|

To leverage technology solutions that enable reliable, affordable mortgage financing while innovating to make housing more accessible nationwide.

Strengths

  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Robust cloud infrastructure supporting nationwide mortgage services
  • DATA: Extensive mortgage data ecosystem spanning decades of market activity
  • TALENT: Strong engineering talent with deep domain expertise in housing
  • SCALE: Technology platform handling $4T+ in mortgage-backed securities
  • RELIABILITY: 99.99% uptime for critical mortgage processing systems

Weaknesses

  • LEGACY: Significant technical debt in core mortgage processing systems
  • AGILITY: Slow deployment cycles (avg 45 days) limiting innovation speed
  • INTEGRATION: Fragmented technology ecosystem with 200+ disparate systems
  • AUTOMATION: Manual processes still required for 35% of operations
  • TALENT: Difficulty attracting top tech talent vs Silicon Valley competitors

Opportunities

  • DIGITIZATION: End-to-end digital mortgage experience reducing cycle time
  • ANALYTICS: Advanced risk modeling using full mortgage portfolio data
  • CLOUD: Migration to cloud-native architecture reducing infrastructure costs
  • API: Open API ecosystem enabling fintech partnership innovation
  • AUTOMATION: AI-powered underwriting reducing manual review needs by 60%

Threats

  • SECURITY: Increasing sophistication of cyber threats targeting financial data
  • COMPETITION: Fintech disruptors capturing digital-first mortgage customers
  • REGULATION: Evolving compliance requirements adding technology complexity
  • MARKET: Housing market volatility requiring rapid system adaptability
  • TALENT: Tech talent shortage in specialized mortgage technology roles

Key Priorities

  • MODERNIZATION: Accelerate legacy system modernization to cloud-native
  • AUTOMATION: Implement AI-powered underwriting to reduce manual processes
  • INNOVATION: Develop open API strategy for fintech ecosystem integration
  • SECURITY: Strengthen cybersecurity protocols for evolving threat landscape
|

To leverage technology solutions that enable reliable, affordable mortgage financing while innovating to make housing more accessible nationwide.

MODERNIZE

Transform legacy systems into cloud-native platforms

  • MIGRATION: Complete migration of 65% of mortgage processing systems to cloud by Q3 2025
  • ARCHITECTURE: Implement microservices for 8 core mortgage processing functions reducing deploy time by 70%
  • DECOMMISSION: Retire 35 legacy systems, reducing maintenance costs by $12M annually
  • PERFORMANCE: Achieve 40% improvement in mortgage processing time through modernized architecture
AUTOMATE

Deploy AI to eliminate manual mortgage processes

  • UNDERWRITING: Implement AI-powered underwriting reducing decision time from 5 days to 24 hours for 60% of loans
  • DOCUMENTATION: Deploy document processing AI reducing manual review needs by 70% across 15 document types
  • ACCURACY: Achieve 95% accuracy in automated mortgage decisioning matching human underwriter performance
  • SCALE: Process 50% of conventional mortgage applications through the AI-powered underwriting pipeline
INTEGRATE

Build open ecosystem for mortgage innovation

  • API: Launch mortgage origination API platform with 25 critical endpoints for partner integration
  • ADOPTION: Onboard 100 lender partners and fintech companies to the API ecosystem
  • DEVELOPERS: Create developer community with 1,000+ active members using our mortgage APIs
  • TRANSACTIONS: Process 30% of new mortgage applications through API-integrated partner solutions
SECURE

Strengthen protection of housing finance ecosystem

  • DEFENSE: Implement advanced threat detection reducing average threat response time from 6 hours to 15 minutes
  • COMPLIANCE: Achieve 100% compliance with new federal mortgage data security regulations
  • TESTING: Complete penetration testing and remediation for all critical mortgage processing systems
  • TRAINING: Train 100% of engineering staff on secure coding practices with 90%+ certification pass rate
METRICS
  • PROCESSING: Digital mortgage application processing time reduced by 40%
  • VOLUME: 50% of conventional mortgages processed through AI underwriting
  • EFFICIENCY: Technology cost per mortgage reduced by 25% through automation
VALUES
  • Customer Focus: Putting customers at the center of everything we do
  • Innovation: Embracing new technologies and approaches to solve housing challenges
  • Excellence: Delivering high-quality, reliable technology solutions
  • Integrity: Maintaining the highest standards of ethics and data security
  • Inclusion: Building diverse teams and promoting equitable housing solutions
Fannie Mae logo
Align the learnings

Fannie Mae Engineering Retrospective

|

To leverage technology solutions that enable reliable, affordable mortgage financing while innovating to make housing more accessible nationwide.

What Went Well

  • TECHNOLOGY: Cloud migration initiative ahead of schedule, 40% complete
  • EFFICIENCY: Tech-enabled mortgage processing time reduced by 15% YoY
  • SECURITY: Zero major security incidents despite 35% increase in threats
  • INNOVATION: Digital mortgage application platform launched successfully
  • AVAILABILITY: Core mortgage systems maintained 99.98% uptime in Q1 2025

Not So Well

  • INTEGRATION: API ecosystem adoption below target at only 22% of partners
  • COSTS: Technology infrastructure costs exceeded budget by 12% in Q1 2025
  • DELIVERY: Three key platform upgrades delayed beyond scheduled releases
  • TALENT: Engineering turnover increased to 18%, above industry average
  • TECHNICAL DEBT: Legacy system modernization behind schedule by 2 quarters

Learnings

  • ARCHITECTURE: Microservices approach proving more effective than monolith
  • TALENT: Remote-first hiring strategy expanding available talent pool by 3x
  • METHODOLOGY: Agile transformation improved delivery speed by avg of 28%
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Fintech collaboration accelerating innovation capabilities
  • DATA: Centralized data lake initiative critical for AI/ML success

Action Items

  • ACCELERATION: Increase cloud migration resources by 25% to meet objectives
  • AUTOMATION: Implement automated testing to reduce deployment cycle times
  • TALENT: Launch engineering excellence program to improve retention rates
  • EFFICIENCY: Consolidate duplicate systems to reduce operational complexity
  • GOVERNANCE: Strengthen data governance to improve quality for AI readiness
|

To leverage technology solutions that enable reliable, affordable mortgage financing while innovating to make housing more accessible nationwide.

Strengths

  • DATA: Massive historical mortgage data advantage for AI model training
  • SCALE: Enterprise infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale AI
  • EXPERTISE: Growing team of ML engineers with mortgage domain knowledge
  • IMPACT: Initial AI pilots showing 30% reduction in processing times
  • LEADERSHIP: Executive commitment to AI transformation initiatives

Weaknesses

  • INTEGRATION: AI systems not fully integrated with legacy platforms
  • SKILLS: Technical debt hindering rapid AI deployment and scaling
  • GOVERNANCE: Incomplete AI governance and responsible AI frameworks
  • DATA: Data quality issues in 25% of historical mortgage records
  • ADOPTION: Organizational resistance to AI-driven decision making

Opportunities

  • UNDERWRITING: AI-powered risk assessment reducing default rates by 20%
  • EXPERIENCE: Conversational AI enhancing customer mortgage journey
  • EFFICIENCY: Automated document processing reducing manual review by 70%
  • INSIGHTS: Predictive analytics improving mortgage portfolio management
  • INCLUSION: AI fairness tools expanding credit access to underserved groups

Threats

  • REGULATION: Evolving AI regulation impacting deployment timelines
  • ETHICS: Potential bias in AI mortgage decisioning requiring oversight
  • COMPETITION: Fintech competitors with advanced AI capabilities
  • COMPLEXITY: Increasing complexity of maintaining AI systems at scale
  • TRANSPARENCY: Explainability challenges in complex AI mortgage models

Key Priorities

  • DATA: Implement comprehensive data quality program for AI readiness
  • GOVERNANCE: Develop robust AI governance and responsible AI framework
  • AUTOMATION: Prioritize document processing and underwriting AI tools
  • INCLUSION: Ensure AI systems expand fair access to mortgage credit