- 6/27/2025
On today’s sponsored episode of Power House, Diego Sanchez sits down with Mark Wai, EVP and Group CTO at Radian, to talk about the innovation that Radian is doing in mortgage.
Mark shares how generative AI is reshaping operations, why digital transformation takes more than just a quick fix, and what’s at stake for companies that don’t adapt to new market trends. He also talks about how Radian is using tech to make homeownership more affordable, accessible and sustainable.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Why innovation means reinventing people, processes, and technology — not just new tools
How generative AI is transforming mortgage operations and decision-making
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to digital transformation
Customer expectations must evolve alongside technology
Companies that resist innovation risk falling behind or disappearing entirely
Related to this episode:
Mark Wai | LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-wai-ba91003/
Radian
https://www.radian.com/
The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire president Diego Sanchez every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
Mark shares how generative AI is reshaping operations, why digital transformation takes more than just a quick fix, and what’s at stake for companies that don’t adapt to new market trends. He also talks about how Radian is using tech to make homeownership more affordable, accessible and sustainable.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Why innovation means reinventing people, processes, and technology — not just new tools
How generative AI is transforming mortgage operations and decision-making
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to digital transformation
Customer expectations must evolve alongside technology
Companies that resist innovation risk falling behind or disappearing entirely
Related to this episode:
Mark Wai | LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-wai-ba91003/
Radian
https://www.radian.com/
The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire president Diego Sanchez every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Missing the boat on this will be unrecoverable, unrecoverable error in my opinion.
00:15Welcome to this special sponsored edition of Powerhouse.
00:20My guest today is Mark Wai, EVP and Group CTO at Radeon.
00:26Mark, thank you so much for joining me today.
00:30Hey, thank you for having me today, Diego.
00:33We will have some fun discussion today.
00:36I agree.
00:36This is going to be a really good conversation.
00:39So let's just jump right in.
00:41When you think about driving innovation in mortgage and real estate, what does that mean to you at Radeon?
00:51This is a very good question, Diego.
00:53It means that we need to rethink and reinvent people, process, and technology that are working, but make them better.
01:07As you can imagine, this is not an easy task.
01:12We're engineering something that already exists and is working.
01:18Let's just say it's not easy.
01:20There's an old saying, don't break something that works, right?
01:28It is even more difficult to tell mortgage and real estate veterans who have been in the industry for many years
01:39that there are better ways to do the same thing, but a lot more efficiently and cost-effectively.
01:47And in the latest case, leveraging generative AI tools.
01:54So changing the mindset, embracing the possibilities, and understanding the emerging technology are some of the key elements that I am driving and promoting at Radeon.
02:10Innovation in Gen. AI era is more than just changing the technology landscape or a tool.
02:19It is changing the way, how we think the same process that can be done differently, intelligently, and autonomously.
02:30I really like what you said there.
02:32Don't break what's working, right?
02:34That makes a lot of sense.
02:35It's very logical.
02:36Why is now such a pivotal time for innovation in our industry?
02:43Well, because we are at the beginning of what a lot of people consider as massive disruption in our society with AI.
02:57And I'm sure that you have heard and read a lot of news every day about AI, right?
03:03Missing the boat on this will be unrecoverable, unrecoverable error in my opinion.
03:14It is like, say, you know, from DOS to Windows,
03:19Backberry to iPhone,
03:22Telegram to Internet,
03:25Videotapes to Netflix,
03:28Borders Bookstore to Amazon Online.
03:30And Gen. AI is fundamentally changing our life in every aspect that I can imagine.
03:39It is changing how we think a unit of work can be done differently.
03:44It is changing the nature of some of the jobs that no one thought could be touched.
03:50The scary thing is that this AI movement is not disrupting one thing or one area.
03:59It is affecting everything.
04:01It is affecting not only mortgage and real estate industry, but banking, supply chain, the lawyers, the regulators, the doctors, basically the entire society.
04:13And this is why it is such a pivotal time for innovation, in my view.
04:21Yeah.
04:22And I think it can be scary for some of the market participants out there.
04:27Let's dig in a little bit more on what Radian is doing with respect to generative AI and your clients with tools like intelligent document processing.
04:39Tell us more about your efforts.
04:40As I mentioned earlier, this Gen. AI era is fundamentally changing the way how business operations and processes should work.
04:55For example, these Gen. AI tools provide capabilities that we have never seen before.
05:04So these tools can now perform tasks autonomously.
05:11And in certain cases, these AI tools can even make human-like decisions.
05:17And the best part, Diego, these new AI tools are capable to learn continuously and by itself.
05:27So in the case of intelligent document processing that we at Radian develop, instead of spending months to train a new document, our new solution just needs a fraction of time.
05:45We're very little to know training and just know how to understand and interpret a new document.
05:52The differences that we are seeing between traditional solution versus Gen. AI solution is day and night.
06:03And looking forward, we see Gen. AI technology will change company, both internally and externally.
06:15Internally, in the sense that these Gen. AI applications can significantly improve operational efficiency in the areas, again, document processing, underwriting, business rules, and policy management.
06:32Externally, in the sense that we will have very customized and intelligent, agentic AI agent to guide our customers in real time, 724, highly interactive, very accurate, all autonomously, just like having a live human operator on duty.
06:58By the way, the old tools are kind of able to do what I just described, but it takes many tools and a long, long time to develop.
07:10And the old tools simply do not have capability to learn by itself, which is a big difference as compared to the new generation of these new AI tools that we are seeing today.
07:24In your work with Radiant clients, what's one of the biggest myths about digital transformation in mortgage and real estate that you try to dispel?
07:37And how is Radiant overall trying to shift that mindset?
07:41Well, there are quite a few, there were quite a few myths in the past decade, if you remember, Diego, right, about digital transformation in our industry.
07:55It always started with one promise that this one silver bullet will transform the entire industry, right?
08:04First, if you remember, many years ago, maybe 10 years ago, it was portal, right?
08:11People said that if you create a portal, everything will be golden.
08:14Everything will be straight through processing.
08:17Of course, if you just transform a small part at the front end of a mortgage transaction, you are lefting out many legacy processes in the back end.
08:29So portal by itself didn't turn out to be the silver bullet in terms of transforming our entire industry digitally.
08:38It improved a small part of the larger ecosystem, but that's it.
08:45Then it came, you know, predictive analytic.
08:49Then came blockchain.
08:52Then, not too long ago, maybe two years back, right, metaverse, et cetera, et cetera.
09:00They all started with lots of promises, but then the industry eventually realized that it needs more than one technology to transform our very complex and complicated mortgage process.
09:15That involves, as you know, multiple parties, many layers, not to mention other regulations and compliance in between.
09:26So what we are doing here at Radiant Diego is that we are partnering with all the participants within the mortgage and real estate ecosystem,
09:37leveraging different technologies and innovations so that we can address the different needs.
09:46There's just no one size fits all solution.
09:49There's no one silver bullet.
09:51I wish I can say it, but there's no one silver bullet.
09:55But there are tools and solutions that we can transform and digitize our industry.
10:01And I believe companies that will succeed must strategically tackle the digital transformation holistically, not just piecemeal.
10:13Yeah, I think you make a very compelling point that there is no silver bullet or one size fits all technology.
10:21But there are a lot of tools that Radiant can pull together with your clients to help improve the customer experience.
10:29How are you doing that from application to close?
10:34So let me say this.
10:36In the next few years, there's no doubt in my mind that the mortgage process will be faster, easier, with higher customer satisfaction.
10:50And when do it right, it will drive down the overall cost as well.
10:56However, I also wanted to be cautious people about their expectation.
11:03After all, we are talking about buying a house, which is different than, say, buying a $20 book in Amazon.
11:12I think people were expecting the Amazon moment, right?
11:21And breakthrough in the mortgage industry where you can buy and complete the transaction with just one click.
11:29Think about it.
11:31I'm not too sure if I personally want to buy a house with just one click online.
11:38We're talking about a lot of money.
11:40No way.
11:41No way.
11:41Well, some people might.
11:44I cannot say.
11:45I cannot speak for everyone.
11:47Right?
11:48And also, I'm not too sure if I want to buy a house without looking at it in person.
11:54Right?
11:54So, while technology can help us to go a long way, we also must have the right expectation on what technology can do and should do, especially from humanity perspective and people expectation perspective.
12:15Yeah, I totally agree.
12:16Yeah, I totally agree.
12:17And if you think about a first-time home buyer, it's very difficult to do that transaction in one click.
12:24So, I think you make a lot of sense there.
12:27How is Radian using emerging technology to stay ahead of all these shifting market dynamics and consumer expectations?
12:37Yeah, again, good question.
12:42First and foremost, we at Radian are fortunate to have a CEO and an executive team that believe in technology.
12:51Without their support, investment, and commitment, it is not possible to keep up with the market and customer expectations, let alone stay ahead.
13:02Second, I see this as whether a company wants to stay relevant or not.
13:11I do not think we have a choice.
13:14Again, can you imagine you're still using DOS instead of Windows or Mac OS, right?
13:22Can you imagine you're still using a BlackBerry phone instead of iPhone?
13:29Can you imagine you're still using Yahoo to do internet search instead of perplexity, AI, right?
13:39So, cutting technology expense is an easy and common strategy, but strategize on using emerging technology to help business to grow, compete, and transform is what helps company to win.
13:59Look at Walmart.
14:00Look at Walmart.
14:01Look at Bank of America.
14:02Look at Bank of America.
14:03Not too long ago, right?
14:05These were a brick and mortar company, but look at how they transform themselves through technology and vigorous innovation.
14:14Those who don't innovate and invest in technology are all our business.
14:20Lastly, I would say we will make some mistakes along the way.
14:26Every time when we talk about technology, there are risks.
14:29There's an old saying from Wayne Grasky, the legendary ice hockey player.
14:36You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
14:41So, think about it, right?
14:43Company will miss 100% of growth opportunity if they don't innovate, period.
14:53Yeah, let's dig in a little bit more there and talk about risk.
14:58What's the risk for mortgage and real estate companies if they don't invest in innovation?
15:06This one is easy.
15:09In a world that is driven by technology and innovation, those who don't innovate will not survive, in my view.
15:19Look at Sears, the department store.
15:22Remember that?
15:23Look at Blockbuster video stores.
15:26Then look at Walmart and Bank of America, as I mentioned earlier, right?
15:31So, when you connect the dots, it is pretty clear where a company needs to invest and strategize on.
15:43All right.
15:44So, last question in this really fascinating conversation.
15:49If you could leave our audience with one takeaway about Radian's role in shaping the future of mortgage and real estate, what would that be?
16:00Yeah.
16:02One thing that I love working at Radian is that we have very noble goals and vision.
16:09It is embedded in our culture.
16:12And my favorite Radian's tagline is this.
16:16Ensuring the American dream of home ownership responsibly and sustainably.
16:25And creating possibilities for a place to call home.
16:30Isn't this neat?
16:32This is why we come to work every day.
16:34At Radian, we will always think about and take the leadership role in terms of what we can do.
16:41What we can help and empower our customer to achieve home ownership through technology and innovative products and services.
16:54And this is one takeaway that I would like to leave it to this audience.
17:00Mark, what a wonderful conversation we've just had.
17:04Thank you so much for joining me today.
17:07Thank you, Diego, for the opportunity today.
17:11If you.
17:16Cool.
17:17Now we're at another level of engagement.
17:22Okay.
17:23The survival of this family is great.
17:26How does the survival of this family benefit fromера – wonder thoughnden –
17:28how does the pain sacrifice lose with hers.
17:30It do not make sense for how difficult it might develop as a gift, just believe in everybody.
Recommended
25:50
|
Up next