September 11, 2025 • 40 mins
What if we approached each day in mortgage lending not as a series of transactions, but as opportunities to be good stewards of the gifts we've been given? Mark Seeley, AVP of Mortgage Lending at America's Credit Union, brings this refreshing perspective to our conversation about what makes credit union mortgage lending truly different.
After 20+ years in the industry and experience on both sides of the fence, Mark shares how the credit union approach transforms lives through relationship lending rather than transactional banking. "I'm blessed to be in the credit union space," he reflects. "It's probably the best time I've had in the mortgage industry."
Through powerful examples, Mark demonstrates how credit unions see beyond numbers to the humans behind loan applications. He shares a story about helping a member refinance from a 65% debt-to-income ratio down to 52%—a loan most traditional lenders would immediately reject, but one that significantly improved the member's financial situation. These decisions stem from a philosophy that values stewardship over short-term gains.
This mindset didn't develop overnight. Mark candidly discusses how his perspective evolved through career experiences, family responsibilities, and leadership lessons—both positive and negative. "I honestly learned more from bad leaders than good leaders," he admits, explaining how these experiences shaped his commitment to intentional positivity and servant leadership.
The conversation offers a timely reminder about what truly matters in financial services. While the industry often takes success for granted during boom periods (like the recent refinance wave), credit unions maintain their north star by focusing on members first. As Mark puts it: "Money should never be one's motivator in this type of business. It's about putting families in homes and putting them in the best possible position financially."
Whether you're a mortgage professional looking to reconnect with your purpose or a member curious about the credit union difference, this discussion will leave you with renewed appreciation for approaching each day as a gift and each interaction as an opportunity to make a positive impact.
Sponsored by Cloudvirga
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The views and opinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyreflect the views or positions
of Acuma, its board of directors, its management staff or its
members.
The podcast discussionpresented is conversational in
nature and for generalinformation only.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Atkinson Point Podcast, a series
focused on sharing the storiesof people who are making a
positive impact in the creditunion mortgage industry.
I'm your host, Peter Benjamin.
Before we get to our episode,just a quick word from our
sponsor.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
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the architects of Tropos, thenext generation loan portal
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(01:06):
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Speaker 2 (01:29):
Today I am joined by Mark Seeley, avp of Mortgage
Lending with America's CreditUnion.
Mark, what's going on?
How are you?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
doing today and I'm doing absolutely fantastic.
Peter, and blessed to be onhere.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I am excited to have you on here.
This is one of those episodeswhere we kind of dive into
something other than mortgage,have a deeper conversation, one
of those conversations that wehave.
We talk about life, put thingsinto perspective, talk about the
good and bad in the world andultimately, I think it's really
good timing.
We in the credit union space,we pride ourselves in, we'll say
(02:10):
, being the compass rose in ourindustry, sort of say, and I
like the topic that you kind ofselected for us to discuss.
So thank you very much fordoing that and just getting to
know you.
You know the past few months,yeah, there's no better person
to discuss this than you, soreally excited to have you here.
(02:33):
So, before we get to it, asalways, got to bring Justin in,
justin the Hawk.
How are you doing today?
And, by the way, what is thelatest and greatest happening
over at Acuma?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
I'm good, peter.
How are you Living the dream?
I like it, the deep breath thatjust expresses where we are
right now.
Right, I know right, right,right, I mean, we're only weeks
away from our Make your Markannual conference.
Counting down the days.
Counting down the days I knowright.
And those of you that don'tknow, it's going to be happening
(03:07):
in Denver this year.
If you don't know that, we gotto talk to somebody.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yes, definitely You're.
You're.
You're not checking our socialsor our emails are getting
blocked.
You're not listening toeverything.
You are not attending one ofthe many events I've attended
and you are just blocking me outwhenever I talk about annual
something.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That's very hard to do.
Peter talks about annual a lot.
I do, I know, but anyways, it'sgoing to be happening this year
in Denver.
So September 21st to the 24thwe're weeks away, but that does
not mean that registration isclosed, so there's still plenty
of time for you to register.
We have a lot of tricks up oursleeves.
We have some surprises in storefor you.
(03:49):
If you've ever been to any AccuAnnual event with Peter, then
you already know Peter has somewild cards planned for you that
you don't want to miss.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Not just surprises.
I think we have some thingsthat play into the normal Denver
culture.
I guess that's a way of framingit up, right, yeah, yeah,
things that are just like Denver, denver-y, denver-esque
Denver-y.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Denver-ish, denver-ish, denver-ish,
denver-ish, denver-ish.
Yeah, that's, I'm pretty surethey like to be referred to as
Denverish people.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I think they're Denver-politans.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
I mean, like, even with all the surprises, we have
some really cool, unique thingsthat we've never done before
that I think people are reallygoing to love.
You're so on the soapbox withthis.
Come on down, come back toreality with me.
But registration is still open,you still have time, like I
(04:51):
said, and if you're a creditunion or a CUSO and you're
bringing three or more of yourcolleagues with you from your
organization, you can all get a$200 discount.
So head over to the Acumenwebsite for more information.
Now, if you're not coming toannual one, we should like have
the violin music.
Right?
We're so sad because we we'regoing to miss you, but there's
(05:12):
still other opportunities foryou to take advantage of.
So we have our inside trackwebinars, our network meetings,
so we have the youngprofessional network, the
servicing network, marketingnetwork, underwriting network
and the volume based networks,and then we also have our
favorite on point podcast.
So keeping the fun going allyear round thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, sir, all right, mark, turning our sights back to
you.
All right, so you know, beforewe get to our conversation, as
always, I start with the sameold question, you know it's.
And I start with the same oldquestion, you know it's.
And I start with the same oldpreface.
And I think it's importantbecause and I think it actually
ties in perfectly, actually,this time I think it ties in the
(05:58):
most perfect than any otherconversation that we've ever had
.
You know, the first question isalways you know who is who's
Mark?
You know what drives you, whatmotivates you, what?
You know what, what made MarkMark right?
And that's always the firstquestion who is Mark, who's the
(06:19):
guy behind the scenes?
And you can take thatpersonally, you can take that
professionally, it doesn'treally matter.
As I said in my intro, thispodcast was designed to tell the
stories of people who make apositive impact in the credit
union mortgage industry.
We did that on purpose, rightit's?
You and I both have spent timeon both sides of the fence,
(06:42):
right Credit union andnon-mortgage lenders.
I think we can agree there'ssome really special people on
this side.
Our stories need to be told.
We have something special goingon.
Let's share those stories,let's spread the good word about
credit unions and why morepeople need to come not just
(07:05):
work for credit unions, but morepeople need to come get their
mortgages for credit unions,because there's just generally
good people on this side.
So first question who is Mark?
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Well, that's a loaded question, Peter.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I know, see, I do it on purpose, man, I do it on
purpose.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You know, I'd say who is Mark?
I I'm.
I'm a product of, of myupbringing from my parents,
obviously, like we all are, anda lot of the values that I have
are because of, you know, great,great parents that I had in
raising me.
Of course, you know, I didn'tknow it at the time.
You know, when you're ateenager, all you want to do is
(07:43):
do your own thing.
But as you grow and you getthat wonderful word that starts
with W, wisdom, you know, thenyou start to realize so what
word is that?
Wisdom?
Oh yeah, yes, the study ofthings that don't change is what
I like to call that in a.
There's other meanings,depending on how you view wisdom
(08:05):
, but you know, that's kind of abig word for me, but I am, you
know, I'm blessed, I'm justblessed, I think.
You know I'm an individualthat's been in this industry now
for over 20 years and had kindof a unique perspective and I'm
(08:31):
thankful to be in the creditunion space.
This is, I'm coming up on onlyabout my third year in the
credit union space and I canhonestly say that it's probably
actually it is the best timethat I've had in the mortgage
industry.
It's, as you had mentioned inthe mortgage industry.
You know it's, as you hadmentioned, the good people that
we have here, the willingness ofcredit unions to do what other
(08:56):
financial institutions andmortgage companies really don't
do, and that's educate andthat's relationship lending.
That is huge for me.
I'm a big people person, I lovepeople, I love interacting with
people, Um, and I'm, I'm, youknow, my what kind of drives me
again is is again being thatbeing that leader who
(09:17):
understands that everything thatwe have, we should not take for
granted, every opportunity thatwe have, uh, you know, whatever
, every opportunity that we have, you know, whatever we do,
whether it's at home, whetherit's here at the workplace and
in between, to always be kindand compassionate in everything
that we do to people, you know,with people, and that's what I
(09:38):
think really separates creditunions from other places.
But yeah, I mean, personally, Ihave a family that I, you know.
I have three kids.
I have a 22 year old son, Ihave an 18 year old son and a 15
year old daughter, and I'm anavid heavy metal, hard rock guy
and an avid Seattle sports fan,professional sports fan.
(09:59):
So those are some of thepersonal things, and I'm not
from the Pacific Northwest, butI do love it here and you guys
have been out here.
You know there's so much to doand see.
It's a very beautiful place,except from about early November
through February, and then wejust have to kind of get through
things or take a vacationbecause it gets dark at like
4.15, 4.30.
(10:20):
You know so, but yeah, that'sjust a little bit about me.
You know so, um, but yeah,that's, that's just a little bit
about me.
And uh, again, that's that'sjust.
I'm just driven to help, helppeople and lead.
That that's really my biggestthing is everyone's a leader,
and they may not have the titleof a leader, but everyone's
there to lead and be an example.
And you know that's importantbecause everybody's watching.
(10:42):
Okay, uh, favorite, favorite,favorite heavy metal band man,
that is a loaded question, peterI I, it's a loaded question I
mean I would have to say I gothrough phases right now.
Over the past few years it's aband called demon hunter.
They're from seattle, they're achristian metal band, um, but
for many years it was metallica.
(11:03):
How could it not be?
I mean, they're the kings of,they're the kings of heavy metal
.
In fact, my wife asked me theother day and she's not much
into heavy metal she asked meshe goes if there was one metal
band that you could listen tofor the rest of your life.
I feel like it would be.
She said I feel like it wouldbe Metallica.
And I said you're probablyright listening to their stuff,
(11:24):
you know.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
So I mean, yeah, I mean, who doesn't have at least
some Metallica on their playlist?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah, I mean they're, they're, they're amazing.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Everybody knows Metallica you know, they are
good, they are fantastic.
You know, a long time ago, uh,a friend of mine took me to a,
uh, a cannibal corpse concert,whoa, and I will say the nicest
(11:55):
people the nicest people youknow.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I was shocked how nice everyone was at that
concert.
So I in fact it's funny thatyou mentioned that the, the lead
singer, george Corpse GrinderFisher, actually did a
children's series at one point,like with children, about heavy
metal, and you would never thinklistening to somebody who
obviously their music is very,can be very dark, but obviously
it's just, it's show and shockvalue and things like that.
(12:16):
When you get the people behindthis, when you, when you get to
know the people behind it, it'samazing.
They're, they're really just,they're human beings like us.
You know that's right, that'sright.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You hear stories of how you know they're in, like
people who are in the mosh pitand they get knocked over and
there's like a flood of peoplepicking them up, asking them if
they're okay, you know, andmaking sure that everyone is
safe, and I think that's.
You wouldn't think that from anoutsider looking in, but I was
blown away when I was actuallythere how friendly everyone was.
(12:46):
Yeah, I agree.
So, anyways, I know, off track,different topic, different
topic, different conversationfor another day.
So you said something in duringyour, the answer to the first
question, which was you know whois Mark, the answer to the
first question, which was youknow who is Mark, you said
something that I kind of want togo back and not so much pick on
(13:09):
but continue the conversationon.
I think this is where we reallyfocus on the meat and potatoes
of today's conversation.
You said that you take nothingfor granted and realize that
really kind of sort of likeeverything is a gift, right, it
is.
And you know here's the thing,right it's.
(13:32):
You have three kids and priorto this this call, you know I
mentioned that you know we.
I really want to focus in onthis, but prior, not so much
this call, but this podcastrecording.
Focus in on this.
Not so much this call, but thispodcast recording.
I really want to focus on thistopic because this topic in
particular is something that I'mstruggling with with my son and
(13:54):
you immediately respond saying,hey, I'm doing the same thing
with my 18-year-old.
It's the idea that we have to begood stewards.
We choose our attitude everysingle day.
We, you know we wake up onefoot out of bed and you know we
(14:16):
have we get to decide who seesus as a good person or a bad
person.
It's almost like the runningjoke of that person chose
violence today, right, or, youknow, does that?
You know we as parents, youknow we instinctively might say
our kids are great peoplebecause we see a different side
(14:38):
of our kids than other people do.
But every single day I tell mykids mom and dad believe in you.
Mom and dad know how smart youare.
Mom and dad know how kind youare.
It's your job as human beingsto let the world see that and
that kindness goes a lot furtherin life than anything else.
So be that person out in theworld, right?
(15:03):
I tell my kids that everysingle day.
But, more importantly, Irecently started telling my kids
you know, life is a blessing.
It's up to you to choose whatyou do with it.
Right and so, and your responseto my my request for topics
just came out at such a perfecttiming that I just wanted to
(15:25):
carry on with it.
So, if you could, you know how?
How's that mindset for you kindof helped you be successful?
You know it can be.
Let's start with.
You know we have to startprofessionally and then we'll go
personally.
(15:45):
How does it help you navigateyour career but also your
personal life?
That mindset of nothing's takenfor granted.
You're a good steward.
Take it however direction youwant.
But again, like I said, everyday is a blessing.
It's up to you to do with itwhat you will, but go.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Yeah, yeah, it's a good question and to me it's
important to be a good stewardbecause of the things that we're
given are a blessing, and wecould talk about how hard life
is, but we can also talk about,and we want to focus on, being
positive and having, you know,realizing the gifts that we have
(16:28):
are valuable and we're notgoing to be good stewards of
something that we're given if wedon't value that.
And that's really kind of whatdrives me, not just
professionally but you know, ineverything that I do, but also,
you know, professionally.
Here at the credit union, I'vebeen given this opportunity to
(16:48):
lead a team, a mortgage team, tohelp our members achieve
homeownership or whatever youknow type of mortgage situation
that they need, you know, atthat given time, or bring in new
members and I vow you know, Ivalue that and it's not
something that I, you know I'llsay I just come to work every
(17:09):
day and you know I make apaycheck, because that's not
what it is for me.
It's coming in and realizing Ihave this opportunity, I have
this privilege and I need to bea good steward of it.
I need to make sure that I give100% of myself to my team, to
our members and to our not justthe mortgage team, but also, you
(17:32):
know, other folks that Iinteract with, whether it's the
senior leadership team, theexecutive team, realtors in the
community, referral partners,community outreach, things like
that.
It's just, it's all about giving100 percent of yourself every
day to whoever you're dealingwith, and that's like you talked
about, pierre, like teachingyour children about being kind
(17:53):
and compassionate.
That's when they value people.
They're going to do that andthat's really, you know, valuing
others and valuing their.
You know opinions and theirperspective on things and
listening to them.
That's really important aboutbeing a good steward as well.
So it's a tall order.
I mean, being a good steward ishard, it's not easy and, again,
(18:15):
as I said, not taking anythingfor granted, because we tend to,
as humans, want to take certainthings for granted and we have
to constantly remind ourselvesand really push ourselves to be
very intentional about all thewonderful gifts that we've been
given.
You know the gifts and thetalents that we've been given as
(18:36):
humans to be, you know to use,to be successful, to help out
others.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
No, and I love that.
I love that you said we have tobe intentional about the gifts
that we've been given, becauseall too often we do overlook
that right.
You know and I think you mayhave heard me say this in
Seattle and I say it almost tothe point where I'm blue in the
face you know it's our job ascredit union mortgage
(19:01):
professionals to do one thingput families in homes right.
And I've been fortunate enough.
You know, justin's beenfortunate enough and I'd like to
think that you've beenfortunate enough.
We've been able to buy homesright.
And I'd like to think that atthis point in time, as a result
(19:21):
of that, we are taking thatprocess, our knowledge, our
efforts, that experience you canname it whatever you want, but
we're basically passing it downto the families who have never
done it before and letting themshare that joy, share that
experience, because it bringspeople closer together, it
(19:46):
builds that family bond, itbuilds community.
I mean, you name it, but that'swhat I love about our industry,
because it has the ability tounite.
It has the ability to continuethose efforts.
It's not just about families,it's about communities, about
everything, but kind of goingback to the individual, you know
(20:10):
it's.
It does become, you know,difficult, as you know it does
become difficult as, thinkingback to you and I, it seems like
you and I have been in theindustry for the same amount of
time, 20 plus years.
You know, thinking back to youknow the early 2000s and you
(20:31):
know the paychecks were prettymuch flying off the shelf and
you know the good old days,right, when it's more like a
frat party everywhere you wentand really, if you think about
it, you know 2020, 2021, whenthose refinances were rolling in
.
You almost got a sense of thatfeeling again, right, that the
(20:57):
good times are back and westarted to, the industry as a
whole started taking things forgranted again.
Do you agree?
I?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
mean I agree, I agree Whenever there's a surplus of
of loans, for whatever reason,or the market, you know,
dictates that you know low rates, or you know loans at any cost.
You know, like we had in the,you know, early to mid 2000s.
You know the all of the, youknow lenders out there who were
(21:25):
doing you know any type of loanthat they could do and 95, no
doc at 620, 95, no doc.
I was a countrywide guy, so fastand easy and no ratio loans.
That's where I got my start andso yeah, but when that happens,
again two things Naturallywe're going to lose sight of
(21:45):
what's important because we'reso busy and so driven just to
produce from a transactionalstandpoint right, and lending
becomes transactional.
And don't get me wrong, I'm notopposed to having money, but
money should never be one'smotivator in this type of
business.
It is about, as you mentioned,putting people in homes, putting
(22:09):
families in homes and puttingthem in the best possible
position financially to be ableto enjoy that home.
And that's why I love thecredit union space more than
anything, because, as I'velearned in these past almost
three years, is that creditunions care more than anything
else anyone else about doingthat.
You know and I truly believethat, and I'm glad you answered.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
You kind of took where I was going my rant in
that direction.
In many ways I was trying tosandbag you in that direction
Because, if anything, that'salmost the credit union mortgage
lenders credo right, right andwe will make some decisions for
(22:53):
a member just because it's theright thing to do.
Yeah Right.
You know, when I a purchase, itwas a refinance, but the member
(23:15):
had.
When she came to us, she had a65% DTI and through this
refinance we were going to dropher down to again from 65, we
were going to drop her down to a52.
For all intents and purposes,we were going to drop her down
to a 52.
For all intents and purposes,any other lender probably would
(23:35):
have denied her.
But if you think about it,that's a significant savings.
So we just did it.
We put her in a better spaceand so, even if we put her, even
if we knew that it was still ona stretch, and even though we
knew that it was still on astretch, and even though we knew
(23:55):
that it was still 52%, shealways had on-time payments.
So she made it work.
She was never late.
So she made her finances work,even though she had a 65% DTI.
But we knew that by droppingher to a 52% we were just making
things a little bit morecomfortable for her.
(24:17):
And I know for a fact that atthe community bank I was right
before I joined the credit unionnever would have done that.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
We wouldn't have been able to do that at any of the
bank, the bank or the mortgagecompany that I worked at.
You know that that's not.
That's the beauty, I tell.
I tell I still keep in touchwith some of my colleagues, you
know, in the IMB world and andthat's the beauty of like, how
are things going at the creditunion?
You know I said, well, they'regoing great.
I get to make decisions forpeople and do loans where I can
(24:50):
be creative and still, you know,mitigate risk for the credit
union, knowing that every loanthat we do is a good, it's going
to be a good loan, right, andit's going beyond just the
numbers and you know theautomated underwriting systems
and what the agencies allow.
And it's saying do we trustthat this person will make their
(25:12):
payment?
And, judging by everything thatwe have and the compensating
factors that they have, we feelgood about giving them the loan.
And that is something that Iexperienced a little bit on the
banking side when I was inbanking, but not that much.
But here at the credit union itgoes a long way because when
you do a loan for someone likethat, they don't feel like a
(25:34):
number.
I had a group, I had a couplewho was a new member.
They a referral from one froman agent that I know and they'd
never worked with a credit unionbefore, and I remember we did a
loan for them and and we, youknow, we, we did some, you know
some creative financing for them.
(25:55):
And I just remember, you know,at the end her name is Jamie.
Jamie said Mark, you know,thank you for making us not feel
like a number, like we matter,like going beyond, just looking
at our bank statements and ourincome and seeing that you know
we're people and that we, youknow, have, that that we're,
we're human and that you knowour drive is to, you know, own a
(26:16):
home and then have aninvestment property.
And then they had, three monthslater they came back and they,
they refinanced their investmentproperty with us, you know,
which was great, and now they'refull-fledged members with us.
But you know, I wouldn't havebeen able, as you said, peter, I
wouldn't have been able to dothat in any other type of
financial institution or IMB.
And that really is just thathelps me, that helps me realize
(26:37):
that I'm blessed to be a goodsteward, because I get those
opportunities and we don't wantthose.
We and we don't want those.
We don't want to lose any ofthose opportunities that we have
.
So whenever they come up,that's why we got to give 100%
of ourselves to that member tohelp them, and even if we can't,
we can at least educate them toknow that these are the things
they need to do eventually toown a home, and then, most of
(26:59):
the time, they'll come back tous if we take the time to do
that.
No, I love that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
No, I have to.
So I have to ask this question,and before I kind of sort of
get to the last question,obviously this is a mindset,
this is a practice that you haveinstilled in your life, and
it's one that I don't want tosay is a newly adopted one for
me, but it's one that you kindof mature into right.
(27:27):
It's the wisdom that you gainfrom life experience, right, and
it's not easy.
You just have to grow into this.
You have to go through, takesome licks, you have to have
your fair shares of ups anddowns.
You kind of learn to appreciatethe certain things in life,
(27:48):
right, um, has it always beenthis way for you?
Has it always been this, thismindset of you?
Know I'm blessed, I need, Ineed to pay it forward to others
, or has there just been timeswhere you're like I'm just
grumpy?
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, I try not to be grumpy but, in all honesty to
you know, to answer yourquestion.
In my younger years, in my, inmy early in my career, the drive
was to, to you know, to move upand make more money.
Right, that that was, that wasthe goal.
And now I I still had a good,you know foundation of what it
(28:30):
means to be a good steward.
But that really came, peter,with experience with raising a
family and all the challenges ofhaving a family.
But also, I think, reallyimportant was learning what
going through good leadershipand bad leadership and what that
(28:51):
looks like, and I honestlylearned more from bad leaders
than I did good leaders, fromwhat it means to be a bad leader
and to do good right, andthat's kind of what allowed me
to realize that you know themindset that I have now.
I think that's where I learnedthe most, and it was certainly
(29:12):
not all.
You know roses and you knowbonbons and apples and oranges
and you know wonderful tastingfruit.
It's been challenging at timesand I've gone through some
really challenging you know workexperiences and to get to where
I'm at.
But that drives you.
You know, and you probably hearthis adversity and I'm trying
to teach my kids this adversityis okay, it teaches you
(29:35):
character and it allows you tolearn, you know, and really dig
deep in yourself, to really haveto push yourself to be, to be
be successful.
Um, so no, it was not alwayslike that.
But you know, like I said, withage and maturity comes wisdom,
and being a guy it just we.
We mature a lot, a lot later inlife than women do.
(29:56):
So it took me a while.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
So let me ask you pain is weakness, sleep in the
body?
Speaker 5 (30:03):
No, isn't it?
Though?
Let me ask you, mark, when yourback's against that wall, how
are you overcoming the adversity?
Like what are you like?
I know you mentioned this acouple of times like, what are
you telling yourself?
What are you telling him?
Like, how are you creating thatmindset for yourself to
overcome those?
Speaker 4 (30:23):
Yeah, that's a great question, Justin, for yourself
to overcome those.
Yeah, that's a great question,justin.
I mean, number one is alwaysbeing positive.
You know, kicking outnegativity as much as possible
and always having something tolook forward to.
You know, you have to have thatmindset that there's.
If I know I'm going through thisadversity, I know there's I'm
going through this, but there'sthis, there's this goal on the
other side and I know if I dothese things, I can get there.
(30:47):
I know I may not have controlover all of that, you know,
depending on the circumstances,but I gotta have, I have that
goal and I think that's whatdrives, you know, drives me, if
we're going through a little bitof adversity, you know, um, and
and we've been through it, youknow at at many times me and my
family certainly have you knowwe've been through it.
You know, at many times me andmy family certainly have you
know we've we've gone through.
We've gone through a lot, youknow, at times, but it makes
(31:08):
again coming out on the otherside and always having something
to look forward to and beingpositive.
Honestly, you'll get to know meas it, you know more, I have no
room for negativity in my lifeLike I just don't and I don't
believe in it.
And that doesn't mean I don'tget down, that doesn't mean I
don't, you know, have a bad day,but I just truly believe in
(31:28):
being positive, because that iswhat ultimately will drive your,
your mindset and your attitudeto get through that adversity.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
No, I love that.
My wife and I, when we firstgot married, that was.
It was kind of like a littlestatement we had for each other
is like you know, we don'treally have to like the result,
but the result is what it is andwe're happy that it got a
result Right.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
Yeah, so it was like I like that.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
It was our way of always being positive, and so it
kind of goes to what you'resaying.
It's like finding that way tocontinue to find positivity and
be positive, even when it's notthe most favorable result, but
it's still worked out somehow.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeah, I agree, and you got to keep that mindset.
Like I said to Peter earlier,it's intentional, it our
mindsets will get, we'll getbogged down, we'll, we'll start
to feel like we can't, you know,press on, or you know the
weight of the world how muchmore can I take?
And it's like, well, thereagain, positivity will will
really change a lot of that,because that, to me, is what
(32:28):
pushes us to go above.
You know where we, you knowwhat we may not want to do.
Um, you know, and I, I just Ithink that's great.
So thanks for sharing, justin.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
All right, so, mark, we need to start transitioning.
All right, so, mark, we need tostart transitioning.
Um, but you know, before we dolast question, it's the same.
Last question I ask everybodyyou know what keeps you going,
what motivates you?
You know one foot out of bed topush forward.
You know, through no matterwhat, you know what keeps you
(33:02):
going.
Speaker 4 (33:04):
You know, peter, that's a great question.
I think for me, what keeps megoing when I wake out of bed is
every day I wake out of bed, Iget up out of bed, I'm alive, I
wake up, I've got an opportunityto affect change in, you know,
the people that I come incontact with whether it's my
family, whether it's coworkers,people on the street come in
(33:24):
contact with, whether it's myfamily, whether it's coworkers,
people on the street and justyou know, wake up, being blessed
and the opportunity to haveanother day on earth.
I know that seems kind of cliche, but it's really true.
You know that we're given thattime, you know, and we need to
use it to, you know, to the bestof our ability.
And I think that's ultimatelywhat drives me.
I mean, I could say my familyobviously drives me out and
(33:44):
taking care of them, you know,but having that mindset, that's
part of it, right, and you know,I love again coming to work and
leading this team.
That drives me as well, andjust being in a position where
we can help people in the creditunion space realize their
dreams, I mean that's reallythat drives me as well.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Love it, Love it.
All right, Mark, we need totransition to the second segment
of our podcast and again, thisis where we sometimes do
Jeopardy dad jokes.
And, of course, you know, todaythis is when we're going to do
our the most requested, fanfavorite series of dad jokes,
which I feel like we haven'tdone Jeopardy in a hot minute.
But it's all good, I'm happywe're doing dad jokes.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
I mean like, on one hand, I'm okay with that and
then, on the other hand, justinalways loses Jeopardy.
Like to hear both.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Jeopardy's hard, Jeopardy's hard man.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Oh no, it's not, it's , it's.
It's not just hard, peter, isit's impossible?
He does not believe in, likeJustin, getting easy questions
ever.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
That's right.
You first of all.
You, you pick, you pick thequestions, you pick the
questions or the answers.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
Right, because it's Jeopardy, you have to pick the
answers first.
Right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
My favorite was the et cetera.
Just saying you have to pickthe answers first.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Right, that's right.
My favorite was the et cetera,just saying yeah, so there's
some questions that have likethe answers, et cetera, and it's
like, anyways, that's anotherday, another time.
So, all right, mark, here'swhat we're going to do.
You're going to have, prior tothe recording, I asked you to
come prepared with two dad jokes, so you're going to say your
two dad jokes, justin's going todo his two dad jokes and I will
wrap up with my two dad jokesWhenever you're ready, sir Mark,
(35:26):
please.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
Yes, I have to narrow it down to two.
I came with five, so I'm goingto do this.
Did you know that diarrhea ishereditary?
I did not.
It runs in your genes.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
I started laughing, did not?
It runs in your jeans?
Speaker 5 (35:47):
laughing, laughing, laughing laughing laughing
before the punchline laughing,that's because he's talking
about poo.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
I love poop jokes everybody does it.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
Why not talk about it , right?
Speaker 5 (36:00):
so I mean, I love it.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
Oh and okay, this one I'm, because it's I.
I put a credit union in it, sothis is this is a.
This is this is the other one.
Uh, I was fired from the creditunion on my very first day on
the job.
A woman asked me to check herbalance, so I pushed her over
that's a shit on I could havegone in another direction, but
(36:25):
because you know, we're all,we're credit union space, so you
know that's good, that's goodthat's good all right
Speaker 5 (36:40):
that's good, I'll go now you know the order.
I know, but just in case,alright.
So two windmills were sittingon a hill.
One asked the other, do youhave a favorite song?
And the other replies well, allmy life I've been a heavy metal
(37:05):
fan.
Speaker 4 (37:07):
See this is perfect.
I've heard that one before,justin, that's one of my.
That's a great one.
That's a great, that's allright.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
I found it, and you're talking heavy metal, and
I was like this is perfect, it'sperfect, that's a good one, all
right.
And then what did the cow sayto then?
What did the cow say to the?
What did the cow say to theleather chair?
Oh, I don't know what, hi mom,Ouch.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Talking about putting things in perspective.
All right, um, all right, um,all right.
So you know, you know, thismorning I want to say oh stuff,
my classes, uh, this morning, oh, I still have my glasses.
This morning I called theparanoia hotline.
The guy answered how the heckdid you get this number?
(38:22):
love it um, sorry, had to put myglasses back on.
It's a hard time reading it.
Alright, so I started runningagain, and so this morning I
went for a run, um, and I saw myneighbor talking to her cat.
You know, it is obvious thepoor woman thought that her cat
(38:46):
understood her.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
When I got home I told my dog, we laughed a lot
about it oh, you know, peter,you're, you do you have a good
delivery for dad jokes like youjust have?
You just have a natural likeand I and I'm a fan we already
came to seattle.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
You don't have to convince them.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
No, no, it's good, it's good, I'm prepping him, I'm
trying to have so he steps uphis game at annual right.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
But that one wasn't good, all right, good.
Well, mark, thank you very muchfor your time today.
Really do appreciate it.
Oh, no, enjoy the conversation.
Yeah, no, thank you thanks muchfor your time today.
Really do appreciate it.
Enjoy the conversation.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
Yeah, no, thank you, Thanks for having me on, Thanks
to you and Justin and Peter andI'm sorry, Kristen, and just for
you know for everything youguys do at Acumen.
We're blessed to be a part ofthe organization and looking
forward to lots of fun in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And, justin, thank you.
Of course, it was my pleasure.
And, to close out, thank youagain to CloudVirgo for
sponsoring today's episode andto all of you.
We know your time is valuable.
Thank you for tuning in to thelatest episode of Acuma's On
Point Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time, be well, myfriends.
Thanks for listening.
Be well, my friends.
The views and opinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyreflect the views or positions
of Acuma, its board of directors, its management staff or its
members.
The podcast discussionpresented is conversational in
nature and for generalinformation only.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Atkinson Point Podcast, a series
focused on sharing the storiesof people who are making a
positive impact in the creditunion mortgage industry.
I'm your host, Peter Benjamin.
Before we get to our episode,just a quick word from our
sponsor.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
This episode is brought to you by Cloudvirga,
the architects of Tropos, thenext generation loan portal
that's redefining how lendersengage borrowers.
With Tropos, your credit unioncan unify all its lending
products under a singleworld-class member experience,
without overextending limitedresources or disrupting existing
(01:06):
systems.
Tropos makes it easy for yourmembers to compare options,
apply for financing and receivethe level of support they prefer
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Build lasting trust by stayingconnected throughout your
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Request a demo today atLendWithTroposcom.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Today I am joined by Mark Seeley, avp of Mortgage
Lending with America's CreditUnion.
Mark, what's going on?
How are you?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
doing today and I'm doing absolutely fantastic.
Peter, and blessed to be onhere.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I am excited to have you on here.
This is one of those episodeswhere we kind of dive into
something other than mortgage,have a deeper conversation, one
of those conversations that wehave.
We talk about life, put thingsinto perspective, talk about the
good and bad in the world andultimately, I think it's really
good timing.
We in the credit union space,we pride ourselves in, we'll say
(02:10):
, being the compass rose in ourindustry, sort of say, and I
like the topic that you kind ofselected for us to discuss.
So thank you very much fordoing that and just getting to
know you.
You know the past few months,yeah, there's no better person
to discuss this than you, soreally excited to have you here.
(02:33):
So, before we get to it, asalways, got to bring Justin in,
justin the Hawk.
How are you doing today?
And, by the way, what is thelatest and greatest happening
over at Acuma?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
I'm good, peter.
How are you Living the dream?
I like it, the deep breath thatjust expresses where we are
right now.
Right, I know right, right,right, I mean, we're only weeks
away from our Make your Markannual conference.
Counting down the days.
Counting down the days I knowright.
And those of you that don'tknow, it's going to be happening
(03:07):
in Denver this year.
If you don't know that, we gotto talk to somebody.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yes, definitely You're.
You're.
You're not checking our socialsor our emails are getting
blocked.
You're not listening toeverything.
You are not attending one ofthe many events I've attended
and you are just blocking me outwhenever I talk about annual
something.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That's very hard to do.
Peter talks about annual a lot.
I do, I know, but anyways, it'sgoing to be happening this year
in Denver.
So September 21st to the 24thwe're weeks away, but that does
not mean that registration isclosed, so there's still plenty
of time for you to register.
We have a lot of tricks up oursleeves.
We have some surprises in storefor you.
(03:49):
If you've ever been to any AccuAnnual event with Peter, then
you already know Peter has somewild cards planned for you that
you don't want to miss.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Not just surprises.
I think we have some thingsthat play into the normal Denver
culture.
I guess that's a way of framingit up, right, yeah, yeah,
things that are just like Denver, denver-y, denver-esque
Denver-y.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Denver-ish, denver-ish, denver-ish,
denver-ish, denver-ish.
Yeah, that's, I'm pretty surethey like to be referred to as
Denverish people.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I think they're Denver-politans.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
I mean, like, even with all the surprises, we have
some really cool, unique thingsthat we've never done before
that I think people are reallygoing to love.
You're so on the soapbox withthis.
Come on down, come back toreality with me.
But registration is still open,you still have time, like I
(04:51):
said, and if you're a creditunion or a CUSO and you're
bringing three or more of yourcolleagues with you from your
organization, you can all get a$200 discount.
So head over to the Acumenwebsite for more information.
Now, if you're not coming toannual one, we should like have
the violin music.
Right?
We're so sad because we we'regoing to miss you, but there's
(05:12):
still other opportunities foryou to take advantage of.
So we have our inside trackwebinars, our network meetings,
so we have the youngprofessional network, the
servicing network, marketingnetwork, underwriting network
and the volume based networks,and then we also have our
favorite on point podcast.
So keeping the fun going allyear round thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, sir, all right, mark, turning our sights back to
you.
All right, so you know, beforewe get to our conversation, as
always, I start with the sameold question, you know it's.
And I start with the same oldquestion, you know it's.
And I start with the same oldpreface.
And I think it's importantbecause and I think it actually
ties in perfectly, actually,this time I think it ties in the
(05:58):
most perfect than any otherconversation that we've ever had
.
You know, the first question isalways you know who is who's
Mark?
You know what drives you, whatmotivates you, what?
You know what, what made MarkMark right?
And that's always the firstquestion who is Mark, who's the
(06:19):
guy behind the scenes?
And you can take thatpersonally, you can take that
professionally, it doesn'treally matter.
As I said in my intro, thispodcast was designed to tell the
stories of people who make apositive impact in the credit
union mortgage industry.
We did that on purpose, rightit's?
You and I both have spent timeon both sides of the fence,
(06:42):
right Credit union andnon-mortgage lenders.
I think we can agree there'ssome really special people on
this side.
Our stories need to be told.
We have something special goingon.
Let's share those stories,let's spread the good word about
credit unions and why morepeople need to come not just
(07:05):
work for credit unions, but morepeople need to come get their
mortgages for credit unions,because there's just generally
good people on this side.
So first question who is Mark?
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Well, that's a loaded question, Peter.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I know, see, I do it on purpose, man, I do it on
purpose.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You know, I'd say who is Mark?
I I'm.
I'm a product of, of myupbringing from my parents,
obviously, like we all are, anda lot of the values that I have
are because of, you know, great,great parents that I had in
raising me.
Of course, you know, I didn'tknow it at the time.
You know, when you're ateenager, all you want to do is
(07:43):
do your own thing.
But as you grow and you getthat wonderful word that starts
with W, wisdom, you know, thenyou start to realize so what
word is that?
Wisdom?
Oh yeah, yes, the study ofthings that don't change is what
I like to call that in a.
There's other meanings,depending on how you view wisdom
(08:05):
, but you know, that's kind of abig word for me, but I am, you
know, I'm blessed, I'm justblessed, I think.
You know I'm an individualthat's been in this industry now
for over 20 years and had kindof a unique perspective and I'm
(08:31):
thankful to be in the creditunion space.
This is, I'm coming up on onlyabout my third year in the
credit union space and I canhonestly say that it's probably
actually it is the best timethat I've had in the mortgage
industry.
It's, as you had mentioned inthe mortgage industry.
You know it's, as you hadmentioned, the good people that
we have here, the willingness ofcredit unions to do what other
(08:56):
financial institutions andmortgage companies really don't
do, and that's educate andthat's relationship lending.
That is huge for me.
I'm a big people person, I lovepeople, I love interacting with
people, Um, and I'm, I'm, youknow, my what kind of drives me
again is is again being thatbeing that leader who
(09:17):
understands that everything thatwe have, we should not take for
granted, every opportunity thatwe have, uh, you know, whatever
, every opportunity that we have, you know, whatever we do,
whether it's at home, whetherit's here at the workplace and
in between, to always be kindand compassionate in everything
that we do to people, you know,with people, and that's what I
(09:38):
think really separates creditunions from other places.
But yeah, I mean, personally, Ihave a family that I, you know.
I have three kids.
I have a 22 year old son, Ihave an 18 year old son and a 15
year old daughter, and I'm anavid heavy metal, hard rock guy
and an avid Seattle sports fan,professional sports fan.
(09:59):
So those are some of thepersonal things, and I'm not
from the Pacific Northwest, butI do love it here and you guys
have been out here.
You know there's so much to doand see.
It's a very beautiful place,except from about early November
through February, and then wejust have to kind of get through
things or take a vacationbecause it gets dark at like
4.15, 4.30.
(10:20):
You know so, but yeah, that'sjust a little bit about me.
You know so, um, but yeah,that's, that's just a little bit
about me.
And uh, again, that's that'sjust.
I'm just driven to help, helppeople and lead.
That that's really my biggestthing is everyone's a leader,
and they may not have the titleof a leader, but everyone's
there to lead and be an example.
And you know that's importantbecause everybody's watching.
(10:42):
Okay, uh, favorite, favorite,favorite heavy metal band man,
that is a loaded question, peterI I, it's a loaded question I
mean I would have to say I gothrough phases right now.
Over the past few years it's aband called demon hunter.
They're from seattle, they're achristian metal band, um, but
for many years it was metallica.
(11:03):
How could it not be?
I mean, they're the kings of,they're the kings of heavy metal
.
In fact, my wife asked me theother day and she's not much
into heavy metal she asked meshe goes if there was one metal
band that you could listen tofor the rest of your life.
I feel like it would be.
She said I feel like it wouldbe Metallica.
And I said you're probablyright listening to their stuff,
(11:24):
you know.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
So I mean, yeah, I mean, who doesn't have at least
some Metallica on their playlist?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah, I mean they're, they're, they're amazing.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Everybody knows Metallica you know, they are
good, they are fantastic.
You know, a long time ago, uh,a friend of mine took me to a,
uh, a cannibal corpse concert,whoa, and I will say the nicest
(11:55):
people the nicest people youknow.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I was shocked how nice everyone was at that
concert.
So I in fact it's funny thatyou mentioned that the, the lead
singer, george Corpse GrinderFisher, actually did a
children's series at one point,like with children, about heavy
metal, and you would never thinklistening to somebody who
obviously their music is very,can be very dark, but obviously
it's just, it's show and shockvalue and things like that.
(12:16):
When you get the people behindthis, when you, when you get to
know the people behind it, it'samazing.
They're, they're really just,they're human beings like us.
You know that's right, that'sright.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You hear stories of how you know they're in, like
people who are in the mosh pitand they get knocked over and
there's like a flood of peoplepicking them up, asking them if
they're okay, you know, andmaking sure that everyone is
safe, and I think that's.
You wouldn't think that from anoutsider looking in, but I was
blown away when I was actuallythere how friendly everyone was.
(12:46):
Yeah, I agree.
So, anyways, I know, off track,different topic, different
topic, different conversationfor another day.
So you said something in duringyour, the answer to the first
question, which was you know whois Mark, the answer to the
first question, which was youknow who is Mark, you said
something that I kind of want togo back and not so much pick on
(13:09):
but continue the conversationon.
I think this is where we reallyfocus on the meat and potatoes
of today's conversation.
You said that you take nothingfor granted and realize that
really kind of sort of likeeverything is a gift, right, it
is.
And you know here's the thing,right it's.
(13:32):
You have three kids and priorto this this call, you know I
mentioned that you know we.
I really want to focus in onthis, but prior, not so much
this call, but this podcastrecording.
Focus in on this.
Not so much this call, but thispodcast recording.
I really want to focus on thistopic because this topic in
particular is something that I'mstruggling with with my son and
(13:54):
you immediately respond saying,hey, I'm doing the same thing
with my 18-year-old.
It's the idea that we have to begood stewards.
We choose our attitude everysingle day.
We, you know we wake up onefoot out of bed and you know we
(14:16):
have we get to decide who seesus as a good person or a bad
person.
It's almost like the runningjoke of that person chose
violence today, right, or, youknow, does that?
You know we as parents, youknow we instinctively might say
our kids are great peoplebecause we see a different side
(14:38):
of our kids than other people do.
But every single day I tell mykids mom and dad believe in you.
Mom and dad know how smart youare.
Mom and dad know how kind youare.
It's your job as human beingsto let the world see that and
that kindness goes a lot furtherin life than anything else.
So be that person out in theworld, right?
(15:03):
I tell my kids that everysingle day.
But, more importantly, Irecently started telling my kids
you know, life is a blessing.
It's up to you to choose whatyou do with it.
Right and so, and your responseto my my request for topics
just came out at such a perfecttiming that I just wanted to
(15:25):
carry on with it.
So, if you could, you know how?
How's that mindset for you kindof helped you be successful?
You know it can be.
Let's start with.
You know we have to startprofessionally and then we'll go
personally.
(15:45):
How does it help you navigateyour career but also your
personal life?
That mindset of nothing's takenfor granted.
You're a good steward.
Take it however direction youwant.
But again, like I said, everyday is a blessing.
It's up to you to do with itwhat you will, but go.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Yeah, yeah, it's a good question and to me it's
important to be a good stewardbecause of the things that we're
given are a blessing, and wecould talk about how hard life
is, but we can also talk about,and we want to focus on, being
positive and having, you know,realizing the gifts that we have
(16:28):
are valuable and we're notgoing to be good stewards of
something that we're given if wedon't value that.
And that's really kind of whatdrives me, not just
professionally but you know, ineverything that I do, but also,
you know, professionally.
Here at the credit union, I'vebeen given this opportunity to
(16:48):
lead a team, a mortgage team, tohelp our members achieve
homeownership or whatever youknow type of mortgage situation
that they need, you know, atthat given time, or bring in new
members and I vow you know, Ivalue that and it's not
something that I, you know I'llsay I just come to work every
(17:09):
day and you know I make apaycheck, because that's not
what it is for me.
It's coming in and realizing Ihave this opportunity, I have
this privilege and I need to bea good steward of it.
I need to make sure that I give100% of myself to my team, to
our members and to our not justthe mortgage team, but also, you
(17:32):
know, other folks that Iinteract with, whether it's the
senior leadership team, theexecutive team, realtors in the
community, referral partners,community outreach, things like
that.
It's just, it's all about giving100 percent of yourself every
day to whoever you're dealingwith, and that's like you talked
about, pierre, like teachingyour children about being kind
(17:53):
and compassionate.
That's when they value people.
They're going to do that andthat's really, you know, valuing
others and valuing their.
You know opinions and theirperspective on things and
listening to them.
That's really important aboutbeing a good steward as well.
So it's a tall order.
I mean, being a good steward ishard, it's not easy and, again,
(18:15):
as I said, not taking anythingfor granted, because we tend to,
as humans, want to take certainthings for granted and we have
to constantly remind ourselvesand really push ourselves to be
very intentional about all thewonderful gifts that we've been
given.
You know the gifts and thetalents that we've been given as
(18:36):
humans to be, you know to use,to be successful, to help out
others.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
No, and I love that.
I love that you said we have tobe intentional about the gifts
that we've been given, becauseall too often we do overlook
that right.
You know and I think you mayhave heard me say this in
Seattle and I say it almost tothe point where I'm blue in the
face you know it's our job ascredit union mortgage
(19:01):
professionals to do one thingput families in homes right.
And I've been fortunate enough.
You know, justin's beenfortunate enough and I'd like to
think that you've beenfortunate enough.
We've been able to buy homesright.
And I'd like to think that atthis point in time, as a result
(19:21):
of that, we are taking thatprocess, our knowledge, our
efforts, that experience you canname it whatever you want, but
we're basically passing it downto the families who have never
done it before and letting themshare that joy, share that
experience, because it bringspeople closer together, it
(19:46):
builds that family bond, itbuilds community.
I mean, you name it, but that'swhat I love about our industry,
because it has the ability tounite.
It has the ability to continuethose efforts.
It's not just about families,it's about communities, about
everything, but kind of goingback to the individual, you know
(20:10):
it's.
It does become, you know,difficult, as you know it does
become difficult as, thinkingback to you and I, it seems like
you and I have been in theindustry for the same amount of
time, 20 plus years.
You know, thinking back to youknow the early 2000s and you
(20:31):
know the paychecks were prettymuch flying off the shelf and
you know the good old days,right, when it's more like a
frat party everywhere you wentand really, if you think about
it, you know 2020, 2021, whenthose refinances were rolling in
.
You almost got a sense of thatfeeling again, right, that the
(20:57):
good times are back and westarted to, the industry as a
whole started taking things forgranted again.
Do you agree?
I?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
mean I agree, I agree Whenever there's a surplus of
of loans, for whatever reason,or the market, you know,
dictates that you know low rates, or you know loans at any cost.
You know, like we had in the,you know, early to mid 2000s.
You know the all of the, youknow lenders out there who were
(21:25):
doing you know any type of loanthat they could do and 95, no
doc at 620, 95, no doc.
I was a countrywide guy, so fastand easy and no ratio loans.
That's where I got my start andso yeah, but when that happens,
again two things Naturallywe're going to lose sight of
(21:45):
what's important because we'reso busy and so driven just to
produce from a transactionalstandpoint right, and lending
becomes transactional.
And don't get me wrong, I'm notopposed to having money, but
money should never be one'smotivator in this type of
business.
It is about, as you mentioned,putting people in homes, putting
(22:09):
families in homes and puttingthem in the best possible
position financially to be ableto enjoy that home.
And that's why I love thecredit union space more than
anything, because, as I'velearned in these past almost
three years, is that creditunions care more than anything
else anyone else about doingthat.
You know and I truly believethat, and I'm glad you answered.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
You kind of took where I was going my rant in
that direction.
In many ways I was trying tosandbag you in that direction
Because, if anything, that'salmost the credit union mortgage
lenders credo right, right andwe will make some decisions for
(22:53):
a member just because it's theright thing to do.
Yeah Right.
You know, when I a purchase, itwas a refinance, but the member
(23:15):
had.
When she came to us, she had a65% DTI and through this
refinance we were going to dropher down to again from 65, we
were going to drop her down to a52.
For all intents and purposes,we were going to drop her down
to a 52.
For all intents and purposes,any other lender probably would
(23:35):
have denied her.
But if you think about it,that's a significant savings.
So we just did it.
We put her in a better spaceand so, even if we put her, even
if we knew that it was still ona stretch, and even though we
knew that it was still on astretch, and even though we knew
(23:55):
that it was still 52%, shealways had on-time payments.
So she made it work.
She was never late.
So she made her finances work,even though she had a 65% DTI.
But we knew that by droppingher to a 52% we were just making
things a little bit morecomfortable for her.
(24:17):
And I know for a fact that atthe community bank I was right
before I joined the credit unionnever would have done that.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
We wouldn't have been able to do that at any of the
bank, the bank or the mortgagecompany that I worked at.
You know that that's not.
That's the beauty, I tell.
I tell I still keep in touchwith some of my colleagues, you
know, in the IMB world and andthat's the beauty of like, how
are things going at the creditunion?
You know I said, well, they'regoing great.
I get to make decisions forpeople and do loans where I can
(24:50):
be creative and still, you know,mitigate risk for the credit
union, knowing that every loanthat we do is a good, it's going
to be a good loan, right, andit's going beyond just the
numbers and you know theautomated underwriting systems
and what the agencies allow.
And it's saying do we trustthat this person will make their
(25:12):
payment?
And, judging by everything thatwe have and the compensating
factors that they have, we feelgood about giving them the loan.
And that is something that Iexperienced a little bit on the
banking side when I was inbanking, but not that much.
But here at the credit union itgoes a long way because when
you do a loan for someone likethat, they don't feel like a
(25:34):
number.
I had a group, I had a couplewho was a new member.
They a referral from one froman agent that I know and they'd
never worked with a credit unionbefore, and I remember we did a
loan for them and and we, youknow, we, we did some, you know
some creative financing for them.
(25:55):
And I just remember, you know,at the end her name is Jamie.
Jamie said Mark, you know,thank you for making us not feel
like a number, like we matter,like going beyond, just looking
at our bank statements and ourincome and seeing that you know
we're people and that we, youknow, have, that that we're,
we're human and that you knowour drive is to, you know, own a
(26:16):
home and then have aninvestment property.
And then they had, three monthslater they came back and they,
they refinanced their investmentproperty with us, you know,
which was great, and now they'refull-fledged members with us.
But you know, I wouldn't havebeen able, as you said, peter, I
wouldn't have been able to dothat in any other type of
financial institution or IMB.
And that really is just thathelps me, that helps me realize
(26:37):
that I'm blessed to be a goodsteward, because I get those
opportunities and we don't wantthose.
We and we don't want those.
We don't want to lose any ofthose opportunities that we have
.
So whenever they come up,that's why we got to give 100%
of ourselves to that member tohelp them, and even if we can't,
we can at least educate them toknow that these are the things
they need to do eventually toown a home, and then, most of
(26:59):
the time, they'll come back tous if we take the time to do
that.
No, I love that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
No, I have to.
So I have to ask this question,and before I kind of sort of
get to the last question,obviously this is a mindset,
this is a practice that you haveinstilled in your life, and
it's one that I don't want tosay is a newly adopted one for
me, but it's one that you kindof mature into right.
(27:27):
It's the wisdom that you gainfrom life experience, right, and
it's not easy.
You just have to grow into this.
You have to go through, takesome licks, you have to have
your fair shares of ups anddowns.
You kind of learn to appreciatethe certain things in life,
(27:48):
right, um, has it always beenthis way for you?
Has it always been this, thismindset of you?
Know I'm blessed, I need, Ineed to pay it forward to others
, or has there just been timeswhere you're like I'm just
grumpy?
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, I try not to be grumpy but, in all honesty to
you know, to answer yourquestion.
In my younger years, in my, inmy early in my career, the drive
was to, to you know, to move upand make more money.
Right, that that was, that wasthe goal.
And now I I still had a good,you know foundation of what it
(28:30):
means to be a good steward.
But that really came, peter,with experience with raising a
family and all the challenges ofhaving a family.
But also, I think, reallyimportant was learning what
going through good leadershipand bad leadership and what that
(28:51):
looks like, and I honestlylearned more from bad leaders
than I did good leaders, fromwhat it means to be a bad leader
and to do good right, andthat's kind of what allowed me
to realize that you know themindset that I have now.
I think that's where I learnedthe most, and it was certainly
(29:12):
not all.
You know roses and you knowbonbons and apples and oranges
and you know wonderful tastingfruit.
It's been challenging at timesand I've gone through some
really challenging you know workexperiences and to get to where
I'm at.
But that drives you.
You know, and you probably hearthis adversity and I'm trying
to teach my kids this adversityis okay, it teaches you
(29:35):
character and it allows you tolearn, you know, and really dig
deep in yourself, to really haveto push yourself to be, to be
be successful.
Um, so no, it was not alwayslike that.
But you know, like I said, withage and maturity comes wisdom,
and being a guy it just we.
We mature a lot, a lot later inlife than women do.
(29:56):
So it took me a while.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
So let me ask you pain is weakness, sleep in the
body?
Speaker 5 (30:03):
No, isn't it?
Though?
Let me ask you, mark, when yourback's against that wall, how
are you overcoming the adversity?
Like what are you like?
I know you mentioned this acouple of times like, what are
you telling yourself?
What are you telling him?
Like, how are you creating thatmindset for yourself to
overcome those?
Speaker 4 (30:23):
Yeah, that's a great question, Justin, for yourself
to overcome those.
Yeah, that's a great question,justin.
I mean, number one is alwaysbeing positive.
You know, kicking outnegativity as much as possible
and always having something tolook forward to.
You know, you have to have thatmindset that there's.
If I know I'm going through thisadversity, I know there's I'm
going through this, but there'sthis, there's this goal on the
other side and I know if I dothese things, I can get there.
(30:47):
I know I may not have controlover all of that, you know,
depending on the circumstances,but I gotta have, I have that
goal and I think that's whatdrives, you know, drives me, if
we're going through a little bitof adversity, you know, um, and
and we've been through it, youknow at at many times me and my
family certainly have you knowwe've been through it.
You know, at many times me andmy family certainly have you
know we've we've gone through.
We've gone through a lot, youknow, at times, but it makes
(31:08):
again coming out on the otherside and always having something
to look forward to and beingpositive.
Honestly, you'll get to know meas it, you know more, I have no
room for negativity in my lifeLike I just don't and I don't
believe in it.
And that doesn't mean I don'tget down, that doesn't mean I
don't, you know, have a bad day,but I just truly believe in
(31:28):
being positive, because that iswhat ultimately will drive your,
your mindset and your attitudeto get through that adversity.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
No, I love that.
My wife and I, when we firstgot married, that was.
It was kind of like a littlestatement we had for each other
is like you know, we don'treally have to like the result,
but the result is what it is andwe're happy that it got a
result Right.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
Yeah, so it was like I like that.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
It was our way of always being positive, and so it
kind of goes to what you'resaying.
It's like finding that way tocontinue to find positivity and
be positive, even when it's notthe most favorable result, but
it's still worked out somehow.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeah, I agree, and you got to keep that mindset.
Like I said to Peter earlier,it's intentional, it our
mindsets will get, we'll getbogged down, we'll, we'll start
to feel like we can't, you know,press on, or you know the
weight of the world how muchmore can I take?
And it's like, well, thereagain, positivity will will
really change a lot of that,because that, to me, is what
(32:28):
pushes us to go above.
You know where we, you knowwhat we may not want to do.
Um, you know, and I, I just Ithink that's great.
So thanks for sharing, justin.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
All right, so, mark, we need to start transitioning.
All right, so, mark, we need tostart transitioning.
Um, but you know, before we dolast question, it's the same.
Last question I ask everybodyyou know what keeps you going,
what motivates you?
You know one foot out of bed topush forward.
You know, through no matterwhat, you know what keeps you
(33:02):
going.
Speaker 4 (33:04):
You know, peter, that's a great question.
I think for me, what keeps megoing when I wake out of bed is
every day I wake out of bed, Iget up out of bed, I'm alive, I
wake up, I've got an opportunityto affect change in, you know,
the people that I come incontact with whether it's my
family, whether it's coworkers,people on the street come in
(33:24):
contact with, whether it's myfamily, whether it's coworkers,
people on the street and justyou know, wake up, being blessed
and the opportunity to haveanother day on earth.
I know that seems kind of cliche, but it's really true.
You know that we're given thattime, you know, and we need to
use it to, you know, to the bestof our ability.
And I think that's ultimatelywhat drives me.
I mean, I could say my familyobviously drives me out and
(33:44):
taking care of them, you know,but having that mindset, that's
part of it, right, and you know,I love again coming to work and
leading this team.
That drives me as well, andjust being in a position where
we can help people in the creditunion space realize their
dreams, I mean that's reallythat drives me as well.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Love it, Love it.
All right, Mark, we need totransition to the second segment
of our podcast and again, thisis where we sometimes do
Jeopardy dad jokes.
And, of course, you know, todaythis is when we're going to do
our the most requested, fanfavorite series of dad jokes,
which I feel like we haven'tdone Jeopardy in a hot minute.
But it's all good, I'm happywe're doing dad jokes.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
I mean like, on one hand, I'm okay with that and
then, on the other hand, justinalways loses Jeopardy.
Like to hear both.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Jeopardy's hard, Jeopardy's hard man.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Oh no, it's not, it's , it's.
It's not just hard, peter, isit's impossible?
He does not believe in, likeJustin, getting easy questions
ever.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
That's right.
You first of all.
You, you pick, you pick thequestions, you pick the
questions or the answers.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
Right, because it's Jeopardy, you have to pick the
answers first.
Right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
My favorite was the et cetera.
Just saying you have to pickthe answers first.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Right, that's right.
My favorite was the et cetera,just saying yeah, so there's
some questions that have likethe answers, et cetera, and it's
like, anyways, that's anotherday, another time.
So, all right, mark, here'swhat we're going to do.
You're going to have, prior tothe recording, I asked you to
come prepared with two dad jokes, so you're going to say your
two dad jokes, justin's going todo his two dad jokes and I will
wrap up with my two dad jokesWhenever you're ready, sir Mark,
(35:26):
please.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
Yes, I have to narrow it down to two.
I came with five, so I'm goingto do this.
Did you know that diarrhea ishereditary?
I did not.
It runs in your genes.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
I started laughing, did not?
It runs in your jeans?
Speaker 5 (35:47):
laughing, laughing, laughing laughing laughing
before the punchline laughing,that's because he's talking
about poo.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
I love poop jokes everybody does it.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
Why not talk about it , right?
Speaker 5 (36:00):
so I mean, I love it.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
Oh and okay, this one I'm, because it's I.
I put a credit union in it, sothis is this is a.
This is this is the other one.
Uh, I was fired from the creditunion on my very first day on
the job.
A woman asked me to check herbalance, so I pushed her over
that's a shit on I could havegone in another direction, but
(36:25):
because you know, we're all,we're credit union space, so you
know that's good, that's goodthat's good all right
Speaker 5 (36:40):
that's good, I'll go now you know the order.
I know, but just in case,alright.
So two windmills were sittingon a hill.
One asked the other, do youhave a favorite song?
And the other replies well, allmy life I've been a heavy metal
(37:05):
fan.
Speaker 4 (37:07):
See this is perfect.
I've heard that one before,justin, that's one of my.
That's a great one.
That's a great, that's allright.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
I found it, and you're talking heavy metal, and
I was like this is perfect, it'sperfect, that's a good one, all
right.
And then what did the cow sayto then?
What did the cow say to the?
What did the cow say to theleather chair?
Oh, I don't know what, hi mom,Ouch.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Talking about putting things in perspective.
All right, um, all right, um,all right.
So you know, you know, thismorning I want to say oh stuff,
my classes, uh, this morning, oh, I still have my glasses.
This morning I called theparanoia hotline.
The guy answered how the heckdid you get this number?
(38:22):
love it um, sorry, had to put myglasses back on.
It's a hard time reading it.
Alright, so I started runningagain, and so this morning I
went for a run, um, and I saw myneighbor talking to her cat.
You know, it is obvious thepoor woman thought that her cat
(38:46):
understood her.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
When I got home I told my dog, we laughed a lot
about it oh, you know, peter,you're, you do you have a good
delivery for dad jokes like youjust have?
You just have a natural likeand I and I'm a fan we already
came to seattle.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
You don't have to convince them.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
No, no, it's good, it's good, I'm prepping him, I'm
trying to have so he steps uphis game at annual right.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
But that one wasn't good, all right, good.
Well, mark, thank you very muchfor your time today.
Really do appreciate it.
Oh, no, enjoy the conversation.
Yeah, no, thank you thanks muchfor your time today.
Really do appreciate it.
Enjoy the conversation.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
Yeah, no, thank you, Thanks for having me on, Thanks
to you and Justin and Peter andI'm sorry, Kristen, and just for
you know for everything youguys do at Acumen.
We're blessed to be a part ofthe organization and looking
forward to lots of fun in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And, justin, thank you.
Of course, it was my pleasure.
And, to close out, thank youagain to CloudVirgo for
sponsoring today's episode andto all of you.
We know your time is valuable.
Thank you for tuning in to thelatest episode of Acuma's On
Point Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time, be well, myfriends.
Thanks for listening.
Be well, my friends.
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