Figure to tap Sagent for mortgage servicing, blockchain vision

Figure, a fintech firm led by ex-SoFi CEO Mike Cagney that focuses on using blockchain for loan origination, equity management, private fund services, and payments, is partnering with mortgage and consumer loan servicer Sagent to help grow its mortgage market share.

Why should we care?
Figure’s tie-up with Sagent is being positioned as a win-win for both companies, helping Figure scale more quickly and allowing Sagent to innovate faster. The goal will be to allow borrowers to manage their entire home and loan lifecycle from their phones, and enable servicers to manage every performing and nonperforming loan detail for consumers, regulators, investors, and partners. “We will reinvent the consumer mortgage servicing experience with Figure’s innovation speed and Sagent’s servicing depth,” Cagney said. “We’ll also begin bringing scale mortgage assets onto the Provenance Blockchain to reduce mortgage industry costs by up to 100 basis points from origination through securitization.” The news comes after Figure, which is valued at $3.2B, announced a merger with mortgage lender Homebridge Financial Services, a move that will allow the combined company to “combine mortgage scale and technology efficiency,” according to Cagney. Figure also recently closed a $200M Series D fund raise, and the company applied for a U.S. National Bank Charter last year.