Lock Desk Analyst

Description

The Lock Desk Analyst will be responsible for executing tasks within the rate lock process for the residential mortgage division across all origination channels—retail, wholesale, and correspondent.  The Lock Desk Analyst will serve as a point of contact for both internal and external customers.  This position requires thorough knowledge of the secondary market including relevant regulations, the economic environment, market trends, the financial markets, as well as the Merchants Bank Rate Lock Policy and our credit/underwriting guidelines.

After one year as our Lock Desk Analyst, you will know you were successful if you are able to handle the following confidently and independently.

Rate Lock Management:

• Process incoming rate lock requests within our pricing engine and loan origination system for all channels.
• Extend, re-lock, and re-price loans as requested, ensuring accurate pricing application.
• Ensure integrity of lock data in the pricing engine and loan origination system.

Mortgage Rate Sheet Pricing:

• Produce and distribute daily pricing/rate sheets to loan officers, brokers, and correspondent seller partners.
• Assist with maintenance and updates to rate sheets.
• Monitor MBS market conditions throughout the day to assess and identify the need for rate sheet re-pricing.
• Monitor investor pricing and eligibility guideline changes and ensure changes are communicated through the proper channels.

Pricing Engine Administration

• Manage the product configuration and application of channel-specific pricing margins within pricing engine.
• Assist with the modification and maintenance of eligibility guidelines and loan-level pricing adjustments.
• Communicate pricing and guideline changes to external pricing engine vendors and perform thorough testing to ensure proper implementation of all changes.

Mandatory Tape Pricing and Management

• Assist with the setup of newly approved Mandatory sellers within our Mandatory pricing system
• Monitor the Lock Desk Inbox for new Mandatory tapes to price
• Utilize our Mandatory pricing system to price eligible loans, paying close attention to ensure pricing is accurate prior to the bid being returned to the seller
• Execute the process for loans that we ‘win’ ensuring that loans are registered in our LOS and a commitment is returned to the seller with accurate pricing and data
• Consistently inquire to our sellers for market color to ensure a competitive Mandatory program

Customer Support and Communication:

• Serve as the central point of contact for lock desk inquiries received via phone or e-mail from the retail, wholesale, and correspondent customers.
• Answer pricing and locking scenario questions promptly and accurately.
• Develop and maintain user guides and job aids for various pricing and locking functions within our systems.
• Develop and maintain policies and procedures for internal lock desk functions.
• Enforce Merchants Bank’s Rate Lock Policy.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Generate regular reports on rate lock activity, trends, and performance metrics for retail, wholesale, and correspondent channels.
• Perform rate and pricing surveys to evaluate competitive position.
• Identify areas for process improvement and propose solutions.

Requirements

What we are looking for...

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in Lock Desk or Secondary Market role.
• Proficiency in LOS systems (Encompass and Blue Sage preferred) and product and pricing engines (Optimal Blue and EPPS preferred).
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, PowerBI); with strong emphasis on Excel
• Familiarity with secondary market pricing and eligibility framework for FNMA, FHLMC, FHA, VA, and USDA loan programs.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks effectively.

ABOUT MERCHANTS
 

Merchants Bancorp is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana operating multiple lines of business, including Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) multi-family housing and healthcare facility financing and servicing; mortgage warehouse financing; retail and correspondent residential mortgage banking; agricultural lending; and traditional community banking.  Merchants Bancorp, with $17 billion in assets and $14.1 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2023, conducts its business primarily through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, Merchants Bank of Indiana, Merchants Capital Corp., Merchants Capital Servicing, LLC, and Merchants Mortgage, a division of Merchants Bank of Indiana.
 

We are very proud of being recognized both nationally as one of the top-performing public banks in the US. By S&P Global Market Intelligence and locally as a Best Place to work in Indiana for seven consecutive years. Learn more about this read more here.