Is Compliance Under Attack in the Mortgage Industry?

Raymond Snytsheuvel
Jun 16
3 min read

I just got back from HousingWire’s annual Gathering in Colorado Springs. If you work in the mortgage industry and haven’t attended, I strongly recommend you put it on your to-do list.

As someone who has walked the floors of countless mortgage conferences over the

past 30 years, I can confidently say HousingWire has created something special—not just with the Gathering, but also with their one-day Summits.

They’ve figured out how to make events that feel both useful and energizing—not always an easy feat in our industry.

But let’s get to what’s been bouncing around in my brain since the event.

Wait, Did I Hear That Right?

The Gathering brought together mortgage and real estate professionals from across the country. Lots of company leaders. Lots of sales professionals. But some of the things I overheard caught me off guard:

"We don’t run our loan officer social media by compliance.”
"Our shop doesn’t require compliance review on social videos.”
"There are too many compliance people in this industry.”
"We’ve got checkers checking the checkers—it’s out of hand.”

If you work in compliance like I do, those words feel like a gut punch. But are they really?

How many compliance officers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Three: One to do it, one to document it, and one to double-check that the bulb is on the approved vendor list.

Look Closer Before Jumping to Conclusions

I don’t think these leaders have tossed compliance out the window. In fact, I think many of them have built strong compliance cultures that allow them to take a more streamlined approach.

Take social media and marketing, for example. If a company:

Provides solid training on marketing rules
Uses templated marketing materials that can’t be easily altered
Implements back-end monitoring (like random audits or sample-based reviews)
Holds employees accountable for violations

… then it makes sense that every social media post doesn’t need to go through pre-approval. That’s not skipping compliance. That’s building it into the workflow.

When compliance becomes part of the culture, it’s not a hurdle. It’s how the business runs.

Are There Too Many Compliance Professionals?

This one comes up often — especially when business leaders are frustrated by rising overhead costs.

The truth is: It depends.

The regulatory environment is complex. Many rules are ambiguous and, in many cases, unforgiving. Some enforcement actions happen even without clear consumer harm. Sometimes the “guidance” is stricter than the law itself.

In that kind of environment, businesses hire more compliance people. It’s a risk response.

So yes, we’ve added headcount. But does that mean the industry is better off?

Probably not.

We absolutely need strong compliance professionals. We need clear rules. But we don’t need layers of oversight that slow everything down.

If regulators focused on clear, practical, and consistently enforced rules, we might not need as many “checkers of the checkers” as we do today.

Compliance Still Matters

Despite the sound bites I heard, my experience tells me that most leadership teams still value compliance professionals highly. They recognize that compliance is not just about avoiding fines—it’s about protecting the business, maintaining consumer trust, and ensuring long-term stability.

So, is compliance under attack?

Not really.

What we’re seeing is frustration with overly complex rules and burdensome

enforcement. But the smart leaders know that compliance is still very much a vital part

of running a successful mortgage operation.

Need Help Navigating Compliance in Your Mortgage Business?

The comments I heard weren’t attacks. They were reactions to unclear rules, rising overhead, and systems that feel more reactive than proactive. But the answer isn’t to pull back on compliance—it’s to do it better, with the right structure and support.

At Loan Risk Advisors, we help mortgage lenders build practical, effective compliance programs. Whether you need help with marketing reviews, internal audits, or customized staff training, we’ve got your back.