Richard Bechtel
EVP, Head of US Mortgage Banking at TD Bank
Mr. Bechtel has nearly 30 years of experience in the Mortgage Banking industry. He currently serves as Executive Vice President, Head of U.S. Mortgage Banking for TD Bank. Prior to TD Bank, he served as Head of Mortgage Banking at CIBC and The PrivateBank, as well as leadership at Wells Fargo and Chase. He serves on several industry boards and committees and he recently led The PrivateBank to win the inaugural Mortgage Bankers Association Diversity & Inclusion Award. Mr. Bechtel earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University and has expertise in sales, operations, capital markets, compliance, marketing, technology, and product development.
From Richard Bechtel
We want to solve a problem for a customer that they may not even be able to articulate. We want to achieve awareness of customer intent before they act. We want to discover that you are buying a house before you told anybody. Even a realtor.
Unbelievably fascinating things are going on in terms of the way we will assemble data. Consumer direct particularly will change given big data. It’s the predictive ability to go to consumers whether they’re in your portfolio, whether they’re in your bank, or whether they’re just out there in the world.
“The predictive ability to offer a financial solution before the consumer may even realize they need the solution is at hand. Much like Netflix knows what movie I should be watching tonight or Amazon knows what I should be buying next or that it’s time to buy it
We want to solve a problem for a customer that they may not even be able to articulate. We want to achieve awareness of customer intent before they act. We want to discover that you are buying a house before you told anybody. Even a realtor.
We don’t have to advertise to millions of customers. If we can narrow down that list to the 50,000 customers that look like they’re going to buy a house this year my ad budget is substantially reduced. And more importantly, we can start that relationship with a customer through a much less costly direct-to-consumer channel.
A strategic leader solves a problem for a customer that they may not even be able to articulate and that the customer will pay to resolve once identified.
About Richard Bechtel
‘Anticipate the customer’s needs’ best sums up Rick Bechtel’s approach to the mortgage industry. He envisions executing this much in the same way thought leaders in other industries have by leveraging big data. Big data gives those in the mortgage industry a way to deliver a solution even before the consumer becomes aware of her needs. Not only can big data deliver predictive awareness of customer intent it can also manifest a more streamlined and cost-effective DTC channel for mortgage companies.
