As part of the deepening integration between Global Data Financial Services, and Celent (now a Global Data company, effective December 2025), we are delighted to be joined by Craig Focardi, Lead LendTech and AI Analyst at Celent, for a long form discussion on mortgage digitization in 2026.

In this, our fourth episode of the year, we cover the impact of interest rates and inflation on mortgage volume and consumer demand, and lender appetite for digitization. We look at the evolving mortgage ecosystem of different provider types and business models, regulatory changes, the impact of AI, especially amid legacy renewal, and conclude with top level lender recommendations from Craig, bringing together all the different elements discussed.

In our third episode of the year (our second within our new Quick Take series), we look at the impact of Agentic AI on the purchase funnel in banking.

We cover how and why AI research might drive a decline in traditional bank marketing efforts, how providers can adapt to that, and medium to long-term architectural considerations for agentic success.

In our second episode of 2026, we launch a new "quick take" series, delving deeper into key predictions flagged in our first episode of the year, "Banking Predictions 2026".

This first episode covers embedded finance, defining what we mean by the term, what has changed in recent years to suggest 2026 will drive increase activity, and what leading firms can (and should) do in response.