Our Commitment To Diversity

Neat Loans was founded in 2015 on dreams of disrupting the mortgage industry – by making it more accessible, transparent, and certain.  We continue to commit to realizing our value proposition.  We are well on our way to becoming a leader in innovation and inclusion.

We help borrowers finance their dream homes, and our founders have been doing it for a long time.  Through it all, one unfortunate constant remains: the home loan process is very confusing and stressful to navigate.  To pile on, lenders and brokers can sometimes behave in a predatory manner – leading buyers and sellers along with false promises.  In other words, it’s a real mess.Unfortunately, discrimination has been present since the beginning of home lending.  Mortgage lenders deny applicants of color at an 80% higher rate than white applicants.  In the past few decades, the industry saw an increase in predatory lending to minority borrowers: pushing them to buy high-cost, subprime mortgages.  As a result, lending standards in the United States are now more regulated. (found in a Harvard University Housing Study/CNBC Article)

When we created Neat Capital, we began our mission to clean up the entire mortgage lending process.  We wanted to leverage technology to analyze even the most complex financial situations.  And we sought to make the process simple and certain for all.  This way, we could approve loans in a matter of days — instead of weeks.  From there, we worked from end to to end to ensure each step of our lending process is accessible to all borrowers—no matter who they are.Neat’s vision is to make buying a home as frictionless as using cash.  We empower clients by giving them visibility, educational resources, and control over their financial data.  Though Neat’s application technology has already redefined the industry standard — which was all but stuck in the 90s — the team is far from finished innovating.  Our state-of-the-art platform opens the door for greater expansion and enablement.  We can make home lending more certain and transparent for all borrowers and partners.That’s why we have chosen to join the Fintech Equality Coalition.  Even with the progress in the mortgage industry in recent decades on reducing racism and structural discrimination, there is still a long way to go across the financial services industry.  
While we are proud of the strides made by fintech companies to enable access to financial information and products to underrepresented communities, we recognize the need for continuous improvement.  In alignment with our core values of diversity and inclusivity, we maintain our commitment to enhance access to financial services and career opportunities.

Employee Growth: Recruiting, Hiring & Onboarding

In the past year we have grown by more than 300%—driving us to rethink recruiting, hiring, and onboarding techniques and processes.  In hiring, we aim to recruit and source diverse applicants from the start.  We post open positions on websites such as Built In Colorado, Indeed, Handshake, and our own company sites.  As we grow, we expand our channels for employee recruitment with an eye towards team diversity.

Guiding principles in diversifying our team include:
  • We aim to have thoughtful inclusion of diverse audiences when recruiting.
  • On Handshake, we seek out individuals at HBCUs.
  • On Indeed, we sponsor job posts to reach a wider, more varied geographic audience.
  • We conduct first round interviews by phone to prevent unconscious bias upon first impression.
  • We partner with companies like PeopleGrove and Jopwell who emphasize career development among minority groups and underserved communities.
  • We have a broad geographic reach during hiring to provide access to career opportunities in diverse communities.
We look to partner with leaders from around the nation to better our company and strengthen our communities.

Technology

At Neat, we developed a proprietary technology that simplifies the consumer journey when financing a home.  Our intuitive application provides in-app education on confusing industry terminology.  This allows the borrower to understand what’s going on at every stage, from pre-approval to loan selection, and all the way to the closing table.

Initial Steps We've Taken:
  • We’ve created a digital mortgage application that is educational, transparent, and consumer focused.  Every applicant has instant visibility into what income and assets are required for a home loan.
  • We give borrowers autonomy throughout the process by providing a wealth of home loan products to choose from.
  • We have a UX designer to tackle design and accessibility related barriers to our application.
These steps move us in the right direction, but our proprietary technology continues to give us the chance to challenge the industry.  We have accepted the challenge to make home financing more inclusive and fairer.

Performance Management

At Neat, we strive to create a culture of empowerment around every employee.We have partnered with a company that specializes in developing positive psychology in a corporate setting.  In doing so, we are developing clear KPI’s and implementing performance management software to drive personal career development.  We are also creating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) surveys and action plans.

A few details of our plan:
  • We are rolling out culture surveys to assess employee satisfaction and representation.
  • We are tracking and reporting demographic data to help cultivate a more diverse pool of talent.
  • We are training managers on how to deliver constructive and unbiased feedback.
By implementing the tools to grow, we are holding ourselves accountable to having a diverse and inclusive workplace.  We strive to improve our company culture and the industry at large.

How will we know how we are doing?

Neat Loans has joined the Fintech Equality Coalition because we know respecting and amplifying diverse voices is critical to success. Financial wellness gaps among communities of color remain; Workplace practices that exclude marginalized voices remain; and there are still other barriers to success for BIPOC.

Our promise is to work with these problems in mind, focusing on solutions and making sure we do our part. In joining the Coalition, we join working groups with other industry leaders focused on diversity. Our collective promise is to put in place ideas and practices that are in the interest of increasing diversity. Neat Capital is here to be a consistent advocate for systemic change. We know this is only the beginning.

Join Our Team

Neat Loans is looking for motivated candidates in a variety of roles.  Check out our Careers page for more information.