Fueled by Monitor Clipper Partners' recent investment in the company, Denver-based lending and loss mitigation technology provider Mortgage Cadence Inc. and its chief executive officer, Michael Detwiler, will be headed to the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual meeting this year with an eye toward potential acquisitions or partnerships.

"We've done pretty well through the downturn and signed up a lot of new clients and continue to expand," said Detwiler, a veteran MBA annual attendee who plans to make this his 12th straight appearance at the show. “We're very lucky in that we weathered the downturn quite well. Our customers are wanting to deal with less vendors,” he added, noting that this trend is fueling interest in partnerships and acquisitions.

By adding partners and functionality, Detwiler believes, it makes it more likely clients will want to work with the company, which has a goal of making itself the last lending platform users will need. Detwiler said in an interview that he hopes the show will be useful to that end as well as for networking in general. "Just based on the appointments that we've already set up for the show, it's going to be one of our busiest [shows]."

When asked what else might make the show unique this time around, Detwiler said, "I think the surprise will be that as you walk the show floor, you're going to see some people you've never seen before and people you were used to seeing that will either have a smaller footprint or won't be there at all.

“The landscape of vendors is shifting,” he said, noting that new players "are being birthed from the unrest and changes in our industry.” For his company this can present some opportunities, although he notes that he is sorry it has been hard on some players.

Detwiler said getting the lay of the land in the industry by walking the show floor is what he looks forward to every year he attends as he visits booths and talks to people. He said early signs indicate that attendance will be relatively strong. At least three MBA-recommended hotels were listed as sold out at press time.

Mortgage Cadence also is running an exhibit hall booth (No. 309), where it plans to promote some new features and functions of its technology. In addition, its plans for the show include having a representative participate as part of a panel on using technology to restore private-label securitization. This has been scheduled for Tuesday, Oct, 26 at 2:45 p.m.

Detwiler said he has seen some private money coming back into the mortgage business from people who understand it. But when and whether private-label securitization will truly come back still remains unclear. He said he would like to see its return, because it would allow for more origination options and create more user needs for automation. Currently, he said when it comes to origination, "people that have the wherewithal to pay…aren't qualifying for a variety of reasons.”

Ultimately, Detwiler said full industry recovery will require recovery in the valuation world as well as in employment.