PRESORTED STANDARDU.S. POSTAGE PAIDNMP MEDIA CORP.

NMP MEDIA CORP.1220 WANTAGH AVENUEWANTAGH, NEW YORK 11793

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation is an FHA Approved Lending Institution, and is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of HUD/FHA or the federal government. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation Headquarters is located at 1900 Gallows Road, Suite 800, Tysons Corner, VA 22182 (800) 296-2275. Company NMLS ID 2917. This information is solely for mortgage professionals and should not be provided to consumers or third parties. Information is accurate as of 10/13/14 and is subject to change without notice. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation: 1900 Gallows Road, Suite 800, Tysons Corner, VA 22182 (NMLS ID 2917) is licensed in the following states. For additional branch licensing information, please visit www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Alabama: Licensed by the Alabama Banking Department, Licensee No. 21332; Arizona: Licensed as an Arizona Mortgage Banker under the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, 4347 W. Bell Road, Suite 1, Glendale, AZ 85308, Licensee No. 0907158; Arkansas: Combination Mortgage Banker-Broker-Servicer, Licensee No. 11884; California: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, Licensee No. 6037237; Colorado: Regulated by the Colorado Division of Real Estate; Connecticut: Licensed by the Connecticut Department of Banking, Licensee No. 10162; Delaware: Licensed by the Delaware State Bank Commissioner to engage in business in this State under License No. 2403 (renewed through 2014); District of Columbia: Licensed by the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, Licensee No. MLB2917; Florida: Florida Mortgage Lender Licensee No. MLD333; Georgia: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, No. 13967; Idaho: Licensed by the Idaho Department of Finance, Licensee No. MBL-5032; Illinois: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee, No. MB.0005484; Indiana: Indiana First Lien Mortgage Lending License under the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, Licensee No. 11058; Iowa: Licensed by the Iowa Division of Banking, Licensee No. 2004-0309; Kansas: Kansas-Licensed Mortgage Company, Licensee No. SL.0000212; Kentucky: Licensed by the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, Licensee No. MC16957; Louisiana: Residential Mortgage Lending Licensee No. 1421; Maine: Supervised Lender Licensee No. SLM5962; Maryland: Maryland Mortgage Lender Licensee No. 1731; Massachusetts: Massachusetts Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML 2917; Michigan: 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant, Licensee No. FR0714; Minnesota: Minnesota Residential Mortgage Originator License No. MN-MO-20399083. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement under Minnesota law. Any such offer may only be made pursuant to the requirements in Minn. Stat. Section 47.206 (3) and (4); Mississippi: Licensed by the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, Licensee No. 2917; Missouri: Licensed by the Missouri Division of Finance, Licensee No. 14-2178; Montana: Licensed Mortgage Lender under the Division of Banking & Financial Institutions, Licensee No. 8453; Nebraska: Nebraska Mortgage Banker Licensee No. 1470; Nevada: Licensed by the Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending to make loans secured by liens on real property, Licensee No. 1047, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, 1489 West Warm Springs Road, Suite 215, Henderson, NV 89014, Phone No. 702-454-4212; New Jersey: Licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, Licensee No. 9700530; New Mexico: New Mexico

Mortgage Loan Company License No. 01085; New York: Licensed Mortgage Banker - N.Y.S. Banking Department and Exempt Mortgage Loan Servicer Registration, Licensee No. B500800 (d/b/a FGMC In Lieu of True Corporate Name First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation); North Carolina: North Carolina Mortgage Lender Licensee No. L-100362; North Dakota: Licensed in North Dakota as First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation dba FGMC, Licensee No. MB101924; Ohio: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption No. MBMB.850010.000; Oklahoma: Oklahoma Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML002709; Oregon: Oregon Mortgage Lending Licensee No. ML-2634; Pennsylvania: Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, Licensee No. 20768; Rhode Island: Rhode Island Licensed Lender; South Carolina: South Carolina Mortgage Lender/Servicer Licensee No. MLS-2917; South Dakota: Licensed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Banking, Licensee No. ML.05077; Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions Mortgage Licensee No. 109451; Texas: Licensed by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending; Utah: Utah Mortgage Entity Licensee No. 5491155; Vermont: Licensed by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, Licensee No. 6644; Virginia: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission as a Lender and Broker, Licensee No. MC-436; Washington: Washington Consumer Loan Company, Licensee No. CL-2917; West Virginia: West Virginia Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML-20742; Wisconsin: Licensed Wisconsin Mortgage Banker, Licensee No. 26835BA; Wyoming: Licensed by the Wyoming Division of Banking, Licensee No. 1831.

F I R S T G U A R A N T YY O U R S U C C E S S

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation® (FGMC), is 100% committed to our Correspondent, Wholesale and Retail origination channels. Together with First Guaranty's Capital Markets and Warehouse Lending Divisions, we provide a full spectrum of lending products and services nationwide.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation® is an Approved Single Family Issuer for Ginnie Mae; an Approved Fannie Mae MBS Issuer; Approved by HUD; an FHA Approved Lending Institution; Approved for VA; and Approved by USDA.

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VIRGINIA EDITION

VAMB OFFICERSPhone # E-mail

Bill Burnett President (703) 352-3295 bburnett@mortgagedigest.comMary Dooley Vice President (703) 486-1300 mdooley@mpdmortgage.comKathy York Secretary (540) 986-0270 kyork@hotmail.comJeff Moore Treasurer (757) 552-7000John Barton Immediate Past President (540) 992-1213 jbarton@amciloan.comSteve Baugher Executive Director (804) 285-7557 sbaugher@erols.com

VAMB REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTSAllen Mock Central Virginia VP (804) 869-1300 wamock@comcast.netTom Hendley Hampton Roads VP (757) 552-7000 loanone@hotmail.comClaire duFief Northern Virginia VP (703) 299-0823 mortgage89@erols.comKimberley Davenport-Hill Southwest VP (540) 721-0010 kimberley@ffsmortgage.com

VAMB MEMBERS-AT-LARGEBrad Hustead Central Virginia (804) 673-5626 blhustead@sterlingmortgage.comPam DeShong Hampton Roads (757) 285-7278 ptodd12@cox.net

Virginia Association of Mortgage Brokers State OfficeP.O. Box 71197 v Richmond, VA 23255

Phone #: (804) 285-7557 v Fax #: (804) 288-5559Web site: www.vamb.org

Twitter.com/ntlmortgagepro

facebook.com/mortgageprofessional

LinkedIn.com (search National

Mortgage Professional Magazine)

Our mission is to use the power of video tocomplement the written word and inform,educate, enable and empower mortgage

professionals with the most relevant, up-to-date information and advances in the

mortgage industry. It is our goal to offerworthwhile information to our viewers,

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15

Others Cover the World ...We Cover Yours!

Recap of key economic events that took place over the past week and a look ahead to events that will potentially impact interest rates in the housing market.Airs every Monday at 7 a.m. EasternGain access to an exclusive FREE TRIAL OFFER from MBS Highway for Mortgage News Network viewers. Visit www.MBSHighway.com/mnn

Master the Markets with Barry Habib

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www.MortgageNewsNetwork.com

Hard-hitting, fact based look at some of the most important issues facing the home finance industry today – with a bit of humor and irreverence thrown in.Airs every Thursday at 7 a.m. EasternGet more content from Frank and Brian on their daily show, The National Real Estate Post, atwww.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com

Hash It Out with Frank Garay & Brian Stevens

Exclusive interviews with the mortgage world’s leaders. Subjects ranging from building the bottom line to dealing with the

economic and political issues that impact the buying and selling ofresidential properties.

Airs every Friday at 7 a.m. Eastern

The Housing Show with Phil Hall

What are the top loan originators doing right now to be successful? How can you implement their strategies to grow

your business? Find out this and more.Airs every Tuesday at 7 a.m. Eastern

For information on the Top Producer Round Table Series coming to your city,

Visit www.TopProducerRoundTable.com

Top Producer Round Table

ROUND TABLE

SPONSORED BY

SPONSORED BY

WEEKLY PROGRAMMING

table oN A T I O N A L M O R T

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5 l V O

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “MORTGAGE INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT”Nine Ways to Leverage Culture to Grow BusinessBy Allen Beydoun................................................................................56

Satisfaction in the Office: Keeping Employees HappyBy Ashley Lubey..................................................................................58

The Grass Is Greener on Seti Alpha IV By Eric Weinstein ..............60

Recruitment: How to Attract the Very Best By Brent Emler ..........61

The 12 Steps to Strategically Stage Your Interview By Laura Burke, EA, MBA, MS ..........................................................63

FEATURESThree Ways Top Producers Grow By Gibran Nicholas ....................8

The Elite Performer: Stop Comparing the ImpossibleBy Andy W. Harris, CRMS ....................................................................8

The Importance of Being Heard By Blake Noyes............................10

Forecasting the “Best Marketing Approach” for 2015 ..................16

Emerging From a Sales Slump By K. Justin Restaino ....................18

NAMB Perspective ............................................................................20

How to Tap the “House-Buying Generation” By Bubba Mills........24

CFPB Proposes Expanded Foreclosure ProtectionsBy Ray Hagan ....................................................................................30

Agility Resources Group ...................................... www.agilityresourcesgroup.com ......................................65

AllRegs.............................................................. www.allregs.com ..........................................................60

American Financial Resources ............................ www.afrwholesale.com ......................................Back Cover

BetterLoanOfficers.com ...................................... www.betterloanofficers.com ..........................................33

Boomerang........................................................ www.boomerangprospecting.com ..................................41

Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................72

CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................61

Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................15 & 63

CMPS Institute .................................................. www.cmpslive.com ..........................................................5

Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ................................................7 & 39

Equity Prime LLC................................................ www.equityprime.com ..................................................53

First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 42

HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................19

JMAC Lending .................................................... www.jmaclending.com ..................................................31

Listing Booster .................................................. www.listingbooster.com ................................................47

Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................49

Maverick Funding Corp....................................... www.maverickfunding.com ............................................17

MBA-NJAMB ...................................................... www.mbanj.com ..........................................................51

V I S I T O U R A

Company Web Site Page

26FHA Reduces MortgageInsurance Premium by 0.5Percent By Phil Hall

28Robust Risk management:The Cornerstone of aStrong Mortgage LendingIndustryBy Kenneth M. Donohue

32CFPB Plans for New CreditData Quality Reports andFocus on MedicalCollectionsBy Terry W. Clemans

35National MortgageProfessional MagazinePresents Top MortgageEmployers

42Lykken on Leadership:Five Powerful Benefits toBecoming a TransparentLeaderBy David Lykken

f contentsT G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L

L U M E 7 l N U M B E R 1

NMP’s Economic Commentary: A Look Ahead … And Behind By Dave Hershman ........................................................34

Why Your Business Needs Quality Online ReviewsBy Rene Rodriguez ............................................................................44

Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke..................46

Legal Updates: January 2015 By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.............48

ABA Takes New Volley at Farm Credit System By Phil Hall ..........48

FHA’s HECM is Here to Stay By Garrett M. Kolb ............................50

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance: A Message From MAAChairwoman Amy Swaney................................................................50

If It’s Going to Be … It’s Up to Me By Brian Sacks ........................52

Listen to Cultivate Culture By Kerry Elam ......................................54

NAPMW Report: January 2015 By Nikki Bell ..................................65

Managing Two Key Operational Risks for Mortgage LendersBy Jim Deitch ......................................................................................69

COLUMNSNew to Market..............................................................................12

News Flash: January 2015 ..........................................................14

Heard on the Street ....................................................................40

NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................66

NMP Resource Registry..............................................................70

Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ......................................1

NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................23

NAMBPAC .......................................................... www.namb.org ................................................................3

NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................58 & 67

NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................68

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................27, 43 & Inside Back Cover

PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................65

REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network) ................ www.remnwholesale.com ....................................VA1 & 13

Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. ........................ www.partners.rmsnav.com ............................................57

Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................... www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................55

Streetlinks LLC .................................................. www.streetlinks.com ......................................................25

TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................45

The Bond Exchange ............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................34

The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ..........................56, 69

Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9

Top Producer Round Table ................................ www.topproducerroundtable.com ....................................5

United Northern Mortgage Bankers, Ltd............... www.unitednorthern.com ......................................29 & 59

United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com/younited ................................................11

D V E R T I S E R S

Company Web Site Page

Dear Mortgage Professional,

Happy New Year! With 2014 now officially in our rear view, and with our sights

set on some big things for 2015, I want to take this opportunity to once again

extend my most sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who contributed

to NAMBPAC this past year!

Mike Anderson

Chuck Anderson

Rocke Andrews

Fred Arnold

Kevin Ary

Jayne Bail

Jim Barry

Joel Berman

Rick Bettencourt

Sharon Bitz

Doug Braden

Joseph Cannarozzi

Terry Casey

Dana Chahidi

George Charles

Kay Cleland

Terry Clemans

John Councilman

Roy DeLoach

Michael DeSantis

Harry Dinham

George Duarte

Scott Dudley

Don Fader

FAMP Federal PAC

Ginny Ferguson

Bryan Foreman

Don Frommeyer

Scott Griffin

Sylvia Gutierrez

Andy Harris

Melissa Hayes

Lisa Hernandez

Carla Highfield

John Hudson

Edmund Irwin

Everett Ives

Helga James

Erik Janeczko

Jon Kaempfer

David Kane

Charlie Keiser

Edmund King

Nan Kirkpatrick

Linda Knowlton

Terri Koubek

Fred Kreger

Olga Kucerak

Kim Lewis

Lisa Lund

Linda McCoy

Tiffany McCoy

James L. Nabors, II

Danielle Neveu

OAMBPAC

Jim Pair

Nathan Pierce

John Porter

Tina Rose

Kathy Rubin

Diego Sandoval

Valerie Saunders

Andy Seepersad

Lisa Severseike

Kane Smeltz

John G. Stevens

TAMB Federal PAC

David Timmerman

Michelle Velez

Irving Webb

Kimber White

Cynthia Wingo

Brain Yampolsky

NAMBPAC raised over $72,000.00 during the 2014 election cycle and participated in

a number of key House and Senate races, contributing $43,000.00 to both Republican

and Democrat candidates who support meaningful consumer protection, a strong mortgage

market, and fair competition.

For additional information about NAMBPAC, please feel free to contact me or visit

www.namb.org.

NAMBPAC is the non-partisan political action committee for NAMB, The Association of

Mortgage Professionals. NAMB is the recognized and respected voice of the mortgage

originator on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington, D.C., and NAMB supports the oper-

ation of NAMBPAC as authorized by, and in accordance with, federal law.

John G. Stevens, CRMS2014-2015 Chair NAMBPACJohn@JohnGStevens.com

Featured Editorial ContributorsRichard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS

Terry W. Clemans

John Councilman, CMC,CRMS

Donald J. Frommeyer,CRMS

Dave Hershman

Fred Kreger, CMC

Phil Hall

Andy W. Harris, CRMS

David Lykken

Amy Swaney, CMB

Editorial ContributorsNikki Bell

Allen Beydoun

Laura Burke, EA, MBA,MS

Jim Deitch

Kenneth M. Donohue

Kerry Elam

Brent Emler

Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

Ray Hagan

Ashley Lubey

Bubba Mills

Gibran Nicholas

Blake Noyes

K. Justin Restaino

Rene Rodriguez

Brian Sacks

Eric Weinstein

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JANUARY 2015Volume 7 • Number 1

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Hey Brother … Do You Have a Job for Me?Headlines like “Companies Added More Workers Than as 2014 Drew to a Close” or “Headcounts AreGrowing as the World’s Largest Economy Strengthens” says it all. I decided in preparation for thiscolumn to make a number of phone calls to lenders and affiliated service providers to see if the“positive employment forecast” in the general economy was mirrored in the mortgage industry.The result was a resounding “Yes!” with a bit of added clarifications.

The mortgage industry mirrors an optimistic employment outlook, concurrent with a strong recruitment effortwithin the industry to identify and recruit existing experienced personnel. The mortgage industry, by all of theeconomic indicators reported, should do well in 2015.

Mortgage industry employees displaced over recent years are finding the opportunity to take their trainingand experience and re-enter the mortgage profession. In fact, in my mini-focus group of phone calls, I found thatmost companies were finding that they did not have the luxury to train new recruits and opted to drive theirrecruitment efforts towards either experienced employees looking for a change or to returnees to the industry.

The optimism for 2015 on all of my calls is something I haven’t heard in years. Even the word that brings bothfear and added expense to most mortgage operations, the word “compliance,” has fueled a hiring frenzy to meetthe growing need for both implementation and administering compliance programs. Simply put, if you haveexperience in any of the sectors of the mortgage industry, from loan officer, account executives and support per-sonnel, 2015 should be a good year for you to either explore your options or return to the mortgage industry. Itis nice to report on the positive growth of employment in the mortgage industry for a change!

This month, we launched our first annual list of “America’s Top Mortgage Employers.” Through the thousandsof surveys completed by our readers, the results were produced as outlined in this edition reflecting the top mort-gage employers, both nationwide and by region. First, I’d like to congratulate all the companies included in theselistings. Second, I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to complete the survey. We never expected thehuge response we received for this feature, and look forward to adding additional data culled from the resultsin future annual reports.

In closing this month’s column, I’d like to thank you for your continued support of our publication and inviteyou to drop me an e-mail at joel@nmpmediacorp.com if you have any comments and suggestions. Many of thefeatures, and even articles, contained monthly come from ideas we’ve received from our readers. My best wish-es for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

And lastly … in response to my opening question “Hey brother, do you have a job for me?” The answer in2015 is “Yes,” but be sure to bring along some experience.

Sincerely,

Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEONMP Media Corp.joel@nmpmediacorp.com

National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by NMP Media Corp. • Copyright © 2015 NMP Media Corp.

publisher’s deskFROM THE

STAFF

ADVERTISINGTo receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contactNational Account Executive Beverly Koondel at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyk@nmp-mediacorp.com.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASESTo submit any material, including articles and press releases, please contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peckat (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or e-mail ericp@nmpmediacorp.com. The deadline for submissions is thefirst of the month prior to the target issue.

SUBSCRIPTIONSTo receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext. 301; e-mail orders@nmpmedia-corp.com or visit www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to theattention of “Circulation” via fax to (516) 409-4600.

Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional Magazine are the responsibility of theauthors alone and do not imply the opinion or endorsement of NMP Media Corp., or the officers or mem-bers of National Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates (NAMB), National Association ofProfessional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) and/or otherstate mortgage trade associations.

Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations events, activ-ities and/or publications is available on a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsementof the product and/or services by NMP Media Corp., NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and other state mortgagetrade associations.

National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgagetrade associations do not make any misrepresentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/orcompliance aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial content contained in NMPMedia Corp. publications. National Mortgage Professional Magazine and NMP Media Corp. reserve theright to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

Eric C. PeckEditor-in-Chief

(516) 409-5555, ext. 312ericp@nmpmediacorp.com

Joey ArendtArt Director

(516) 409-5555, ext. 307joeya@nmpmediacorp.com

Scott KoondelOperations Manager

(516) 409-5555, ext. 324scottk@nmpmediacorp.com

Richard ZytaSocial Media Ambassador

(516) 409-5555richardz@nmpmediacorp.com

Joel M. BermanPublisher - CEO

(516) 409-5555, ext. 310joel@nmpmediacorp.com

Beverly BolnickNational Sales Manager

(516) 409-5555, ext. 316beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com

Phil HallManaging Editor

(516) 409-5555, ext. 312philh@nmpmediacorp.com

Francine MillerAdvertising Coordinator

(516) 409-5555, ext. 301francinem@nmpmediacorp.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

E D I T O R I A L C O N T R I B U T O R S

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CMPS® Certification, Training & CoachingGet certified with five new mortgage planning skills to grow your business; stay focused with our weekly coaching that helps you implement.

CMPS® Content Marketing SystemShare engaging articles with the click of a button; teach continuing education courses to financial advisors using our turn-key system.

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Date City Date City

Thurs., Feb. 12 San Diego, CA Tues., Feb. 24 Portland, OR

Fri., Feb. 13 Marina Del Rey, CA Wed., Feb. 25 Seattle, WA

Mon., Feb. 16 Irvine, CA Thurs., Feb. 26 Scottsdale, AZ

Mon., Feb. 23 San Ramon, CA Fri., Feb. 27 Las Vegas, NV

Monday-Wednesday, March 23-25, 2015 • Marina Del Rey, CAMonday-Wednesday, March 23-25, 2015 • Marina Del Rey, CA

DianeCrosby

ScottForman

SteveGrossman

BrentHicks

KellyMarsh

GibranNicholas

JenDu Plessis

CraigStrent

National PresidentChristine Pollard(607) 226-1046president@napmw.org

President-ElectKelly Hendricks(314) 398-6840preselect@napmw.org

Vice President–Central RegionJudy Alderson (918) 250-9080, ext. 300

Vice President–Eastern RegionCathy Kantrowitz (845) 463-3011easternregion@napmw.org

Vice President–Northwestern RegionWilliam “Bill” Sanderson, CME, CMI (360) 713-9264

Vice President–Western RegionAnna Mackovska (323) 321-2222westernregion@napmw.org

SecretaryCynthia Nutter(360) 258-2206natsecretary@napmw.org

TreasurerKimberly Rozell, CME (607) 229-5008 nattreasurer@napmw.org

ParliamentarianDawn Adams, GML, CMI(607) 329-4622 dawnvadams@live.com

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NAMBThe Association of

Mortgage Professionals2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, TX 75075

Phone: (972) 758-1151 l Fax: (530) 484-2906Web site: www.namb.org

OFFICERSJohn Councilman, CMC, CRMS—PresidentAMC Mortgage Corporation10136 Avalon Lake Circle l Fort Myers, FL 33913Phone: (239) 267-2400 l E-mail: jlc@amcmortgage.com

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS—President-ElectLending Arizona LLC3531 North Pantano Road l Tucson, AZ 85750Phone: (520) 886-7283 l E-mail: randrews@lendingarizona.net

Fred Kreger, CMC—Vice PresidentAmerican Family Funding28368 Constellation Road, Suite 398 l Santa Clarita, CA 91350Phone: (661) 505-4311 l E-mail: fred.kreger@affloans.com

Rick Bettencourt, CRMS—SecretaryMortgage Network300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923Phone: (978) 777-7500 l E-mail: rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com

Andy W. Harris, CRMS—TreasurerVantage Mortgage Group Inc.15962 SW Boones Ferry Rd., Ste 100 l Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 Phone: (503) 496-0431, ext. 302E-mail: aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS—Immediate PastPresident/NAMB CEOAmerican Midwest Bank200 Medical Drive, Suite C-2A l Carmel, IN 46032Phone: (317) 575-4355 l E-mail: donald.frommeyer@gmail.com

DIRECTORSKay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS KC Mortgage LLC2041 North Highway 83, Unit CPO Box 783 l Franktown, CO80116Phone: (720) 670-0124 l E-mail: kay@kcmortgagecolorado.com

John H.P. Hudson, CRMSPremier Nationwide Lending1202 W. Bitters Road, Bldg. 1, Ste. 1205San Antonio, TX 78216Phone: (817) 247-4766 l E-mail: jhudson@pnlending.com

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending328 West Mistletoe l San Antonio, TX 78212Phone: (210) 828-3384 l E-mail: olga@crownlending.com

David Luna, CRMS Mortgage Educators and Compliance947 South 500 E, Suite 105 l American Fork, UT 84003Phone: (877) 403-1428 l E-mail: david@mortgageeducators.com

Linda McCoy, CRMS Mortgage Team 1 Inc.6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609Phone: (251) 650-0805 l E-mail: linda@mortgageteam1.com

Valerie Saunders RE Financial Services13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626Phone: (866) 992-0785 l E-mail: valsaun@gmail.com

John Stevens, CRMS Bank of England d/b/a ENG Lending11650 South State Street, Suite 350 l Draper UT 84062Phone: (801) 427-7111 l E-mail: jstevens@englending.com

NAMB 2014-2015 Board of Directors

Mike BrownPresident(908) 813-8555, ext. 3020mbrown@cisinfo.net

William BowerVice President(800) 288-4757wbower@continfo.com

Maureen DevineEx-Officio(413) 736-4511mdevine@strategicinfo.com

Julie WinkTreasurer(901) 259-5105julie@datafacts.com

Renee EricksonConference Chair(866) 932-2715renee@zipreports.com

Mary CampbellDirector(701) 239-9977mary@advantagecreditbureau.com

Scott LedbetterDirector(801) 375-5522sledbetter@propertysolutions.com

Judy RyanDirectorCredit Plus(800) 258-3488judy.ryan@creditplus.com

Mike ThomasDirector(615) 386-2285, ext. 285mthomas@ciccredit.com

Dean WangsgardDirector(801) 487-8781dean@nacmint.com

Terry ClemansExecutive Director(630) 539-1525tclemans@ncrainc.org

Jan GerberOffice Manager/Member Services(630) 539-1525jgerber@ncrainc.org

National Association of Professional Mortgage WomenP.O. Box 451718 l Garland, TX 75045

Phone: (800) 827-3034Web site: www.napmw.org

2014-2015 NAPMW National Board of Directors

National Consumer Reporting Association701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172

Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526Web site: www.ncrainc.org

2014-2015 Board of Directors

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25 Years of Innovative Loan Document and Compliance Solutions!1.800.649.1362 I www.DocMagic.com

The CFPB has selected DocMagic to participate in its eClosing Pilot Program. To find out more, click the code or visit our website.

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elite performerT H E

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Human nature causes us to compare ourselves to other peo-

ple, either intentionally or unintentionally. The social

comparison theory believes that individuals evaluate their

own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to

others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how

to define self. I certainly believe that we as humans do this, but

the results in this analysis can lead to absolutely nothing

productive since it is an impossible task.Think about it … you are unique. There is no

other person like you in the universe. Youhave special individual DNA that has funda-mental and distinctive characteristics andqualities, regarded as unchangeable.Your hand, finger, and other printsmatch no other human in existencepast, present, or in the future.Acknowledging this reality can setyou apart in many aspects of yourlife, helping you lose the bad habitof comparing yourself to others.

You have special abilities andskills that no other person has,many of which untapped.Understanding this and exposingthese abilities uncovers your potential.Many of us have no idea the limits inour abilities, primarily because we placemental road blocks with doubt or uncer-tainty. Many of these negative thoughts havebeen created by inaccurate comparisons orassumptions. I believe that if we stop comparingourselves to others, but instead compare ourselves towho and what we are individually meant to be, quality oflife can vastly improve.

Use your unique gifts and talents and learn how to make them shine inyour own life and the lives of others. Surround yourself with other positive peoplethat can help you with your weaknesses. Never compare your successes or failureswith other people and never let others place limits on what you can or cannot do.Set goals related to your own desires, focused on tapping into your individual giftsand potential. No human is perfect. Never be afraid to be yourself and find whattruly makes you happy.

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based VantageMortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of MortgageProfessionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail aharris@van-tagemortgagegroup.com or visit www.vantagemortgagegroup.com.

Stop Comparing

the Impossible

“Don’t compare

yourself withanyone in this

world … if youdo so, you

are insulting yourself.”

—Bill Gates

SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Gibran Nicholas

1. Lifelong learningYou've probably heard the old adage, "If you think educa-tion is expensive, try ignorance." Top producers get it. Theyare constantly learning new things like:

l What are other successful loan originators doing right now, and why?l How do other industries handle similar challenges?l What can I learn from my experiences and the experiences of others?

I would challenge you to make learning new things a daily habit thisyear. Personally, I've taken the advice of another top producer I know, andI've started getting up at 5:00 a.m. each morning. I'm not really a morningperson … or at least I didn't think I was. But I was surprised at how muchI enjoy the quiet time in the morning. It's like I've added an extra two hoursof time to my day—productive time without interruption to reflect andlearn new things. Try it for a week and let me know what you think!

2. Leveraging new technologiesThis will always be a people-business. Technology should never replacethe personal relationships you develop with people. That's why top pro-ducers take a disciplined approach to new technology. Here are threequestions top producers ask and answer about technology:l How specifically will this technology improve my team's experience in

collaborating together, saving time and ensuring compliance with gov-ernment regulations?

l How specifically will this technology improve my borrower's experiencein working with me and my team?

l How specifically will this technology improve my strategic partner's ex-perience in working with me and my team?

The highly respected management guru Peter Drucker had it rightwhen he asked leaders to really consider, "Who's my customer?" In themortgage business, you have three primary customers: Your Team, YourBorrowers and Your Strategic Partners. Top producers embrace new tech-nologies that help them better serve their three primary customers.

3. Focusing on relationshipsWhat really motivates top producers is the positive impact they make in peo-ple's lives. Your mission as a top producer is to improve lives. The way youdo that is by originating mortgages. Your reward is fantastic compensationand the feeling you get when somebody's life is enhanced as a result of yourservice. When you're under-compensated or under-appreciated, it's becauseyou may have lost touch with your core mission of improving lives.

An oppressive compliance regime, challenging market conditions, andunrealistic expectations are just a few obstacles that will stand in the waybetween you and your mission. Top producers constantly learn, leveragenew technologies and overcome the obstacles that stand between them andtheir mission. That's what separates top producers from the rest of the520,000 loan originators who are licensed or registered to compete withthem. Join us at the next Top Producer Roundtable and walk away withsome valuable insights to help you grow the way that top producers grow!

Gibran Nicholas is the founder, chairman and CEO of CMPS Institute andTop Producer Round Table Series. Since 2005, he's helped more than 7,000of America's top loan originators to grow sales and improve their relation-ships. He may be reached by phone at (888) 608-9800, e-mailgibran@CMPSInstitute.org or visit CMPSInstitute.org.

Three Ways Top Producers Grow

�

A production of

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By Blake Noyes

Facebook. Twitter.Women’s Suffrage.The French and

American Revolutions.These may sound like Jeopardy! cate-gories, but there’s one very importanttrait that they all share in common—each of these are examples of howimportant the ability to be heard, to beable to voice our thoughts, opinions,and feelings, is to us as humans.

The immense popularity of socialmedia demonstrates how much wevalue the ability to share what’s on ourmind with others and the fact that entiresocial and political movements havebeen created simply to defend that abil-ity when it has been threatened showhow vital we view it to be to our exis-tence. Now, obviously these are large-scale examples, but the sentiment is trueeven in our day-to-day experiences.

For example, have you ever voiced aconcern to a co-worker or boss, only tofind that it was never mentioned again?Or, felt the frustration of being trans-ferred to the third customer servicerepresentative and having to explainyour situation for the third time? Thebelief that we have a voice is strongly

tied to our feeling of self-worth, whichis why the only logical response to theclassic question “if a tree falls in the for-est and nobody is around to hear it,does it make a sound?” is “it doesn’tmatter.” We each have the ability toinfluence the world around us, but notevery approach will yield results. So,how can we help to ensure that ourvoices are heard?

Here are some guidelines to keep inmind:

l Define what you want: Nobody canever see inside your head exceptyou. So, nobody will be able to knowwhat you’re thinking as well as youdo. It’s important to define, as pre-cisely as you can, what is on yourmind. If you feel undervalued atwork, ask yourself: “By whom? Whatmakes me feel this way: A lack ofwords of appreciation by my co-workers? My income? The number ofcompany awards I have received?”The more clearly you can defineyour wants, the more people will beable to feel like they can actuallyhelp you.

l Be direct: There are people in theworld who can pick up hints and

know exactly what they mean. Theyare called “detectives.” For those ofus who have chosen different pro-fessions, we tend to take what oth-ers say at face value, rather thansearching for hidden meaning. Ifsomething is important to you, thenyou must stress that importance.Statements demand responses; hintsdemand riddles and, if the riddledoes not already exist, hints will cre-ate them.

l Don’t be confrontational: It’s ageneral rule of nature that anythingthat’s under attack will look todefend itself. While you may haveconcerns or something that is frus-trating you, coming off as aggressivewill cause all of the listener’s focusto be used solely on defendingthemselves, leaving no room left toaddress your actual concerns.Additionally, even if your thoughtsdo reach their intended target, theymay find themselves less than eagerto help you.

l Choose the format carefully:Carefully select the venue or format inwhich you make your voice be heard.Some are positive, team-building and

respectful. While others are negative,dividing and disrespectful.

l Return the favor: As important as itis to you to speak your mind and feelthat your thoughts are being valued,it is equally important to others tofeel the same as well. Listening putsyou on the path of being listened to.Make sure to periodically ask othershow they are doing or get their opin-ions on various topics and, mostimportantly, truly listen to theirresponses. If you can establish a rep-utation as someone who pays atten-tion to what others have to say, youwill find yourself with a willing audi-ence nearly anytime you choose tospeak your mind.

Now that we have gone over sometips to communicate your thoughtseffectively, it’s time to put them intopractice.

Blake Noyes is national recruiting coordi-nator at Hammerhouse LLC, an expandingnational recruiting and strategic growthfirm for the financial services industrywith mortgage sales and leadership place-ment at its core. Blake can be reached atblake.noyes@teamhammerhouse.com.

The Importance of

Being Heard

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FOCUSED ON YOU.

800-981-8898 | UWM.COM/YOUNITED

A partnership is more than just great service and pricing. When you choose UWM, our UConnect program will monitor past borrower mortgage credit pulls to provide the leads back to you. In 2014 alone, we connected more than 25,000 past borrowers back to their Loan Offi cers. Some call that unheard of, but we call it Lending Made Easy. It’s just another way that UWM invests in your success. Make the obvious choice and let UWM invest in you.

This information is provided to mortgage and real estate professionals only and is not intended nor is it authorized for consumer distribution.

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UWM AnnouncesConventional FinancingUp to 97 Percent LTV

United WholesaleMortgage (UWM) hasannounced that ithas launched a prod-

uct which offers conventional financingon up to 97 percent loan to value (LTV).With Fannie Mae’s newly released ver-sion of Desktop Underwriter 9.2 (DU),UWM was able to reintroduce standardconventional and MyCommunityMortgage financing up to 97 percent LTVfor first-time homebuyers with a DUapproval.

This program is significant because itopens up new business opportunitiesfor both real estate agents and origina-tors. Real estate agents will be able tohelp a broader range of perspective buy-ers and originators can offer their clientslower downpayments and lower month-ly payments. It also gives borrowers thatare traditionally forced into governmentloans the opportunity to obtain conven-tional financing.

“Immediately after Fannie Maereleased version 9.2 of DU, we had theopportunity to reintroduce this programgiven Fannie’s changes, and we’re thefirst wholesale lender in the country tomake it available,” said Mat Ishbia, pres-ident and CEO of UWM. “We alwaysstrive to give our partners a competitiveadvantage. Being first to market allowsUWM’s partners to get many consumersinto loans that are more affordable. Ourrobust technology and extensive train-ing, in part, enables us to turn on adime and continually expand our prod-uct offerings.”

UWM’s partners can already accessthe program by logging into its loan por-tal, EASE, to gain approvals. The pro-gram can also be accessed by UWM’sUMobile application for Apple andAndroid Devices.

CFPB Releases New Suiteof Homeowner Tools

As part of the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau’s (CFPB) “KnowBefore You Owe” initiative, the Bureauhas released “Owning a Home,” a suiteof tools to inform and empower con-

sumers shopping for a mortgage. It takesthe consumer from the very start of thehomebuying process, with a guide toloan options, terminology and costs,through to the closing table with a clos-ing checklist.

One key feature of Owning a Home isthe Rate Checker tool. In its beta release,this tool helps consumers understandwhat interest rates may be available tothem by using the same underwritingvariables that lenders use on their inter-nal rate sheets. These are the documentslenders use to calculate what interestrate is available for a particular combi-nation of loan type, property value, loanamount, and credit score. The databehind the Rate Checker is updateddaily and includes information from largebanks, regional banks, and credit unionsand covers about 80 percent of the mort-gage market.

The Rate Checker can provide borrow-ers looking to buy a single-family homewith: l Interest rates tailored to consumers:

Consumers can plug in their creditscore, their location, and informationabout the loan they are seeking tosee the rates that lenders are offer-ing. This is different than other web-sites that usually quote rates usingaverages for borrowers with greatcredit and a large down payment.The tool also shows, in a simplegraph, how many lenders are offeringeach rate, so consumers can under-stand how likely they are to get thatrate, given their situation.

l Clearer understanding of how muchmoney is saved with lower rates: It canbe hard to understand how a differ-ence in interest rate percentage trans-lates into actual dollars that have tobe paid for the cost of the loan. TheCFPB tool makes it easy to comparedifferent interest rates and how muchthey will cost over the life of the loan.For a borrower taking out a 30-yearfixed-rate loan for $350,000, gettingan interest rate of 3.75 percent insteadof 4.25 percent translates into approx-imately $100 savings per month. Overthe first five years, the borrower would

save more than $6,000 in mortgagepayments. In addition, the lowerinterest rate means that the borrowerwould pay off an additional $2,500 inprincipal in the first five years, evenwhile making lower payments.

l The effects of different downpay-ments and credit scores: The tool letsconsumers try out different scenariosand see their impact on the cost ofthe mortgage. For example, con-sumers can see what would happen ifthey qualified for a lower interest rateby improving their credit score or sav-ing for a bigger downpayment.

l Information on how to get a betterinterest rate: The tool provides stepsconsumers can take to work toward abetter interest rate. This includesadvice in the short term when con-sumers are looking to buy soon, andover the long term, if consumers havemore time to work on improvingtheir credit profile. While many mort-gage tools exist online, the CFPB toolis unbiased. Consumers can use it asmuch as they like and trust they aregetting impartial information.

Pacific Union to UtilizeOpenClose’s LenderAssistLOS Platform

OpenClose, anend-to-end loanorigination sys-tem (LOS) pro-vider, has an-

nounced that Pacific Union FinancialLLC signed with the company to imple-ment its multi-channel, 100 percentbrowser-based LOS platform,LenderAssist. The comprehensive solu-tion will automate Pacific UnionFinancial’s wholesale lending functionsfrom start to finish and establish com-plete data control and visibility overprocesses.

“We selected OpenClose because itsplatform can scale with us as we growwhile making sure we are efficient andcompliant at everything we do opera-tionally,” said Bill Berg, executive vicepresident and chief information officer atPacific Union Financial. “In addition, we

were attracted to OpenClose’s use of a sin-gle code base throughout its platformand were impressed with the company’sindustry reputation for providing veryhands-on, responsive installations andongoing customer support. We believeOpenClose will be an excellent long-termpartner that will work side by side with usto innovate and customize the system tosatisfy our desire to have the highestquality and most robust origination plat-form in the industry.”

Using OpenClose’s LenderAssist LOS,Pacific Union Financial says it expects todramatically elevate service levels for orig-inators, speed up turn times, ensure com-pliance, reduce origination costs, andmaximize employee productivity. AsPacific Union Financial continues to grow,it requires a platform that can flex withbusiness process changes and scale to sup-port rapid increases in loan volume.

The LenderAssist LOS extends variousfunctionality to the point-of-sale via itsbroker portal, offering originators robusttechnology tools that makes doing busi-ness with Pacific Union Financial quick,easy and simple. OpenClose will handlethe onus of system implementation andconfiguration for Pacific Union Financial,provide detailed training and responsivecustomer support.

“Pacific Union Financial is a rapidlygrowing lender that is very innovative,forward-thinking and focused on opti-mizing each of its processes to efficientlyoriginate compliant, quality loans withfast turn times and a high pull throughrate,” said JP Kelly, president ofOpenClose. “The flexibility of our systemto be configured to their specific needs,use of a single code base, and our abilityto scale is a perfect match for their busi-ness goals.”

QuestSoft LaunchesUpdate to Comply WithRESPA/TILA Revisions

QuestSoft, a provider of automatedmortgage compliance software, hasupdated its Compliance EAGLE software

continued on page 18

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EWSFLASH l JANUARY 2015 l NMP NEWSFLASH l JANARY 2015 NMP NEWSFLA

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CFPB Report Finds MoreThan Half of ConsumersFail to Shop Around

The ConsumerFinancial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) hasreleased a reportfinding that almosthalf of consumers

do not shop around for a mortgagewhen purchasing a home. The reportalso found that informed consumersare more likely to shop, especially ifthey are familiar with available mort-gage rates. As part of its Know BeforeYou Owe mortgage initiative, the CFPBis releasing “Owning a Home,” an inter-active, online toolkit designed to helpconsumers as they shop for a mort-gage. The suite of tools gives con-sumers the information and confi-dence they need to get the best deal.

“Our study found that many con-sumers are not shopping for a mort-gage. Consumers put great thoughtinto the choice of a home, but themortgage process continues to beintimidating,” said CFPB DirectorRichard Cordray. “The Know BeforeYou Owe Owning a Home toolkitmakes it easy to see how shopping fora mortgage can translate into big dol-lars saved in the long run. We want toenable consumers to be more savvyshoppers.”

While many risky features of mort-gages are now restricted or unavailablein the marketplace since the financialcrisis, mortgages still have differentterms and features. Key componentsinclude the loan term, loan type, andinterest rate. Loan terms typically varybetween 15 and 30 years. Loan typesinclude Federal Housing Administra-tion (FHA), Veterans Affairs (VA), andconventional loans. Interest rates canbe fixed or adjustable, and the ratesvary across lenders, even for the sameconsumer and for loans with otherwiseidentical product features. Consumerscan shop for a mortgage by researchingand inquiring with multiple lenders,applying for mortgages with multiplelenders, or applying for different kindsof loans.

The report is based on results fromnew data in the National Survey of

Mortgage Borrowers, a voluntary surveyjointly conducted by the CFPB and theFederal Housing Finance Agency. TheBureau analyzed responses from con-sumers who took out a mortgage to buya home in 2013.

NAR Forecasts Existing-Home Sales to RiseNearly Seven Percent in2015

Existing-home salesare forecasted to riseabout seven percentin 2015 behind astrengthening econo-my, solid job gains

and a healthy increase in home prices,according to National Association ofRealtors (NAR) Chief EconomistLawrence Yun in a newly-released videoon his 2015 housing market expecta-tions.

In the NAR-published video, Yun dis-cusses his expectations for the U.S.economy and housing market in 2015and points to the expanding economy,continued growth in the labor marketand home prices rising at a moderatebut healthy clip as his reasons for anexpected increase (from 2014) in newand existing-home sales.

“Home prices have risen for the pastthree years cumulatively about 25 per-cent, which boosts confidence in themarket and traditionally gives currenthomeowners the ability to use theirequity buildup as a downpaymenttowards their next home purchase,”said Yun. “Furthermore, first-time buy-ers are expected to slowly return as theeconomy improves and new mortgageproducts are made available in the mar-ketplace with low downpayments andprivate mortgage insurance.”

Despite his forecasted increase insales, Yun cites the anticipated rise ininterest rates, lenders being slow toease underwriting standards back tonormalized levels, and homeownersunwilling to move because they arecomfortable with their current low

interest rate as potential speedbumpsthat could slow the increased pace ofsales this year.

With one month of data remainingin 2014, Yun expects total existing-homes sales to finish the year around4.94 million (down three percent from2013), but then rise to 5.30 million in2015. The national median existing-home price for 2014 will be close to$208,000, up 5.6 percent from 2013,and is expected to moderate to a pacebetween four and five percent in 2015.

Supreme Court Rules forHomeowners in TILA Case

In its first case of2015 affecting themortgage industry,Jesinoski v.Countrywide, U.S.Supreme Court, No.

13-684, the U.S. Supreme Court ruledunanimously in favor of homeownersseeking to rescind their mortgages iftheir lenders face accusations of run-ning afoul of the Truth-in-Lending Act(TILA).

The 9-0 vote, which reverses a lowercourt decision, was a victory for Larryand Cheryle Jesinoki of Eagan, Minn.,who were in litigation over a $611,000loan from 2007 that was originated forthem by Countrywide Home Loans Inc.,later acquired by Bank of America. TILAenables a homeowner to rescind amortgage for up to three years after itwas made if it is determined thatdetails of the loan were not properlyexplained by the lender. The Jesinokisfiled a rescinding notice at the tail endof their three-year period, and a lawsuitfollowed when Bank of America disput-ed the Jesinokis’ action.

Similar cases have resulted in mixedrulings in the lower courts, with somerulings favoring the action taken by theJesinokis—as affirmed by the Third,Fourth and 11th Circuit Courts—andothers determining that homeownersmust file a lawsuit to rescind theirmortgage rather than merely sending a

letter to their lender—as affirmed bythe First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and 10thCircuit Courts.

“The Jesinoskis mailed respondentswritten notice of their intention torescind within three years of theirloan’s consummation,” wrote JusticeAntonin Scalia in the court’s ruling.“Because this is all that a borrowermust do in order to exercise his right torescind under the Act, the court belowerred in dismissing the complaint.Accordingly, we reverse the judgmentof the Eighth Circuit and remand thecase for further proceedings consistentwith this opinion.”

Commercial MortgageLenders Predict Growthin 2015

Commercial and mul-tifamily mortgagelending is expected toincrease in 2015, aslenders’ appetites toplace new loans

remains very strong and borrowers’appetites to borrow increase, accordingto a new Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA) survey of the top commercial andmultifamily mortgage origination firms.A full 100 percent of the top firmsexpect originations to increase in 2015,with 68 percent expecting an increaseof five percent or more. Seventy-twopercent expect their own firm’s origina-tions to increase by five percent ormore.

“Commercial mortgage lendersanticipate another competitive year in2015,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vicepresident for Commercial Real EstateResearch. “Lenders’ appetites for loansremain very strong, and with the 10-year loans made during 2005, 2006 and2007 maturing, lenders also anticipategrowing demand from borrowers.”

Majorities of respondents expectoriginations for every major investorgroup to increase. Eighty-three percentanticipate a “very strong” appetiteamong firms to make loans and 50 per-cent anticipate a “very strong” appetiteamong borrowers to take out loans.Lenders were surveyed on a scale of“very weak, weak, fair, strong, or verystrong.”

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Specific findings include:l In 2014, lenders were more eager to

make loans than borrowers were totake out loans. A “very strong”appetite among lenders (87 percentof respondents) to make new loansin 2014 faced a generally “strong”appetite among borrowers to takeout new loans (57 percent of respon-dents).

l In 2015, lenders are expected tohave a similar appetite to placeloans, and borrowers a slightlystronger appetite to take out loans.Compared to 2014, a similar shareof respondents expect lenders tohave a “very strong” desire to makeloans (83 percent of respondentsanticipate “very strong” appetiteversus 87 percent in 2014) and moreexpect borrowers to have a “verystrong” appetite to take out newloans (50 percent versus 43 percentin 2014).

l Originators expect the market togrow at a strong pace in 2015 (andtheir own firms to grow more quick-ly). Two-thirds (68 percent) ofrespondents expect total marketoriginations to increase five percentor more in 2015. Almost three-quar-ters (72 percent) expect their ownoriginations to increase by five per-cent or more.

l Loans for every major investorgroup are expected to increase in2015. Originations are expected toincrease lending for commercialmortgage-backed securities (89 per-cent anticipate growth to be greaterthan five percent), bank portfolios(56 percent anticipate growth to begreater than five percent), FannieMae and Freddie Mac (46 percentanticipate growth to be greater fivepercent), pension/life insurancecompanies (41 percent anticipategrowth to be greater five percent)and FHA (19 percent anticipategrowth to be greater five percent).

l Loan risk is expected to increase in2015. Most respondents character-ized the loans made in 2014 as“medium” risk (73 percent). In 2015,more respondents expect loans tobe “somewhat high” risk (38 percentversus nine percent in 2014).Lenders were surveyed on a scale ofvery low, somewhat low, medium,somewhat high, and high.

l Loan return is expected to moderatein 2015. Half of respondents (52 per-cent) characterized the loans madein 2014 as “somewhat low” or “verylow” return. In 2015, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) expect loans tobe “somewhat low” or “very low”return.

CoreLogic: 273,000Residential PropertiesRegained Equity in Q3

CoreLogic hasreleased newanalysis show-ing nearly273,000 U.S.homes re-

turned to positive equity in the thirdquarter of 2014, bringing the total num-ber of mortgaged residential propertieswith equity to approximately 44.6 mil-lion, or 90 percent of all mortgagedproperties. Nationwide, borrower equi-ty increased year over year by approxi-mately $800 billion in the third quarterof 2014. The CoreLogic analysis indi-cates that approximately 5.1 millionhomes, or 10.3 percent of all residentialproperties with a mortgage, were still innegative equity as of Q3 2014 comparedto 5.4 million homes, or 10.9 percent,for Q2 2014. This compares to a nega-tive equity share of 13.3 percent, or 6.5million homes, in Q3 2013, represent-ing a year-over-year decrease in thenumber of underwater homes by almost

1.5 million (1,433,296), or three percent.For the homes in negative equity sta-

tus, the national aggregate value of nega-tive equity was $338 billion at the end ofQ3 2014, down $10.2 billion from approx-imately $348.2 billion in the second quar-ter 2014. On a year-over-year basis, thevalue of negative equity declined from$403.2 billion in Q3 2013, representing adecrease of 16.2 percent in 12 months.

Of the 44.6 million residential proper-ties with positive equity, approximately9.4 million, or 19 percent, have less than20-percent equity (referred to as “under-equitied”) and 1.3 million of those haveless than 5-percent equity (referred to asnear-negative equity). Borrowers who are“under-equitied” may have a more diffi-cult time refinancing their existing homes

or obtaining new financing to sell andbuy another home due to underwritingconstraints. Borrowers with near-negativeequity are considered at risk of movinginto negative equity if home prices fall. Incontrast, if home prices rose by as little asfive percent, an additional one millionhomeowners now in negative equitywould regain equity.

“Nationally, the negative equityshare is down over three percentagepoints over the past year. Declines wereconcentrated in a handful of states,such as Nevada, Georgia, Michigan andFlorida,” said Sam Khater, deputy chiefeconomist for CoreLogic. “Forecastedhouse price appreciation of about five per-

continued on page 16

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cent over the next year suggests that nega-tive equity should be at about 8 percent ayear from now, still above average, butapproaching the pre-crisis level.”

FSR Urges Obama toPress Congress for GSE Wind Down

The Presidentand Congressshould makehousing fi-nance reformthat winds

down Fannie and Freddie a priority thisCongress, said the Financial ServicesRoundtable (FSR) following PresidentObama’s speech on housing, includingan announcement that the FederalHousing Administration (FHA) willlower its annual mortgage insurancepremiums.

“We are pleased that the President hasreaffirmed the administration’s commit-ment to permanent housing financereform, and we hope he will take thisopportunity to renew efforts to create anew system replacing Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac,” said FSR’s Housing PolicyCouncil President John Dalton. “The mort-gage industry is working hard to respond tothe needs of consumers for well-underwrit-ten, affordable mortgages, but a new, sta-ble secondary mortgage market based onprivate capital is needed to protect taxpay-ers from future market trouble.”

FSR urges the White House, FHA and theFederal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA)to coordinate housing policy standards. Forexample, private mortgage insurers mustmeet new stronger capital requirements todo business with the GSEs, but the FHA ismoving in the opposite direction by reduc-ing insurance premiums for its loans.Regulators should also continue to workwith lenders on establishing clear repre-sentations and warranties for the GSEs andrepurchase requirements for FHA to givelenders the confidence to make good loansto qualified buyers.

FSR and HPC continue to advocate forhousing finance reform legislation that willwind down Fannie and Freddie and replacethem with a new market backed by privatecapital and a last-resort government back-stop. This new system will relieve taxpayersfrom being at significant financial and eco-nomic risk should the economy face anoth-er downturn. The GSEs currently hold themajority of American mortgages and exposetaxpayers to financial risk.

ICBA Urges FHFA toWithdraw Plan to RestrictAccess to Federal HomeLoan Banks

The IndependentCommunity Bankersof America (ICBA) hascalled on the FederalHous ing F inanceAgency (FHFA) to with-

draw its proposal to restrict access to

the Federal Home Loan Banks(FHLBs). In a comment letter, ICBAwrote that the agency’s plan torequire FHLB members to holdbetween one percent and 10 percentof their assets in home mortgageloans at all times contradictsCongress and will restrict access tomortgage credit.

“ICBA and the more than 6,500community banks in America viewthe Federal Home Loan Bank system,and access to it, as critical to thelong-term health and viability of thecommunity banking system in theUnited States,” ICBA Senior VicePresident of Mortgage Finance PolicyRon Haynie wrote. “Without readyaccess to the low-cost advances pro-vided by the FHLBs to communitybanks, many of those banks wouldbe forced to severely curtail homemortgage lending in the communi-ties they serve.”

The FHFA’s proposal to implementan ongoing asset test to retain FHLBmembership would force communitybanks to either hold more mortgage-backed securities in portfolio or pos-sibly pass up opportunities to makeother types of consumer, small-busi-ness or agriculture loans. A one per-cent asset test would impose thisdecision on 137 community banks,while a five percent asset test wouldapply to 315.

Community banks affected bythese changes would be unable tobest serve their communitiesbecause of an arbitrary test imposedby a government regulator. This iscontrary to the actions of Congress,which has always worked to expandFHLB membership and access tocredit. ICBA encourages the nation’scommunity banks to continueexpressing their opposition to theseproposed restrictions while the asso-ciation works with the FHFA to main-tain the safety and accessibility ofthe FHLB System for all eligible insti-tutions.

NCUA Files Suit AgainstWells Fargo Over RMBS

The National CreditUnion Administration(NCUA) has filed suitin federal courtagainst Wells FargoBank, alleging Wells

Fargo violated state and federal lawsby failing to fulfill its duties astrustee for 27 residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) trusts. TheNCUA is suing in its capacity as liqui-dating agent for five failed corporatecredit unions. NCUA’s complaint,seeks damages to be determined attrial.

“Like other trustees against whom

continued on page 41SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

Social media and direct marketing … the most revolutionary marketingmethod to hit the mortgage industry since the Internet itself. These meth-ods of marketing place ads in front of the same people who you directmarket to on social media Web sites like Facebook and Twitter. The bridgebetween online and direct marketing is here.

Social media just became much more powerful for mortgage lendersNot only can you stay in front of your past clients online, you can also cre-ate multi-channel marketing campaigns and increase the impact of yourmarketing by placing online ads to the same people who received yourmail piece. Upload the list of those whom you are marketing to and dra-matically increase your results.

Social media is here to stayTo effectively market yourself, you need be on all of the social Web sites.The trouble is getting people to follow you. Friends and family are easy.You probably have some of your past clients following you as well that allfollow you now. But how do you get more followers?

Pay for advertising on social sites just like you would on search enginesAdvertising on social media Web sites has become mainstream. The trou-ble is specifying who receives your ads. Now you can specify not only whoreceives your ads, but also how much you want to spend. Grow as fast asyou want. Put ads in front of past clients who aren’t following you. Putads in front of those who you are sending direct mail to. You can even putads in front of those whom you want to do business with based on theirmortgage information, like loan amount or loan type.

These highly effective, highly targeted online ad campaigns, combinedwith direct marketing campaigns like direct mail and telemarketing, arethe best new way to drive traffic to your site and leads to your loan offi-cers. Speak with your social media manager about it. This is a great win-dow of opportunity for you to get ahead of the competition.

TagQuest Inc. client spotlight … Kent K., a Colorado-based mortgagelenderEach month, we like to talk with our clients and find out how their mar-keting campaigns are going. Here is what we heard from Kent K., a Col-orado-based mortgage lender:

l Product: Direct mail with social media plug-in and PURLs (Personal URL)l Approximately 5,000 pieces of mail sent outl Forty-five inbound phone callsl Fifteen Internet leads from the social media plug-inl Ten e-mail leads from the PURLsl Seventy qualified interested prospects from 5,000 mail pieces

What do you like best about this campaign?“The results mostly, but also the ability to use more than one loan product.”

What are some things that might appeal to others in your industry?“With all the different ways to respond there’s not as much to worriedabout the initial call back response. Giving people more ways to respondgives more reliable results.”

Based in Medford, Ore., TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm devel-oped throughout the ever-changing mortgage industry. Utilizing industryknowledge, marketing expertise, and technology we implement any or allaspects of your marketing and/or advertising campaigns. With a proventrack record, more than 10 years in business, and decades of experienceTagQuest knows what it takes to produce unprecedented results in today’sfast-paced mortgage environment. For more information, call (888) 717-8980 or visit www.tagquest.com.

Forecasting the “Best MarketingApproach” for 2015

� nmp news flashcontinued from page 15

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Maverick Funding Corp. NMLS#7706, Executive Offices, 9 Entin Road, Suite 200, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Toll Free 888-616-6866. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, License #4131048. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Finance Lenders Law, License #603H799. Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #MB.6760891, Massachusetts Lender License #ML3257; Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant #FR0018028; Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department; Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance; Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; Rhode Island Licensed Lender; Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, License #MC5352; Oregon Mortgage Lending License ML-4961; Licensed Lender SC; Texas Mortgage Banker Registration; Washington Consumer Loan License #CL7706, Licensed Wisconsin Mortgage Banker, also Licensed in AL, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, ME, MD, MN, NC, OH, TN, VT, WV. Equal Housing Lender. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Lender, WVTN, VT,Licensed Lender SC; Insurance; Licensed by the Pennsylvania Massachusetts Lender

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By K. Justin Restaino

Every salesperson experiences a sales slump at one point intheir career. While upsetting, sales slumps can be a greattime for evaluating your sales process and making improve-ments. To help you do that, we’ve compiled a list of sugges-

tions for how you can break out of your slump and reinvigorate your sales:

Return to the basicsOnce you’ve been successful in sales, it can be easy to stop practicing thebasic things that got you there in the first place. For instance, did you domore prospecting when you were just starting out? Sales slumps typicallyoccur because there aren’t enough prospects in the pipeline. Reflect onthe actions that you undertook during times when sales were strong andimplement them during your slump.

Watch a leaderYou can learn a lot from watching other successful salespeople. Spendtime with a high-performing salesperson and watch how he engages withprospects. While viewing someone in your industry is helpful, it can alsobe instructive to watch a salesperson who works in a different one.

Prepare for sales callsPreparing for a meeting with a prospect is important but can be time-con-suming. Simplify the process by using Refresh, a free app available at theiTunes store. Refresh combs through your calendar and offers up insightson people you’re meeting with based on the updates that they’ve madeto their social media accounts. These insights will give you a better ideaof what’s going on in your prospect’s life and it can help you find commonground.

Don’t catastrophizeDuring a sales slump, it can be tempting to dwell on worst-case scenarios,i.e. “If this continues, I won’t be able to pay my mortgage this month.”Instead, remind yourself that slumps are a natural occurrence in sales andthey often are a precursor to a significant period of sales growth.

Think outside of the boxSometimes,. a slump can shake us out of our complacency. Try to varythe way that you approach your work. For example, you could prepare anew way to deal with a prospect’s objections or decide to be more diligentabout following with a prospect. This period of low sales can spark justthe insight that you need to shake things up in a good way.

K. Justin Restaino is vice president of Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. Formore than 15 years, he has led Titan’s Mortgage Division, helping lendersof all capacities grow their businesses utilizing targeted direct mail. With aspecialized focus in refinance and purchase markets, Restaino has the insightfor proper data and mail application for success. He may be reached byphone at (800) 544-8060, ext. 204 or e-mail justin@titanlists.com.

Emerging Froma Sales Slump

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with an upgraded data dictionary as thenext step in helping lenders comply withthe Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau’s (CFPB) 2015 integrated disclo-sure reform. The upgrade to ComplianceEAGLE provides the data field frameworkfor lenders to incorporate the upcomingAug. 1, 2015, changes to the Real EstateSettlement Procedures Act (RESPA) andthe Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Lendersusing Compliance EAGLE will be able torun pre-closing compliance tests onevery loan to ensure that the new regu-lations—such as the disclosure waitingperiod—were correctly implemented.Upcoming upgrades to ComplianceEAGLE will include testing environmentsto provide lenders with time to adjustoperations prior to the August deadline.

“With Aug. 1 less than eight monthsout, our customers are already upgrad-ing their compliance technology andpreparing to begin testing their newoperations,” said Leonard Ryan, founderand president of QuestSoft. “With therecent and upcoming upgrades toCompliance EAGLE, our customers will beable to test their compliance engineswell in advance of the new rule, provid-ing peace of mind that their systems andstaff are prepared.”

Compliance EAGLE is a Web-basedautomated compliance engine that eval-uates a loan file for adherence to the fullrange of mortgage lending regulations.QuestSoft consistently monitors new reg-ulations and updates the softwaremonthly to ensure compliance withnewly enacted rules and regulations.They work closely with over 15 LoanOrigination Systems to ensure seam-less data transfer. Adherence to CFPBregulations is performed throughCompliance EAGLE’s direct integrationcapabilities, and is used by GSE’s, inaddition to lenders and mortgageinvestors nationwide.

Data Facts AnnouncesNew AutomaticVerification of Deposits

Data Facts Inc. hasannounced an en-hancement to theirdeposit verificationsolutions, allowing

users to verify an applicant’s bankrecords in just minutes throughAccountChek-powered by FormFree.AccountChek provides a patented auto-mated verification of deposit and asset(VODA) solution to mortgage lenders,saving time and money while reducingfraud.

This system is the only third-partyasset verification acceptable to the gov-ernment-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)and leading investors by collecting datadirectly from the financial institution.AccountChek replaces the need for bor-rowers to submit paper bank statementsthat show they have the financialresources to qualify for a mortgage,

using a propriety process of electroniccertification of a borrower’s bank data.This enhanced solution provides instantresults allowing lenders to reducedelays, and helps simplify the underwrit-ing process by providing a clearer pic-ture of their borrower’s finances.

“Automated verification of depositseliminates the need for paper bankstatements, which aids in significantlyreducing buyback exposure and fraud.This also helps lenders comply with the“ability-to-pay” rules. It is solutions suchas these that our customers expect fromus, to keep them competitive in the mar-ketplace,” said Julie Wink, executive vicepresident of Data Facts.

Advantage SystemsLaunches New Site

Advantage Sys-tems, a provider ofaccounting andfinancial manage-

ment tools for the mortgage industry,has announced the launch of its newWeb site, www.mortgageaccount-ing.com, which offers greater detail intothe company’s Accounting for MortgageBankers (AMB) product’s features.Advantage Systems designed the site toshowcase its product offerings, givingvisitors specific details about these prod-ucts’ capabilities.

The new site’s interface is easy to nav-igate, responsive to mobile devices andclearly outlines the company’s extensivehistory in the mortgage industry.Additionally, the Web site’s FAQ pageoffers precise details about the AMB sys-tem requirements and the upgradedfeatures of Version 6.9.

“Our new Web site acts as a more use-ful resource to visitors and better reflectsour company’s updated brand,” saidBrian Lynch, president of AdvantageSystems. “We are proud of our new digi-tal storefront and how it represents ourcompany, culture and AMB product.”

CIS Integrates Verificationof Deposit/AssetTechnology Into Its Credit Platform

CIS has announcedthe capability toinstantly verify de-posits and assets,through a patentedp r o c e s s w i t h

AccountChek, is now integrated with theCIS credit platform. This enhancement isa solution to the labor-intensive andcostly process of collecting, analyzingand verifying paper documents manual-ly, which makes fraud detection nearlyimpossible. With the AccountCheckprocess integrated on the same platformused for accessing credit, 4506-T,Verification of Employment/Income,Undisclosed Debt Notifications, and

new to marketcontinued from page 12

continued on page 30

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Being WhereYou Belong in2015For those of you whowere in Las Vegas inSeptember and heard my

acceptance speech to become presi-dent of NAMB—The Association ofMortgage Professionals, you mayremember this statement, “There arepeople who want to be brokers whoare working for lenders and peoplewho would like to be employees whoare operating a business.” One of mychief goals as president of NAMB is tomake certain people are able to workwhere they want to in this business.

Not everyone is cut out to be abusiness owner. There is a lot ofstress and risk associated with own-ing the business. You are where thebuck stops. Everyone from your serv-ice providers to your lenders to yourcustomers and even your landlordare ultimately looking to you tomake things work correctly. I havefound that most successful entrepre-neurs are willing to sacrifice for along time to build a profitable busi-ness. Even when your business isthriving, you have the risk of cyclicaldownturns. There is also the risk oflegal action or regulatory actionsthat can have devastating effects.Being a business owner is simply notfor everyone. It is so much easier towalk into a business where the sup-port staff is already in place and therisks are on the owner. You simplymove on if things are not workingcorrectly.

But, there are quite a few benefits

to being an entrepreneur. We couldstart with the tax benefits. You canwrite off many things that you can-not as an employee. You aren’t sub-ject to the whims of the businessowner or your supervisor. Sometimes,bosses can be real jerks. How manycartoons have seen where the boss is areal sweetheart? One of the biggestcomplaints I hear from people whohave become employees after beingan entrepreneur for many years is thatyour time is no longer your own. Whenyou run the business, if you want to goon vacation, you just do it. As anemployee, you must schedule it whenit is good for the organization and howmuch time off you get is not yourchoice. Most larger companies havepolicies that you may not like. Theremay be weekly sales meetings andreports that need to be filled out. Howyou conduct your business is oftendecided higher up.

There is no question that success-ful business owners usually makemore than employees. We call it cap-italism. You invest in your companyand there is a return on that invest-ment of capital as well as time. Thekey phrase here is “successful busi-ness owners.” Business ownershiptakes discipline and talent. If youpossess the skills to make the busi-ness work, you will be rewarded. Ofcourse, there some people who don’twant a big business for many rea-sons. They are perfectly happy oper-ating alone or as a mom and popcompany. There should be a place forthose business types as well.

The dilemma originators and busi-

nesses face today is that the environ-ment is not as flexible as it needs tobe. We one must deal with both thelegal environment and the businessenvironment. Larger companies areoften the target of lawsuits. Theymust deal with employee issues andmay have difficulty adapting to mar-ket changes. Earlier this year, manymid-sized mortgage bankers decidedto call it quits and sold out to otherplayers. Even the too-big-to-failbanks have taken sizeable losses thatthreatened their existence. Largeinvestment bankers became insol-vent and were swallowed or dis-solved. Being large is no longer aguarantee of financial success.

Smaller companies have to dealwith market pressures as well. Onemust maintain a certain level ofincome to pay for the basic over-head. That is not insignificant, evenfor a single-person operation. Largercompanies who can provide benefitsand support staff and systems snipoff employees of small companies.Every business must develop andmaintain a working model that keepsthem profitable.

Then, there is the legal environ-ment. Despite the voluminous guid-ance from the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau (CFPB), manyquestions remain about compliance.Small companies need to seriouslyconsider an outside firm to assistthem with compliance. NAMB hasestablished a preferred relationshipwith Lenders Compliance Group andBrokers Compliance Group that canprovide a comprehensive compliancemanagement system. There are firmsthat provide pieces of the compli-ance puzzle, but the possible finescan far outweigh the cost of a truecompliance firm. Every originator

should make certain they attendNAMB events to learn all that theycan about compliance. Businessowners should always attend andwould do well to send all of theiremployees. Large firms must hirecompliance staff, raising the cost ofmortgages to the consumer. Manysmall companies have becomebranches of larger companies for noother reason than compliance.

NAMB is working tirelessly tomake every channel in the mortgagebusiness a safe choice. Lenders andbrokers alike are looking for regula-tory relief. NAMB talks to and meetsregularly with the CFPB and otherregulators. We also meet with agen-cies such as Fannie Mae, FHA, VA andothers. NAMB talks to members ofCongress to pass good legislation andchange bad laws. NAMB is one of thefew trade groups in the countrywhere every member is encouragedto participate in this process.

In summary, there is no “rightplace” for everyone. Fortunately, youhave a lot of choices. There are manyorigination models to choose from. Itis important to find which one worksfor you and perhaps your team. Talkto other originators. You can net-work at NAMB and state events.These are some of the few opportu-nities where you can learn from oth-ers in the industry. When you areoperating where you are comfort-able, this can be a very profitableand enjoyable profession.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMSNAMB Presidentpresident@namb.orgwww.joinnamb.com

The President’s Corner: January 2015

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

Well, it looks like 2015has arrived and we are onthe start of a great newyear. Many things aregoing to happen over thenext 12 months, and I

hope that you are ready. NAMB is work-ing hard to be able to bring you lots ofthings in the coming year. As your CEO,I am assuming a few duties that are alittle different than my role as presi-dent last year. I am now on the NAMB+Board of Directors, working withproviders that make your life easier inthe everyday duties of an owner and an

originator. I am also working with theGovernment Affairs Committee on theirissues and with the PAC Committee.Being involved as a member of the actu-al committees has again opened myeyes to how much these people do dayin and day out for the NAMB member-ship.

But what I want to let you know isthat right now, you need to do every-thing that you can to make your goalsand agendas a priority to reach yourexpectations for this year achievableright now. This is the start and if youwait until next month to get started,

you are behind. The first thing that youshould do is renew or join NAMB, andas an originator, renew or establishyourself as a Lending Integrity member.These two things will help you establishyour professional side of the businessand make it easier for customers toknow that you have taken the extra stepin your professional life. By putting theNAMB logo and the Lending IntegritySeal on all of your solicitation, businesscards, e-mails and such, you are tellingthe recipients that you are the profes-sional that the customer is looking forto do business with each and every day.And then you get the extended benefitsof NAMB membership. You get informa-tion about upcoming rules and laws asthey go into effect. You get to attendWebinars that will help you, you get

Government Affairs updates and mostof all, and you get the additionalknowledge to help you be a better orig-inator or boss.

Professional Memberships cost $120per year. Regular memberships cost$50 per year. Just look at all of theupsides you get for $10 as a profession-al member or $4.17 as a regular mem-ber per month. You could probably paythis by skipping that extra cup of coffeeonce every week. So do not delay. Jointoday and embark on the journey to bemore successful in 2015.

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is chiefexecutive officer for NAMB—TheAssociation of Mortgage Professional.He may be reached by e-mail atnamb.ceo@namb.org.

A Message From NAMB CEODonald J. Frommeyer

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N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

By Richard M.Bettencourt Jr.,CRMS, CMHS

Happy New Year! I hopeeach of you had a won-

derful, safe and happy holiday season!It’s amazing how quickly these years flyby us, it seems like just yesterday it wasJanuary 2014 and we were preparing tohead down to Washington, D.C. tolobby for change. Now, it’s that time ofyear again! This article won’t be long,it’s been a VERY quiet environment inWashington, D.C.

Since the mid-terms, it’s been a bitof a “Who’s Who,” “Who’s on what,”“Who might help,” and “Who mightnot.” Right after the mid-terms, youhave the holiday season (Thanksgiving,Chanukah, Christmas and New Year’s).All of the Congressman and Senatorshave been sworn in, they’re now set-tling into their offices, and finding outwhat committee’s they’ll be sitting on!So, with all this going on, we haven’thad much contact with our elected offi-cials. I said “much,” I didn’t say “none!”Even though it’s been quiet, yourGovernment Affairs team has been verybusy.

I had a great meeting in Washington,D.C. in early December. Our lobbyist,Roy DeLoach, and I were down in D.C.meeting with several industry regula-tors and congressional officials continu-ing to educate them on the impact thethree percent points and fees cap haveon our low- to moderate-income home-owners, the impact to small business,and the disparity that exists in the resi-dential lending environment. Our meet-ing went so well, that we’ll be back inD.C. at the end of January for a series offollow ups! As I’ve said since I took thisposition, my primary goal has been tolobby to correct this issue and create alevel playing field for our consumersand members. More details to followand we’ll detail the outcome of ourmeetings at our Legislative Conferencein 2015!

So, let’s talk about the Legislative &Regulatory Conference! We have select-ed our dates and we are extremelyexcited about this year’s conference. Ifirmly believe this could be one of themost important conferences we’ve hadin many years! The dates for our 2015Conference will be Sunday-Tuesday,April 12-14. We are finalizing the hoteland their contract has been sent to our

NAMB President John Councilman forhis signature. Please look for an impor-tant message from our CommunicationsChair John Hudson with full details onthe event.

The NAMB Government Affairs teamis working on speakers and finalizingthe agenda, which we are hoping tohave by the end of January or the firstweek in February. Now’s the time tostart making those congressionalappointments!

Our Government Affairs team is alsoworking on our talking points for ourelected officials. Two talking points Iknow for certain that will be on ourtalking point are the three percentpoints and fees cap revision, and VAloan limits. I think we’re very close togetting some positive movement on ourquest to remove broker compensationfrom the three percent points and feescap. It’s disclosure has been removedfrom the new Loan Estimate Form beingimplemented in August 2015, and Ithink if we collect compelling datashowing that it’s inclusion is not benefi-cial, we could see some revisions.

As a major supporter of our veteran’scommunity, we need to lobby and workwith Congress to reinstate the VA high-balance loan limits. There were 48counties in 17 states impacted by theomission of this provision from theOmnibus Funding Bill. Now, it appears

that there is an initiative gainingmomentum in Congress to reinstate it,and we need to support this agenda asit supports our veterans who have sup-ported us for hundreds of years!

We have a whole new world in D.C.,a world that, with the right meetingsand with the right people, could allowfor some changes to existing laws thatdirectly impact our industry! So, weneed as many members as possible totake some time out of their scheduleand join us in April to lobby for change!

Well, I’m sorry this was a shortupdate, but, we’re going to have somerather long ones this year as movetowards the end of 2015 and what Ihope to be the Year of the Broker!! I begthat each of you will take three days outof your work schedule and join us foran amazing conference! If you have anyquestions, please don’t hesitate to callor e-mail me! I can be reached at gov-ernmentaffairs@namb.org or call me at(978) 304-0818. Thanks again and we’llsee you in April!

Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHSof Danvers, Mass.-based MortgageNetwork is Government AffairsCommittee Chair of NAMB—TheAssociation of Mortgage Professionals.He may be reached by phone at (978)777-7500 or e-mail rbettencourt@mort-gagenetwork.com.

Let’s Hit the Hill

By Fred Kreger, CMC

It is now the New Year.The champagne corkshave all popped. Our res-olutions have been writ-

ten for ourselves. However, what aboutwhat we can do for others. In a moredirect thought, what can you do this nextyear for your industry? When I think ofthe best way that we as members ofNAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals can do on a daily basis, it isin mentoring one another. We all havethe greatest opportunity to be on bothsides of this process. So ask yourself thesequestions:

1. Which side of mentoring are you on?2. Should you be on both sides?3. Should you be looking to be men-

tored and then mentoring someone?

When I first started in this industryand my involvement in the CaliforniaAssociation of Mortgage Professionals(CAMP) and now NAMB, I had a fewmentors who guided me into becom-

ing a respected loan originator withina relatively short period of time.However, even after my initial men-tors, I continue today reaching out tonew and past mentors to give me evenbetter tools in order to be a better orig-inator, manager and leader. I chooseto continue learning and not acceptingmediocrity as the way to go throughlife and career.

John Maxwell points out in his book,Fifteen Invaluable Laws of Growth,“Possess a teachable spirit and beaccountable for what you’ve learned.”

He also points out; “Every personwho can help is not necessarily the rightperson to help you. You must pick andchoose. And so must they.”

Think about your own contributionsas a mentor or one that is mentored bysomeone.

So this new year, determine whichside or both sides of the process youbelong. You will grow personally andprofessionally. You will also create abetter bond with your fellow NAMBmembers. Thus, our organization willbe stronger and better for you having

taken this step.I’ll leave you with some thoughts of a

poem I read called:

DREAM BIG. AUTHOR UNKNOWNIf there were ever a time to dare, to makea difference, to embark on somethingworth doing, It is now.Not for any grand cause, necessarily—Butfor something that tugs at your heart,something that’s your inspiration, some-thing that’s your dream.You owe it to yourself to make your dayshere count. Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch. Dream big. Know, though, that things worth doing sel-dom come easy. There will be good days, and there will bebad days. There will be times when you want to turn

around, pack it up, and call it quits. Those times tell you that you are pushingyourself that you are not afraid to learn bytrying.

I personally thank you for your ongoingcontributions to our organization, and amI proud to lead and mentor you in any wayI can.

Fred Kreger, CMC is the branch managerat American Family Funding, a Division ofAmerican Pacific Mortgage. He is also apast statewide president of the CaliforniaAssociation of Mortgage Professionals(CAMP) and currently is the vice presidentand Government Affairs vice chairman forNAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals. He may be reached byphone at (661) 505-4311 or e-mailfred.kreger@affloans.com.

Start Off the New YearMentoring

Why Do I Need NAMB?l NAMB Testifies Before Congress l NAMB Works With the CFPB l NAMB Participates in Multiple

Regulatory/CFPB Panels l NAMB Webinars

l Full-Time NAMB Lobbyist onCapitol Hill

l NAMB Protects Your Businessl NAMB Forms Industry Coalitionsl NAMB Education

For detailed information, visit www.namb.org.

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

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The Certification Committee of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Profes-sion-als has been very productive to date in2014, obtaining many new loan officerswho have received the CertifiedMortgage Consultant (CMC), CertifiedResidential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS)and/or General Mortgage Associate(GMA) designations.

NAMB will continue to grow itsCertification Program, to enhance itsvalue to our designees, and fine-tuneits structure and procedures. The goalof the NAMB Certification Committee isto raise the number of certified mort-gage professionals to 1,000 by July2015, and to launch a marketing cam-paign to both industry members andthe public at-large about the need toutilize a nationally designated mort-gage professional.

For more information on NAMB’sCertification Program, contact NAMBCertification Committee member JohnStearns, CMC, CRMS by e-mail atjstearns@afmsi.com or call (262) 478-1154.

AlabamaLinda McCoy, CRMSPenny H. Phillips, CRMS

Arizona Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMSCal Carlson, CMC, CRMSBert Carpenter, CMC, CRMS, GMARandall E. Hotchkiss, CMCWilliam R. Howe, CMC, CRMSBrian Jacenko, CMCRoss Jameson, CMCGilda Kemp, CRMSGary G. Kiehlbaugh, CRMSHratch K. Panosian, CMCJoseph P. Paonessa, CMCMark L. Ross, CMC, CRMSGary N. Smith, CMC

Stanley Y. Wang, CMC, CRMSLinda M. Wright, CMC

ArkansasShane Lester, CMC, CRMS

California Fred Arnold, CMCMichael Dorr, CRMSGeorge L. Duarte, CMCJane Durant-Jones, CMCVirginia Ferguson, CMCLinda Fleischmann, CMCDean Henderson, CRMSAl Hensling, CMCPeaches Jensen, CMCFred Kreger, CMCJessica Lanning, CMC, CRMSJoshua Lewis, CMCC. Kent Miller, CMCJames O’Dea, CMCPeter Ogilvie, CMCNancy Osborne, CMC, CRMSDonald Petty, CMCRobert S. Schwab, CMCGuy Schwartz, CMCChristopher Taylor, CMCRichard Vujovich, CMCSusan Wingate, CMC

Colorado Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMSTarius L. Derritt, CRMSGary Salter, CMCMichael Thomas, CMC

ConnecticutDebra Killian, CRMSLisa Moriello, CMC, CRMSHector Rodriguez, CMCLou-Ann Smith, CRMS

District of ColumbiaDiane B. Cook, CRMSJan Hix, CMC

FloridaTillis Churchill, CRMSFrank Cicione, CMC, CRMSJohn L. Councilman, CMC, CRMSMatthew Daly, CRMSJoseph L. Falk, CMC, CRMSDan C. Longman, CRMSJulie Wheeler, CRMSKenneth Zorovich, CRMS

GeorgiaMichael Sean Collett, CRMSDeborah L. Switts, CMCFrank P Torch, CRMS

HawaiiDonna Dodd, CRMSPatricia K. Morimoto, CMCGlenn Takasato, CMCBarbara Welsh, CMC

IllinoisKenneth J. Amstutz, CMC, CRMSGilbert M. Antokal, CRMSBrian Augustine, CRMSLeticia Avina, CRMSJackie Bulava, CRMSAngelo Cusinato, CMC, CRMSTony Davis, CMC, CRMSJohn Dedes, CRMSDorothy P. Desmond, CMC, CRMSBrian Dixon, CRMSCharles E. Eck, CMCAdenike Fasanya, CMCCarol Gardner, CMC, CRMSJorge G. Gomez, CRMSScott T. Guzik, CMCRobert J. Kenney, CRMSSteven M. Levitt, CRMSRobert C. Moos, CMC, CRMSAndrew G. Palomo, CMC, CRMSTerry Pogofsky, CRMSJudith Santefort-Frey, CRMSShelly Straim, CMCTory Tarsitano, CRMSPrince Williams, Jr., CRMS

IndianaFrank Andriole, CRMSDonald J. Frommeyer, CRMSRobert E. Sweeney, CRMS

IowaCharles D. Chedester, CRMS Kevin Kirsch, CRMSBrian E. Lampe, CMC, CRMS

KansasA.W. Pickel, III, CMCLynn Smith, CMC

KentuckyNicolas M. Ellis, CMC, CRMS

LouisianaMichael Anderson, CRMSTracy Lynn West, GMA

MaineElizabeth Monaghan, CMC

MarylandTheresa Amos, CRMSAdrian F. Citroni, CRMSJason Fox, CRMSEric D. Gates, CRMSPatricia McGill, CMCRick Rall, CMCCraig Strent, CRMSKen Venick, CMC

MassachusettsRichard M. Bettencourt, CRMSGeorge F. McLaughlin,III, CMC, CRMS

MichiganTimothy Baise, CMCChip Cummings, CMCEric Kistka, CMC, CRMSPava J. Leyrer, CMC, CRMS

MinnesotaJason Decker, CRMSChristopher Dueffert, CRMS

The NAMB Certification Program

General MortgageAssociate

Certified ResidentialMortgage Specialist

Certified MortgageConsultant

By JohnCouncilman, CMC,CRMS

It seems hard to believebut another year has

slipped by. The year 2015 is here already,whether we were ready or not.

As I look back at 2014, I asked myself,“If I could have changed anything aboutwhat I did in 2014, what would I change?”Have you asked yourself that question? I

thought long and hard about this becauseyou probably know that I believe everyone of us can improve, and should, everyyear. That doesn’t mean we make moremoney this year than last or we accom-plish more great things. It simply meansthat we grew during the year and welearned things we didn’t know before.

For those of us who are Type-A per-sonalities, we have to always understandthat there are other people around us.We don’t need to do everything and they

may be able to do things better than wecan if we give them a chance. This is anarea where I have had a problem. I havea tendency to micro-manage. I learnedthat actually weakens an organizationrather than strengthens it. People youwork with hate it. You can’t possibly do itall so things don’t get done.

My goal for 2015 is to learn how towork with and have faith in the people Ihave been given as partners. Will theyfail? Sometimes. Will they disappoint me?A few times. But, there will be timeswhen they amaze me. Like children, weall need a chance to fail and a chance to

succeed. I hope in 2015 I can master thetechnique of allowing others to grow. If Ihave done my job, they will grow to evengreater heights than those who precededthem. That is my goal for 2015. Pick outan area where you need improvement. Ifyou can resolve to do that, you will havegrown in 2015.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS of AMCMortgage Corporation in Ft. Myers, Fla. ispresident of NAMB—The Association ofMortgage Professionals. He may bereached by phone at (239) 267-2400 or e-mail jlc@amcmortgage.com.

My Goal for 2015

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Dear Mortgage Professional,Happy New Year! Hopefully you are not totally sick ofhearing that just yet. For me, embarking upon a new yearis always an exciting proposition, with new opportunitiesand challenges abound.

In this first month of the New Year, I want to challengeyou and offer you an opportunity to try something new that I believe willhelp your business and help you save money.

Below you can see a list of current NAMB+ Endorsed Providers. Istrongly urge you to visit www.NAMBPlus.com TODAY to learn moreabout these NAMB+ Endorsed Providers and see all of the tremendousmoney-saving discounts they are offering on products and services we,as mortgage professionals, use every day! Although you might not havea need for all of the products and services offered, I am confident thatyou will find tremendous value in working with at least one of these com-panies whether you are an originator, manager or owner.

However, if for some reason you cannot find a current NAMB+ En-dorsed Provider that is offering a product or service that you are shop-ping for, or if you don’t believe the special pricing and discounts beingoffered will save you money, please contact me immediately. We are al-ways looking to expand upon our list of Endorsed Providers and it is crit-ically important to me and to our entire Board of Directors that wecontinue to be a valuable resource for NAMB Members.

John G. Stevens, CRMS, PresidentNAMB+, Inc.John@JohnGStevens.comNAMBPlus.com

See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ EndorsedProviders and visit NAMBPlus.com for more information.

NAMB+ is an independent, wholly-owned,for-profit marketing subsidiary of NAMB,The Association of Mortgage Professionals.

NAMBPLUS Login InstructionsUsername = Member Number

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letter of the last name capitalized (example = JStevens)

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to NAMBPLUS.com and the many benefitsNAMB members receive!

Shannon Roepke, CRMSJayne B. Sims, CRMSJ.J. Sims, CRMS

MississippiRobert D. Capps, CRMSDaniel J. D’Amico, CRMSVickie S. Graves, CRMSKenneth A. McNeal, CRMS

MissouriAndrew Conner, CRMS

MontanaRni Arnett, CRMS, GMA Tavell Peete, CMC, CRMS

NebraskaBrent Rasmussen, CRMS

New HampshireMichael Loffredo, CMCPaul R. Sliker, CMC

New JerseyRichard L. Jarocki, CMC

New MexicoGinger Bell, CRMSWes Moore, CRMS

New YorkJim Barry, CMCDonald Henig, CMCSeth Rapport, CRMSJessica Schoen, CRMS

North CarolinaDonald E. Fader, CRMSNeill E. Fendly, CMCDavid M. Overcast, CRMSJeffrey Trout. CRMS

OhioKevin Ary, CRMSDennis Fisher, CMC, CRMSRobert Mahaffey, CRMSJim Nabors, II, CMC, CRMSErick A. Parker, CMC, CRMSDuy Vu, CRMSPhenon Walker, CRMS

OregonAndy Harris, CRMSMatt Jolivette, CMCTami Konkel, CRMSStephen C. Salveson, CRMSKerry L. Vasquez, CMC

PennsylvaniaWayne Angelo, CRMSMichael J. D’Alonzo, CMCGeorge Hanzimanolis, CRMSJames E. Martin, CMC, CRMSStephen M. Matthews, CRMSMark Mazzenga, CMCKevin McElwain, CMCDaniel Thierry, CRMSDeborah A. Webb, CMC

South CarolinaJames Taylor, CMC

TennesseeSheila Lipman, CRMS

William Parker, CMC, CRMSJerry Rutledge, CMCApril Schummer, CRMSJeffrey Shealey, GMA

UtahDavid Luna, CRMSNathan Pirerce, CRMSJohn Stevens, CRMS

VirginiaBernice Brown, CRMSJason Crigler, CRMS

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

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Brian C. Short, CMC, CRMS, GMA

TexasHarry H. Dinham, CMCJohn H. Hudson, CRMSJolene Jaehne, GMAOlga Kucerak, CRMSKarl LeBlanc, CRMSHenry Lesmeister, CRMSStacy London, CMCTerry J. Morrow, CMCRobin C. Morton, CRMSJim Pair, CMC

Richard L. Gilbert, CRMSDavid E. Shelor, CRMS

WashingtonStephen Bozick, CMCEdward Irwin, CMCPatricia L. Naselow, CMC

West VirginiaMarc Savitt, CRMS

WisconsinJohn L. Stearns, CMC, CRMS

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By Bubba Mills

If you think about your future as amortgage lender, you should bethinking about the generation ofMillennials—and thinking about

them a lot. Why? Because a new report says that generation—

those born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s—willbe known as the “the house-buying generation.”

The report, from Nielsen and the DemandInstitute, says Millennials will spend around $2 tril-lion on home purchases in the next five years.Today, there are only about 13 million Millennialhouseholds in the U.S., but by 2018 that numberwill rise to 22 million.

What’s more, the report says that eight in 10 Millennialssay they plan to own their own home someday.

So the question becomes, how do you reachMillennials? Here are a few tips:

1. Think searchWhen it comes to homebuying, younger buyers almostalways start the process by conducting searches on theInternet. Google reports half of all Millennials in theUnited States visited real estate-related Web sites this sum-

mer. Investing in search engine optimization (SEO) willlikely be money well spent. And, register your business onlocal business directories and review sites so you can befound online.

2. Think mobileSo exactly how do Millennials conduct their online search-es? Mostly on their mobile devices. In fact, a full 26 per-cent of younger buyers who ultimately purchased a home,found that home via a mobile device, according to theNational Association of Realtors (NAR). Be sure your Website and all digital communications are viewable onmobile devices.

3. Think testimonialsMillennials don’t trust advertising so they look to moretrustworthy sources. In fact, 95 percent reported theirfriends are the most credible source of information. Taketime to get testimonials from clients and use them in all ofyour communications.

4. Think socialMillennials spend an average 3.2 hours a day on socialmedia, so stay active on these channels and share helpfulcontent that prompts them to engage with you andbecome an advocate.

5. Think helpfulIn the last tip, I mentioned helpful content. For Millennials,this is vital. Millennials are prudent and take more timethan other age groups to research all things real estate—often starting their search six months in advance of buying.That means they’re seeking relevant and helpful informa-tion. Be sure your communications provide valuable infor-mation about the mortgage-lending process. Consider offer-ing borrower guides and mortgage checklists.

6. Think videoIf a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then a video is worth2,000 words. Millennials like videos—it’s no wonderYouTube is now the second largest search engine. Googlesays real estate videos on YouTube were viewed 13 per-cent more in 2014 than in 2013. Consider how you canmarket yourself and your services via video.

Let me hear from you. How much have you thoughtabout Millennials as a group? How is your marketinggeared toward this generation? What can you start doingto appeal to and capture more Millennials?

Bubba Mills is executive vice president of CorcoranConsulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phoneat (800) 957-8353 or visit www.corcorancoaching.com.

How to Tap the “House-Buying Generation”

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© StreetLinks, LLC | P2014-1

FHA Reduces MortgageInsurance Premium

by 0.5 PercentBy Phil Hall

Pres ident BarackObama has instruct-e d t h e F e d e r a lHousing Admini-

stration (FHA) to lower its annual mort-gage insurance premiums from 1.35 per-cent to 0.85 percent.

In a speech delivered Jan. 8, 2015, atCentral High School in Phoenix, Ariz.,Obama stated this 0.5 percent deduc-tion will spur homeownership rates torise.

“Over the next three years, theselower premiums will give hundreds ofthousands more families the chance toown their own home, and it will helpmake owning a home more affordablefor millions more households overall inthe coming years,” Obama said.

In advance to the official announce-ment, the White House released datastating this new 0.5 percentage pointreduction in premiums will generate anaverage savings of $900 annually for allnew FHA borrowers. The administrationprojects that more than 800,000 FHA

borrowers will benefit from these lowerrates during 2015 while creating“opportunities for 250,000 new home-owners to purchase a home over thenext three years.”

The President also stressed that thisFHA policy change should not been as theprelude to another round of irresponsiblebehavior in the housing market.

“If you’re looking to take advantageof these lower rates, that’s great,”Obama said. “On the other hand, don’tbuy something you cannot afford—you’re going to be out of luck. Theserates are for responsible buyers. We’renot going down the road again offinancing folks buying things they can’tafford—we’re going to be crackingdown on that.”

This new policy shift does not requireCongressional approval, and it can beseen as part of the Administration’sstrategy of using Executive Branchaction to promote its domestic policieswhile avoiding confrontations with theRepublican-controlled Congress.

Reaction to this change was mostlypositive among industry leaders and

observers, although some expressed theneed for additional changes.

“As an independent mortgage bankerwhose business includes a significantamount of FHA lending, I can attest thatthe 50 basis point reduction in FHA’sannual premium will have a significant-ly positive impact for my borrowers andthe housing market,” said Bill Cosgrove,chairman of the Mortgage BankersAssociation (MBA) and chief executiveofficer of Union Home Mortgage.“Specifically, this will help first-timehomebuyers by making FHA loans moreaffordable. Given the timing, just as webegin the spring homebuying season, Ithink today’s announcement is just whatthe market needs.”

“Lower premiums will make homeloans more affordable for qualified bor-rowers, particularly first-time homebuy-ers, and help to alleviate tight creditconditions in the mortgage market,”said Kevin Kelly, chairman of theNational Association of Home Builders(NAHB). “This prudent course reflects arecent actuarial report that FHA is backin black and strengthening its financial

health. The new premium structure willallow FHA to continue building itsreserves.”

“Reducing FHA mortgage insurancepremiums will make it easier for hun-dreds of thousands of homebuyers toget a mortgage and provide greateraccess to homeownership for historical-ly underserved groups and credit wor-thy families,” said California Associationof Realtors (CAR) President ChrisKutzkey. “Moreover, this shift in policywill also increase the volume of bor-rowers using FHA-backed loans, whilecontinuing to contribute to the solven-cy of FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance(MMI) Fund and making the dream ofhomeownership a reality for millionsmore Americans.”

“Until now, FHA has been chargingfamilies far more for their mortgagesthan the cost of the risk they present tothe insurance fund,” said Julia Gordon,director of housing finance and policyat the Center for American Progress.“The agency’s significant change is abold step forward that will help hun-dreds of thousands of families access

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the safe and affordable mortgage cred-it they need to become successful, long-term homeowners, ultimately strength-ening the housing market and the over-all economic recovery.”

“We are optimistic that more afford-able FHA loans will have a positiveimpact on first-time buyers who havebeen entering the market at a lowerthan normal rate. Over the past fouryears, as the fees increased, the percentshare of first-time buyers using FHA-backed loans shrank from 56 percent to39 percent,” said the NationalAssociation of Realtors (NAR) in a state-ment. “NAR estimates that a reductionin the annual MIP of 0.50 to 0.85 per-cent from the current 1.35 percentwould price-in an additional 1.6 mil-lion to 2.1 million renters along withmany trade-up buyers, resulting in90,000 to 140,000 additional annualhome purchases.”

“The Federal Housing Administra-tion’s plan to reduce annual mortgageinsurance premiums is a welcome stepin boosting our housing market, accel-erating our nation’s economic recovery,and making housing more accessiblefor everyone,” said Wade Henderson,president and CEO of The LeadershipConference on Civil and Human Rights.“Lowering premiums will put moneyback into the pockets of millions of bor-rowers, and will enable more credit-worthy families to obtain loans.”

“We applaud President Obama forthis positive step, which will be benefi-cial to working families striving toclimb the economic ladder,” said JohnTaylor, president and CEO of NationalCommunity Reinvestment Coalition(NCRC). “Throughout its history, FHAhas played a key role in helping work-ing people to access homeownershipand build wealth through equity. Thisreduction in FHA mortgage insurancepremiums will serve to help makehomeownership more affordable andattainable for many families. We arepleased that the administration isshowing a commitment to homeowner-ship opportunity.”

But Taylor also raised concerns thatmore work was needed.

“Unfortunately, the administrationhas not yet eliminated the requirementthat most FHA borrowers pay for mort-gage insurance for the life of the loan,”Taylor continued. “Typically for conven-tional loans, when borrowers reach a20 percent equity threshold, they havethe ability to cancel their mortgageinsurance. For most FHA borrowers,this option does not exist. This unfairpolicy for FHA borrowers ultimatelyamounts to a poor tax. We call on theadministration to end this recent prac-tice. In order stimulate the housingmarket and ensure broad access forcreditworthy borrowers it is also criti-cally important for the Federal HousingFinance Agency to reduce excessiveguarantee fees and loan level priceadjustments at Fannie Mae and FreddieMac.”

Taylor’s sentiments were shared byGary Acosta, co-founder and CEO of the

National Association of Hispanic RealEstate Professionals (NAHREP).

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cur-rently account for more than 80 percentof the market,” Acosta said. “ReducingFHA fees is an important first step, butgetting the GSEs back in the first timehomebuyer market would have an evengreater impact.”

And a former FHA executive also sig-naled the need for further realignmentof policy.

“I would hope that FHA and theOffice of Management and Budget(OMB) would revisit the move towardrisk-based pricing, an approach thatwould further the objectives of this pre-mium reduction, by creating a cost

structure that would attract the appro-priate mix of borrowers to balance outthe overall portfolio, similar to the com-mon practices of all other insurancecompanies,” said Brian Montgomery,former FHA commissioner, and co-founder and vice chairman of TheCollingwood Group LLC.

Not surprisingly, Republicans onCapitol Hill were not enthusiastic.

“The federal government should bewinding down its involvement in themortgage business, not engaging in arace to the bottom, and it is absolutelyimperative that Congress followthrough on housing finance reform thisyear,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).

California Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a

senior member of the House FinancialServices Committee, echoed Corkerwith near-verbatim language.

“The President’s decision reflects arace to the bottom between the FHAand the GSEs in which the private sectoris crowded out and taxpayers are leftholding the bag,” he said. “The finan-cial crisis is proof positive that anincreased government presence inhousing distorts the market and pro-motes the very boom-and-bust cycle weare trying to avoid.”

Phil Hall is managing editor of NationalMortgage Professional Magazine. Hemay be reached by e-mail atphilh@nmpmediacorp.com.

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By Kenneth M.Donohue

While no industry isimmune to fraud, fewhave as many vulnerabili-

ties for fraudsters to exploit as themortgage lending industry. In additionto the inherent risk associated withlending large sums of money, the mort-gage industry involves numerous indi-viduals (e.g., brokers,lenders, appraisers,underwriters, account-ants, real estate agents,loan originators, settle-ment attorneys, landdevelopers, real estateinvestors, etc.) who have ahigh level of access tofinancial documents, soft-ware and systems, confi-dential data and licensureinformation. These vari-ous access points are vul-nerable to wrongdoersbent on committing fraud.Time and again, perpetra-tors have demonstratedtheir aptitude for eludinglegislation and regulationsby modifying existingschemes or devising newschemes to exploit loop-holes. As the GreatRecession showed us,much rides on the healthand stability of the mort-gage industry; it is there-fore imperative that theindustry takes the measures necessaryto protect itself—and the consumers itserves—against fraud.

My personal experience with mort-gage fraud began in 1990 when I joinedthe newly created Resolution TrustCorporation, Office of Investigations, anoff-shoot of the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation (FDIC), whichwas created to address the savings andloan (S&L) crisis. Criminal and civil fraudcases were brought against such fraud-sters as Charles Keating, Lincoln Savingsand Loan, Phoenix, Ariz.; David Paul ofCentrust S&L, Miami, Fla.; and MichaelMilken, the junk bond king, New York,N.Y.

Like many others, I thought we hadlearned our lesson and that a crisis such

as the S&L debacle could not—or wouldnot—occur again because the federalregulatory agencies could not—andwould not—allow it to happen.

Fast-forward to the 2000s, the infla-tion of the housing bubble, and thesubsequent bursting of that bubble. The2008 bailout added fuel to the fire by

angering taxpayers, who, in turn,demanded stricter oversight of thefinancial services industry. The govern-ment responded with legislation suchas the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reformand Consumer Protection Act, whichaims, in part, to stem fraudulent behav-ior by enhancing the transparency andaccountability of the financial servicessector.

From 2001 to 2010, I served as the

Inspector General for the U.S.Department of Housing & UrbanDevelopment (HUD). This positionincluded oversight of the FederalHousing Administration (FHA) andOffice of Federal Housing Enforcementand Oversight (OFHEO). OFHEO hadoversight of the government-sponsored

enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac. During my tenure, weidentified, investigated and prosecutedappraisers, settlement agents, mort-gage brokers, and any other actors whoperpetrated mortgage fraud. From myvantage point, a number of trendsemerged that created an environmentin which fraud schemes flourished:

l Lenders with high rates of defaultslacked strong quality-control platforms. Suchlenders focused moreon loan volume thanon evaluating the riskof those loans default-ing due to the financialinstability and otherrisk factors of the par-ties involved in thetransactions.

l Some lenders lackedadequate processes forperforming due dili-gence and ongoingmonitoring of thirdparties.

l Policy-makers andregulatory agenciesapproved and encour-aged no-documenta-tion and low-documen-tation loan programs,which compromisedloan-quality assurance.

The S&L crisis of the1990s and the mortgage crisis of the2000s serve as cautionary tales thatfraud schemes are resilient and easilyadapt to fluctuations in the economyand changes in lending policies. Thecontinued sluggish housing market isproving to be an attractive environmentfor mortgage fraud perpetrators who

RobustRisk

ManagementThe Cornerstone of a Strong Mortgage Lending Industry

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Give us a call!

800-486-3001 or visit www.unitednorthern.com

MPA FIVE STAR LEND

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2014

United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home Advantage, Senior Security Advisors

3601 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 300, Levittown, NY 11756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 • Licensed in NY, NJ, PA, MA, MD, AL, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, TX, WA • additional licences available upon

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are devising new schemes to exploitgaps in the mortgage lending market.According to the CoreLogic MortgageFraud Report, mortgage fraud has risen3.2 percent in the last year. For the 12months ending the second quarter of2014, the report estimates the totalvalue of applications with fraud or seri-ous misrepresentations at $19.8 bil-lion1. The cycle of fraud needs to bestemmed for the sake of the industry,the consumers it serves, and the econo-my as a whole.

Over the past few years, I have spo-ken at several mortgage lendingindustry events. Each time, I haveemphasized the need for lenders tocontinue to enhance their risk man-agement practices, including perform-ing due diligence before contractingwith third-party service providers andcarrying out ongoing monitoring ofthe vendors thereafter. Serviceproviders who are unknowledgeableregarding consumer financial protec-tion laws or have weak internal con-trols pose a threat to consumers—andtherefore, the lenders, as they areaccountable for managing vendorrelationships. Whether it is appraisers,settlement agents, mortgage brokers,firms that conduct loan-level qualitycontrol reviews, or anyone else,lenders must take action to monitorthe integrity of vendors and act sothat they can demonstrate that theyhave adequate policies and proce-dures in place.

Reinforcing the call for more robust

fraud mitigation, the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau (CFPB)released Bulletin 2012-03 in April 2013.The Bulletin articulates the Bureau’sexpectation that CFPB-supervised insti-tutions (i.e., large banks, mortgagelenders or servicers, student lenders,payday lenders, large debt collectors, ordebt buyers) have an effective processfor managing the risks of serviceprovider relationships and may be heldresponsible for the actions of compa-nies with which they contract. The bul-letin makes it clear that the CFPB wouldtake a close look at service providers’interactions with consumers, and wouldhold all appropriate companiesaccountable when legal violationsoccur. In the Bulletin, the Bureau rec-ommends that supervised financialinstitutions take steps to ensure thatbusiness arrangements with serviceproviders do not present unwarrantedrisks to consumers. Steps include:

1. Conducting thorough due diligence2. Requesting and reviewing policies,

procedures, internal controls andtraining materials

3. Making sure contracts with service

providers include clear expectationsabout compliance and appropriateand enforceable consequences forviolations

4. Establishing internal controls andongoing monitoring

5. Taking prompt action to address anyproblem identified through themonitoring process

Another consideration for lenders isthe protection of confidential data. Therecent well-publicized cybersecuritybreaches experienced in other indus-tries, most notably retail (i.e., HomeDepot and Target), serve as starkreminders of the need to be ever-vigi-lant with regard to data protection. Inthis light, performing thorough due dili-gence and ongoing monitoring are ofparamount importance given the factthat mortgage banking employees andvendors have access to enormousamounts of privileged information oftheir applicants. These professionalshave the ability to cause significantharm to a borrower; therefore, con-sumers deserve an expectation thatwhatever information they provide ishandled safely and securely. In the

mortgage process, the consumer is at agreat disadvantage dealing with a com-plex transaction involving many mov-ing parts, voluminous documentation,and many different parties managingthe transaction for them. Consequently,lenders and vendors must place therights and expectations of consumersfirst. Lenders must be in the position topull the plug on relationships and evenstop loans from closing if they suspectwrongdoing. The CFPB has made itclear that lenders are responsible forensuring that their relationships withservice providers do not pose unwar-ranted risk to consumers and will beheld accountable for mismanaging ven-dor relationships.

Finally, I do not propose that fraudmanagement and third-party monitor-ing are the sole challenges for thisindustry to once again gain its criticalfootprint. I do, however, believe thatlenders need to address these issues, besensitive to consumer expectations, andmanage their relationships with ven-dors accordingly.

The Honorable Kenneth M. Donohue is adirector and senior advisor withCohnReznick Advisory Group–Government Services. He can be reachedby phone at (301) 280-6460 or e-mailkenneth.donohue@cohnreznick.com.

Footnote1—CoreLogic 2014 Mortgage FraudReport. October 2014. Nov. 7, 2014,www.corelogic.com.

“The S&L crisis of the 1990s and the mortgagecrisis of the 2000s serve as cautionary tales thatfraud schemes are resilient and easily adapt to

fluctuations in the economy and changes inlending policies.”

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Ray Hagan

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issueda proposed rule directed toward mortgage servicers, intended toexpand foreclosure protections for mortgage borrowers.

According to the CFPB, the proposal would require servicersto provide certain borrowers with foreclosure protections more than once overthe life of the loan, provide additional servicing transfer protections, and es-tablish steps to protect borrowers from a wrongful foreclosure sale.

In this proposed rule, there are nine major topics which are outlined below.l Successors in Interest: There are three sets of rule changes relating to suc-

cessors in interest including applying all of the Mortgage Servicing Rules tosuccessors in interest once the successor’s identity and ownership interestin the property has been confirmed.

l Definition of Delinquency: Create a general definition of delinquency thatwould apply to all of the servicing provisions of Regulation X as well as Reg-ulation Z provisions regarding periodic statements.

l Requests for Information: Amend how a servicer must respond to requestsfor information asking for ownership information for loans in trust for whichFannie Mae or Freddie Mac is the trustee, investor, or guarantor.

l Force-Placed Insurance: Revise the required disclosures when a servicer addsforce-placed insurance and the borrower has insufficient, rather than expir-ing or expired, insurance coverage.

l Early Intervention: Clarify the live contact and written notice obligations.l Loss Mitigation: The proposal includes, but is not limited, to the following:

1. Mandate servicers to meet the loss mitigation requirements more thanonce in the life of a loan for borrowers who become current after adelinquency;

2. Allow a servicer to join the foreclosure action of a senior lienholderby altering the existing exception to the 120-day prohibition on fore-closure filing;

3. Require that servicers must promptly provide a written notice once acomplete loss mitigation application is received;

4. Address how servicers obtain information that is not in the borrower’scontrol;

5. Allow servicers to offer a short-term repayment plan based upon an eval-uation of an incomplete application;

6. Clarify that servicers may stop collecting information from a borrowerin regards to a loss mitigation option after confirming the borrower isineligible for that option; and

7. Address how loss mitigation procedures and timelines apply to a trans-feree servicer.

l Prompt Payment Credit: Clarify how periodic payments made by consumers,who are performing under temporary loss mitigation or permanent loanmodification programs, must be handled.

l Periodic Statements: Clarify disclosure requirements relating to acceler-ated loans, loans in temporary loss mitigation programs or have beenpermanently modified; require servicers to send modified statements tothose who have filed for bankruptcy; and provide an exemption for ser-vicers for charged-off mortgage loans provided that the servicer doesnot charge additional fees or interest on the account and provides a finalperiodic statement.

l Small Servicer: Modify the definition by excluding certain seller-financedtransactions from being counted toward the maximum allowance loan limit.

Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before March 16,2015.

Ray Hagan is senior regulatory compliance analyst at AllRegs. First introduced in1989, AllRegs is used by virtually all of the top 100 lenders, as well as throughoutnumerous governmental agencies, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHLBs,FHA, VA, RHS, Ginnie Mae and more. For additional information, call (800) 848-4904 or visit www.allregs.com.

CFPB Proposes Expanded Foreclosure Protections

� new to marketcontinued from page 18

more, clients can instantly verify bankingdeposits and assets with direct sourcedata.

“The ability to instantly verify depositsand assets presents significant cost-sav-ings and productivity gains, in additionto reducing buy-back risk with immedi-ate fraud detection. The ease-of-use andsecurity provided through theAccountChek process eliminates the frus-trating delays caused by redundantrequests for paper statements whenapplying for financing,” said NancyFedich, CIS CEO. “The AccountChekprocess is paperless and occurs instantlywith the direct data source in a com-pletely secure, encrypted environment.”

AccountChek uses patented technolo-gy to securely link the borrower’saccounts. Credentials are entered by theborrower, validated with the accountholder directly, and then permanentlydeleted from the encrypted environmentupon completion of the request.Customer information is never accessibleor shared with third-parties. The finan-cial industry’s leading institutions andthe government sponsored-enterprises(GSEs) have accepted the patentedprocess AccountChek utilizes as theindustry advances in the automated ageof lending.

CIS is a member of the NationalConsumer Reporting Association,National Association of ProfessionalBackground Screeners, MortgageBankers Association and local chaptersof mortgage professionals and lendersnationwide.

RoundPoint MortgageServicing Upgrades KeyConsumer Program

RoundPoint Mortgage ServicingCorporation has announced that it hasupgraded the customer’s ability to accessthe office of the Consumer Ombudsman,a program that protects consumer rightsby investigating alleged violations, mon-itoring RoundPoint business activity, andworking with business units to correctconsumer issues. The program nowoffers the ability to escalate complaintsthrough the RoundPoint Web site.

“The Consumer Ombudsman offersan independent and impartial resolutionprocess and acts as a neutral arbiter ofthese customer inquiries,” said DaveWorrall, chairman and president ofRoundPoint. “Our success is closelylinked to the success of every borrowerwe serve. It is our obligation to offer eachconsumer the support they need to fulfilltheir mortgage commitments. Makingthis program available through our web-site is one more way we are taking thatresponsibility very seriously.”

The Consumer Ombudsman does notadvocate for either the business or thecustomer but rather ensures a fairprocess for review of the issue. If the

Consumer Ombudsman determines thata borrower’s rights as a consumer maybe at issue and review is warranted, acomplete investigation of the file is con-ducted. Once the review is complete, theConsumer Ombudsman makes a recom-mendation to RoundPoint on how toresolve the situation. The ConsumerOmbudsman’s recommendation and thefinal resolution of the issue are thencommunicated to the borrower. Theprogram is an important part of thecompany’s overall risk mitigation efforts.It supplies trend analysis on complaintsreceived and root cause analysis, andidentifies potential process and trainingimprovements.

“Information is often the missing ele-ment for consumers who have seriousissues with their mortgage loan ser-vicer,” said Brad Johnson, chief operat-ing officer for RoundPoint. “Ourapproach has always been to provideour borrowers with information throughas many channels as possible. This pro-gram is one more way that we can quick-ly get to the heart of the issue, provide amethod by which the consumer can eas-ily understand their options and solveproblems. We’re very proud of this pro-gram and the positive effects we expectit to have on our business and our cus-tomers’ lives.”

Indecomm-Mortgage ULaunches RESPA/TILACompliance TrainingModule

Indecomm-Mortgage U has developed anew Integrated Disclosure TrainingPackage that will save mortgage man-agers hundreds of hours in developingtraining content and training trainers.The Consumer Financial ProtectionAgency (CFPB) has promulgated rulesintegrating loan disclosures under theTruth-in-Lending Act (TILA) and the RealEstate Settlement Procedures Act(RESPA). This was mandated by theDodd-Frank Wall Street Reform andConsumer Protection Act. The rules havenow been finalized and are contained inthe integrated disclosures rule (theRule).

Integrated disclosure project teamsare faced with planning and implement-ing an overwhelming number of opera-tional changes as mandated by the1,900-page Rule. Significant operationalchanges include the need to restructurethe process and timing of re-disclosures,expand the final settlement statementreview process and add efficiency toaccommodate a new waiting periodprior to closing. The industry’s ability toeffectively manage this change will havea measurable impact on consumers inthe form of costs and interest rate lockpressure. The new TILA-RESPA IntegratedDisclosure procedures and forms areeffective Aug. 1, 2015 with no ability for

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lenders to conduct a live testing phase.Indecomm-Mortgage U provides com-

pliance training by mortgage professionalsfor mortgage professionals using provenmethodologies and processes that havebeen developed over the last 20 years.Training for the TILA-RESPA rules havemerged into the Indecomm-Mortgage Ulibrary of mortgage training programs,which help professionals at all levelsunderstand the new compliance rules inthe context of existing conventions.

“We are especially proud of the workwhich Indecomm-Mortgage U has doneon the TILA-RESPA training program,”said Rajan Nair, CEO, Financial Services,Indecomm Global Services. “It puts us atthe forefront of the industry, helping uspartner with our customers through yetanother evolution of regulations.”

Indecomm-Mortgage U’s IntegratedDisclosure Training Package for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule includesthree comprehensive modules whichexplain the regulations in simple, practi-cal terms. The Microsoft Word documentsand PowerPoint presentation provide anoverview of the regulation and line by linedetails of the Loan Estimate and ClosingDisclosure forms, reducing the complexityfor the operations and sales teams on thefront lines. The training package contentcan be customized by the lender andshared with other professionals in theclient’s organization.

In addition to the instructor-guidedtraining package, Indecomm–Mortgage Uwill have the same content available in itseLearning library. eLearning modulescomplement each of the three elementsdescribed above and aide industry part-ners needing blended learning solutionsfor the entire organization. Indecomm–Mortgage U’s TILA-RESPA IntegratedDisclosures eLearning programs are ademonstration of the power ofIndecomm’s Web-based online courseauthoring platform RapideL. RapideLallows users to create courses in Flash andHTML5 in four easy steps: Setup, Author &Review, Publish and Package. RapideLincludes a rich template library and offersfeatures like instant page preview, multi-user authoring, and online review.

Accurate Group LauncheseSign to StreamlineClosings

Accurate Group,a provider ofreal estate

appraisal, title and compliance services,has announced the launch of its eSignclosing solution. Accurate eSig is designedto help mortgage lenders streamline loanclosing and improve the borrower’s expe-rience. The solution will enable lenders toprovide documentation to borrowersmore quickly, in compliance withConsumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB) regulations, and allow borrowers toreview and sign real estate closing docu-ments from anywhere at any time that isconvenient for them.

Accurate eSign combines documenta-tion, process flows and secure e-signa-ture technology in an easy-to-use Web-based platform. The solution is compli-

ant with the Uniform ElectronicTransaction Act (UETA), the ElectronicSignatures in Global and NationalCommerce Act (E-Sign Act) and standardsset by the Mortgage Industry StandardsMaintenance Organization (MISMO).

“Our goal with Accurate eSign is toimprove the borrower experience duringclosing and help lenders and title com-panies meet the CFPB requirement toprovide accurate, complete documenta-tion to borrowers at least three daysbefore closing,” said Paul Doman, presi-dent and CEO of Accurate Group. “Bycombining secure e-signature technolo-gy with a complete documentation pack-age, we are streamlining the closingprocess for all parties. Borrowers benefitfrom greater transparency and lendersgain compliance and a detailed record ofsigned documents stored electronically,complete with borrower consents andsignature timestamps.”

Stonegate Mortgage toExpand Its Non-AgencyProduct Offerings

Stonegate MortgageCorporation hasannounced that itwill expand itsoffering of non-

agency mortgage products. These newproduct offerings will be accessiblethrough Stonegate Mortgage’s retail,wholesale and correspondent channels.

“We are very pleased to release thisseries of non-agency mortgage products.In order to remain a leader in the mort-gage industry, Stonegate Mortgage willcontinue to deliver high quality servicefor customers, and continually expand-ing our product offering contributes toour efforts to satisfy our customers’needs,” said Lisa Rogers, executive vicepresident of loan origination forStonegate Mortgage Corporation.

Stonegate Mortgage’s release of SelectARM and Expanded Fixed Rate productsrepresents a significant expansion of thenon-agency product suite. Select ARMproducts offer 90 percent LTV with nomortgage insurance (MI) up to conform-ing limits, including high-balance limitsin applicable areas. The Expanded FixedRate products include loans to $5 millionin select areas, 85 percent LTV (No MI) to$2 million, cash out refinance to 75 per-cent LTV, investment properties to 70percent, cash out amounts to $1 million,and second homes to 80 percent LTV.

Your turnNational Mortgage Professional Magazineinvites you to submit any informationpromoting new “niche” loan programs,new products or any other announce-ment related to the introduction of anew program, to the attention of:

New to Market columnPhone #: (516) 409-5555

E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail arepreferred. The deadline for submissionsis the 1st of the month prior to the tar-get issue.

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By Terry W.Clemans

From startup not quitefour years ago, to almost1,500 employees now, the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB) has been one of the most activeregulators in the history of the financialindustry. We are all familiar now with thebroad jurisdiction they have in the indus-try and their ability to quickly finalizerules that tackle tough issues in nearlyevery aspect of the financial spectrum.

The rapid regulatory pace they havetaken thus far looks to continue in 2015,with the CFPB due to address more toughissues this year, including some that havethe potential to have a major impact inthe credit reporting and collectionsspace. This agenda was initially madepublic on Dec. 11, 2014 in Oklahoma Citywhen the CFPB released a report findingthat medical debt has a significantimpact on consumer credit, hitting thecredit reports of 43 million Americans.The CFPB is concerned that the systemsin place for incurring, collecting, andreporting medical debt can create diffi-cult challenges for consumers and thatmedical debts tend to over report debtsto have a larger impact on the consumerscredit score than the value they offer indetermining credit risk. To better addressthese challenges, the CFPB is announcingthat the major consumer reporting agen-cies will be required to provide regularaccuracy reports to the Bureau on howdisputes from consumers are being han-dled and track information providerswith high levels of consumer disputes.

“It’s hard for consumers to navigatethe medical debt maze and come outwith a clean credit report on the otherside,” said CFPB Director RichardCordray. “The CFPB is taking action toimprove credit report accuracy. Gettingmedical care should not make your cred-it report sick.”

The CFPB’s collection study used infor-mation sources at the credit reportingcompanies, consumer complaints to theBureau, and interviews with debt collec-tion agencies, healthcare providers, andobservers of healthcare billing and pay-ment processes. Among the findings:l Half of all overdue debt on credit

reports is from medical debt: A stag-gering 52 percent of all debt on cred-it reports is from medical expenses.When a debt is past due, a collectormay report the consumer’s account toa credit reporting agency. On the con-sumer’s report, this item wouldappear as an account in collections,resulting in a credit score drop.

l One out of five credit reports containsoverdue medical debt: Today’s studyfound that one out of five creditreports contain medical debt in col-lections. This means that 43 million

CFPB Plans for New Credi

Americans have unpaid medical debtadversely affecting their credit report.

l 15 million consumers have only med-ical debt on their credit reports:Seven percent of all consumers havemedical debt and no other collectionitems on their reports. These 15 mil-lion consumers tend to be more reli-able bill payers than consumers withother types of collections on theircredit reports. They are much morelikely to be consumers who normallymeet their debt obligations.

l Average reported medical debt is$579: The average unpaid, non-med-ical collections item on a credit reportis $1,000; the median is $366. Unpaidmedical collections are smaller, withan average of $579 and a median of$207. These figures contrast with themuch larger amounts that are due oncredit cards or student loans that areseriously delinquent. Such accountsaverage several thousand dollars.

These findings by the CFPB back upthe reasons National ConsumerReporting Association (NCRA), NAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals and many other mortgageindustry participants have had for theirlong time support of the Medical DebtResponsibility Act (MDRA). The MDRA isalso an example of how dysfunctionalCongress has been as this common sensetwo page bill simply requires paid med-ical collection to be removed from theconsumers credit file within 45 days. TheMDRA costs the federal governmentnothing, only helps the consumers andoverall economy and has been killed inthe 111th, 112th and 113thCongressional sessions despite changesin party control while being backed by avery respectable bipartisan industry andconsumer coalition who seldom agree.The logic of the MDRA is even furtherbacked now that the new FICO 9.0 creditscore and Vantage Score (which is ownedby the three national credit bureaus) willnot factor paid medical debts into theconsumer score, IF that specific scoremodel (neither of which is available foruse in mortgage lending currently) is theone used for the consumers loan.

Expect collection practices to continueto be one of the most significant rule-making areas for 2015. Lisa Stifler, anattorney specializing in debt collection atthe Center for Responsible Lendingrecently told American Banker, “Rightnow, the CFPB is looking very broadly interms of debt collection by looking ateverything from debt buyers and collec-tors, first- party creditors, and banks col-leting for others and themselves.”

The biggest impact the collectionfocus will have on the credit reportingindustry is CFPB’s new requirement forthe national credit bureaus to track andreport to the CFPB about quality of the

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data being provided by all types of creditinformation furnishers to the system.This new reporting requirement wasintroduced as part of the CFPB’s Dec.11th collection field hearing. This newreport will be a portion of the CFPB’songoing examinations of the creditreporting industry.

These reports will be required to high-light key risk areas for consumers, includ-ing the number of consumer disputesabout the data filed with the creditreporting agencies. Some of the othermetrics in the accuracy report willinclude:l Furnishers with the most overall dis-

putes: If a credit reporting companycontinuously experiences an outsizednumber of consumer disputes aboutinformation from a particular furnish-er, the CFPB expects the credit report-ing agency to investigate, identify ifthere is a problem, and take appro-priate action.

l Industries with the most disputes:The credit reporting agencies willhave to list the top industries they arereporting on, the volume of informa-tion received from those industries,and the total number of disputes gen-erated by those industries.

l Furnishers with particularly high dis-putes relative to their industry peers:For each industry named, the creditreporting agency must also name thetop furnishers with the largest num-ber of consumer disputes.

Since collection accounts are someof the most highly disputed and errorprone segments of the credit report,and for the first time a single federalagency has regulatory authority over(many of) the original creditors, thecollection agencies and the creditreporting industry, the CFPB’s rule-making coming up in 2015 in this arealooks like it could be paradigm shift.

In closing, one of the most impor-tant political struggles to watchbetween Congress and the WhiteHouse over the next two years will beregarding the CFPB. Will theRepublican Congress pass legislationthat could have a huge impact on theCFPB? That’s likely, and so is a vetofrom President Obama on majorchanges to the CFPB, however there ispotential for some old fashioned polit-ical “horse trading” which could seechanges like creating a five-membercommission (think almost all otherregulators, FTC, SEC, FCC, etc.) or mov-ing the CFPB’s funding from under theprotection of the Federal Reserve tothe congressional appropriationsprocess. That could easily happen aspart of some deal where theDemocrats need to obtain concessionsfrom the Republicans on somethingmore important to them than the

dray-at-the-medical-debt-collection-hearing

l For a link to the video coverage of theCFPB Oklahoma City Field Hearingannouncing this report and newrequirements, visit www.consumerfi-nance.gov/blog/live-from-oklahoma-city

l For the CFPB’s official 53-pagereport, visit http://files.consumerfi-nance.gov/f/201412_cfpb_reports_consumer-credit-medical-and-non-

CFPB’s single director or the fundingautonomy.

Additional information about thissubject can be found at:l For the CFPB site with a full review,

visit www.consumerfinance.gov/news-room/cfpb-spotlights-concerns-with-medical-debt-collection-and-reporting

l For CFPB Directory Cordray’s preparedstatement, visit www.consumerfi-nance.gov/newsroom/prepared-remarks-of-cfpb-director-richard-cor-

it Data Quality Reportsand Focus on Medical Collections

Cindy Ertman EVP | National Sales ManagerRPM Mortgage, Inc. NMLS#330850 Cal BRE #00772133

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medical-collections.pdfl For the CFPB Consumer Advisory

about Med ica l Debt s , v i s i thttp://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201412_cfpb-7-ways-to-keep-medical-debt-in-check.pdf

Terry W. Clemans is executive director ofthe National Consumer ReportingAssociation (NCRA). He may be reached byphone at (630) 539-1525 or e-mail tcle-mans@ncrainc.org.

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economic commentaryN A T I O N A L M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L M A G A Z I N E ’ S

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By Dave Hershman

Before we look aheadat 2015, we shouldfirst take a look back

and see what happened in2014.

We started the year with a severe winterand a slowdown within the economic sec-tor. We ended the year on an upswing bestexemplified by the recently revised esti-mate for economic growth in the thirdquarter. The five percent growth rate wasthe strongest in over a decade. Though weare not expecting that the number for thelast quarter of the year will come in at thatlevel, there is also no evidence of a sharpslowdown in the rate of growth for the lastquarter of the year.

Employment growth picked up nicely in2014. Well over two million jobs were cre-

ated last year and the unemployment ratedropped almost one percent to below sixpercent with December’s numbers still tobe released. Inflation stayed tame this yearand wage growth did not pick up signifi-cantly—thus all was not a bed of roseswith regard to the employment sector. Onthe other hand, the low inflation rateenabled mortgage rates to stay lowthroughout 2014 and oil prices droppedsignificantly, especially in the second halfof the year.

Meanwhile, the growth in the realestate market slowed somewhat in 2014.The pace of real estate sales leveled off andprice gains were more moderate that theprevious two years. As we have empha-sized previously, the adjustments in thereal estate sector are mainly related to thedrop in distressed sales, which is actually asign of normalization. Finally, the stock

market was volatile but marched upwardfor most of the year as the bull market con-tinued. This year’s gains of over 10 percentfor the S&P Index contributed to a gain ofwell over seventy percent during the pastfive years—completing the stock recoveryfrom the financial crisis lows of March of2009. To illustrate, the Dow closed at a lowof 6,547 in March of 2009 and finished2014 near 18,000 which now represents thefourth longest bull market in history.

What does this look back mean? If wecould summarize projections for 2015using one word, that word would be—opti-mism. And this optimism flows into the realestate markets which lagged the overalleconomy last year. Here are a few samplesof the words used by prognosticators—

“The U.S. economic outlook looksbrighter, with growth likely to be some-what above the trend of the past five

years,” said New York Fed PresidentWilliam Dudley.

“Many of the gains that we recently pre-dicted in the realtor.com 2015 HousingForecast are built on housing growth estab-lished in 2014,” said Jonathan Smoke, real-tor.com’s chief economist.

“The housing market is likely to contin-ue its gradual climb upward next year aftera sub-par 2014. We anticipate a fairlystrong increase in housing starts inresponse to stronger employment andsome improvement in related householdincomes,” said Fannie Mae ChiefEconomist Doug Duncan.

Before we jump on the bandwagon, wemust remember that no one can predictthe future. As a matter of fact, we had sim-ilarly robust predictions about growth in2014 at the end of 2013. The severe winterof 2013-2014 put a wrench in those predic-tions. Usually, predictions are based uponwhat is happening right now. The fact thatthe U.S. economy grew by five percent inthe third quarter and we added over300,000 jobs in November, gives us opti-mism for 2015.

Our look back gives us the reasons foroptimism with regards to 2015. Now weshould hope for an absence of interveningvariables which might interrupt thestrengthening economic recovery in thecoming year. It seems strange that we arestill talking about an economic recoverysince the recession ended close to fiveyears ago. It has been a long road but wefinally seem to be on the verge of momen-tum and a virtuous cycle. Are you listeningMother Nature?

Dave Hershman is a top author in the mort-gage industry with seven books published.He is also the founder of the OriginationProMarketing System, and currently the directorof branch support for McLean Mortgage. Hemay be reached by e-mail at dave@hersh-mangroup.com or visit www.origination-pro.com.

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National Mortgage Professional Magazine

Presents

Top Mortgage Employers

National Mortgage Professional Magazine is proud to announce its inaugural list of Top Mortgage Employers.

We polled our readers about their employers based on the following criteria:

Based the above criteria, we weighted factors that are more important to our readers (i.e. our readers told us that

factors like corporate culture was considerably more important to them than speed of company).

The resulting responses created the Mortgage Employer Company Score (MECS).

We have broken down the results into national and regional categories.

Compensation

Speed

Marketing support

Technology

Corporate culture

Long-term strategy

Day-to-day management

Internal communications

Training resources

Industry participation

Innovation

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A M E R I C A ’ S T O P 6 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( N A T I O N W I D E )

AllRegs

American Financial Resources Inc. (AFR)

American Neighborhood Mortgage Acceptance Company(Annie Mac)

American Pacific Mortgage Corporation

AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation

Angel Oak Home Loans LLC

Bradford Technologies

Caliber Home Loans Inc.

Carrington Mortgage Services LLC

CHL Mortgage

CMG Financial

Credit Plus, Inc.

DocMagic

Endeavor America Loan Services

Equity Prime Mortgage

Equity Resources Inc.

FFC Mortgage Corporation

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation

Flagstar Bank

GSF Mortgage Corp.

Hancock Mortgage Partners LLC

HomeBridge Financial Services Inc.

HomeBridge Wholesale

HomeStreet Bank

Inlanta Mortgage Inc.

JMAC Lending

LeaderOne Financial Corporation

Maverick Funding Corporation

MB Financial Bank

Mercury Network

Midwest Mortgage Capital LLC

Mountain West Financial, Inc.

Movement Mortgage LLC

New American Funding

NFM Lending Inc.

Norcom Mortgage

OneTrust Home Loans

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc.

Parkside Lending LLC

PCV Murcor

Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corporation

Plaza Home Mortgage Inc.

Premier Nationwide Lending

Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.

Prospect Mortgage

Quicken Loans

Radian Guaranty

RCN Capital

Real Estate Mortgage Network (REMN)

Rehab Cash Now

Residential Home Funding Corporation

Reverse Mortgage Solutions

StreetLinks Lender Solutions

Summit Funding Inc.

Supreme Lending

TagQuest

United Northern Mortgage Bankers Ltd.

United Wholesale Mortgage

V.I.P. Mortgage Inc.

VanDyk Mortgage Corporation

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T H E T O P 2 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( M I D W E S T U . S . )

T H E T O P 2 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( N O R T H E A S T U . S . )

T H E T O P 2 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( N O R T H W E S T U . S . )

1st Equity Funding Group Inc.

American Fidelity Mortgage Services Inc

American Mortgage Service Company

AmeriFirst Financial Corporation

Associated Bank NA

Atlantic Pacific Mortgage Corporation

Bell Mortgage, a Division of Bell State Bank

Glendenning Mortgage Corporation

Huron Valley Financial

iLoan

Integrity Home Mortgage Corporation

Key Mortgage Services Inc.

Lake Pacor Home Mortgage

Landmark National Bank

M&M Mortgage LLC

Manasquan Savings Bank

Mclean Mortgage Corporation

Midwest Mortgage Capital

Mortgage 1 Inc.

Nova Home Loans

1st Priority Mortgage Inc.

A.S.A.P Mortgage Corporation

Absolute Home Mortgage Corporation

CUSO Home Lending

Equity Resources Inc.

Fairfield Mortgage Company

Family First Funding LLC

FFC Mortgage Corporation

Hunt Mortgage

Norcom Mortgage

Northeast Financial

Northern Bank & Trust Company

Northpoint Mortgage Inc.

Oak Mortgage Company LLC

Opportunities Credit Union

Pike Creek Mortgage Services

Province Mortgage Associates Inc.

Radius Financial Group Inc.

Ridgewood Savings Bank

Village Mortgage Company

Alliance 2020

Alpine Mortgage Planning

Big Valley Mortgage

Bridgeview Mortgage

DBA Big Valley Mortgage

Directors Mortgage d/b/a USA Direct Funding

Evergreen Home Loans

First Priority Financial

Graystone Mortgage

Homestreet Bank

Mortgage Mapp

Mortgage Master Service Corporation

Mountain West Financial

Peak Mortgage

Plaza Loans

Priority Lending Mortgage Corporation

Real Estate Financial Services

USA Direct Funding

Vantage Mortgage Group Inc.

Washington First Mortgage Loan Corporation

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T H E T O P 2 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( S O U T H E A S T U . S . )

American Mortgage Service Company

American Security Mortgage Corporation

Assurance Financial Group LLC

Beach Community Mortgage Services Inc.

CJ Brown

Coastal Federal Credit Union

Essential Mortgage Company

EvaBank

Fidelity Funding

First Mortgage Group

George Mason Mortgage LLC

Grow Financial FCU

HeritageBank Mortgage

LaJoya Area Federal Credit Union

Mortgage Financial Group Inc.

Mortgage Investors Group

Platinum Financial Funding LLC

Province Mortgage Associates

The Mortgage Firm Inc.

Watson Mortgage Corporation

T H E T O P 2 0 M O R T G A G E E M P L O Y E R S

( S O U T H W E S T U . S . )

Alderus Funding & Investments Inc.

Alpine Mortgage Planning

American Capital Home Loans

AmeriFirst Financial Inc.

Catalyst Lending Inc.

Elite Escrow Services of San Diego

Ethos Lending

First Capital Financial

Graystone Mortgage

Guardian Mortgage Company Inc.

Harvesters Federal Credit Union

Lund Mortgage Team Inc.

Mountain West Financial Inc.

Noble Home Loans

PB Financial Group

Peoples Mortgage Company

Resource Lenders Inc.

Veritas Funding

Western Pioneer Financial

Zeus Mortgage

NATIONAL MORTGAGEPROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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151.800.649.1362 I www.DocMagic.com

O N T H E

heardstreet

Our Heard on the Street column is a chronicle of events, changes and passages in the lives of the people and companies shaping the mortgage industry.

DocMagic Announces the Acquisition of Doc-Tech

DocMagic Inc. has announced that it hasacquired the assets of Doc-TechCorporation, d/b/a Document Express,a boutique document preparationcompany. The acquisition comes on theheels of DocMagic completing the pur-chase of award-winning eSignSystemsin October. As part of the acquisition,DocMagic will bring on the entire teamof Doc-Tech Corp, including co-founderand Doc-Tech President Lori Johnsonand Doc-Tech EVP of Sales MichaelChaney. In addition, DocMagic gainsDocTech’s customer base of lenders,which it will continue to service andsupport using DocTech’s service-orient-ed staff located at its corporate office inPalatine, Ill.

“We are very excited about this par-ticular deal,” said Dominic Iannitti,president and CEO of DocMagic. “I can’tsay enough good things about thehands-on service-focused model thatDoc-Tech provides. This acquisitionmerges the best of DocMagic’s enter-prise-level methodologies with Doc-Tech’s wildly successful boutique-stylecustomer service model. Our synergiesare powerful, and when combined, arenothing short of a home run for bothentities. Lori and her team have donean extraordinary job of achieving thehighest level of customer satisfactionamongst their varied client base, whichis a core value of DocMagic.”

The acquisition adds to DocMagic’salready robust suite of electronic prod-ucts and services with the addition ofthe Doc-Tech’s Elite Docs Series. Doc-Tech’s customers will continue to enjoythe Elite Docs Series experience, andthe company officials report that it willnot require any change to their userexperience.

“We couldn’t have asked for a betterhome for our clients than DocMagic,”said Johnson, president of Doc-Tech.

“Our customers will now have access toan enterprise-class infrastructure, sig-nificant expert resources to draw upon,advanced compliance technology, failsafe security, and innovative first-to-market solutions. There isn’t a hotter,more effective doc prep company inthe industry than DocMagic, and weare elated to bring our valued clientsand strategic partners into theDocMagic family.”

DocMagic will retain Doc-Tech’s cor-porate headquarters based in Palatine,Ill., establishing a strong presence thatis close to the East Coast. Jonson shallserve as DocMagic’s director of clientservices and Chaney will assume therole of senior sales executive.DocMagic’s strategic counsel, Silvia SanNicolas Esq., handled the transactionand terms of the deal were not dis-closed.

Open Mortgage Set toAcquire Reverse Divisionof 360 Mortgage

Austin, Texas-based Open Mortgage hasannounced that it will acquire thereverse origination arm formerly under360 Mortgage Group. Sources within 360Mortgage Group confirmed staff werenotified last week that the companywould be winding down its reverse mort-gage originations, after entering thebusiness earlier this year. 360 MortgageGroup, also based in Austin, will contin-ue to acquire and service reverse mort-gage loan pools. Around 20 originatorsbased across the country will move from360 Mortgage Group to Open Mortgage,with licensing currently in process.

”360 Mortgage Group has made thedecision to allow the acquisition of itsorigination business for reverse mort-gages in order to increase its focus on

wholesale, correspondent, and the servic-ing of both forward and reverse mort-gages,” said Mark Greco, founder and CEOof 360 Mortgage Group. “360 MortgageGroup’s goal remains the same; to gainmarket share in the multiple channels oforigination as well as to continue build-ing our servicing platform.”

Genworth U.S. Mortgage InsurancePartners With Axacore

Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurancehas become the first private mortgageinsurer to partner with Axacore, aleading document management plat-form, in a deal creating synergiesamong both firms’ mutual customerbase. Lenders who use the Axacoreplatform directly or through one ofAxacore’s OEM partners now haveaccess to seamless one-click orderingof Genworth non-delegated mortgageinsurance from within the Axacoresystem.

“Non-delegated mortgage insur-ance, which requires the lender to sub-mit loan documentation so aGenworth underwriter can make therisk decision, is gaining in popularity,”said Geriel Thornburg May, Genworth’sMI director of customer experience.“Enabling mutual customers ofAxacore and Genworth to easily ordermortgage insurance from one placewith a single click is a valuable toolthat creates more efficiencies for asmoother process.”

“We’re proud to be the first to mar-ket with the Axacore partnership,”Thornburg-May said. “Speed to close isa critical component of the mortgageinsurance process and this partnershipallows us to provide our lenders withthe most optimal service, which allowsthem to better serve their buyers.”

AmeriSave MortgageAnnounces Purchase of Mortgage DivisionFrom CertusBank

AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation hascompleted its lift-out of mortgage opera-tions from CertusBank. This agreementincludes the purchase of certain assetsand operations in North Carolina, SouthCarolina and Georgia. The move willallow AmeriSave to expand its footprintinto traditional retail lending.

“When we announced this deal inSeptember, we knew we had a good fit,”said Ed Abufaris, president of AmeriSave.“Now that we have started integratingCertusBank’s mortgage operations withours, we realize our combined businessmodel is even better than we originallyexpected.”

AmeriSave has also announced the hir-ing of Gary Suess as executive vice presi-dent of sales.

“I am excited to join the AmeriSaveteam and to help lead the diversificationof its origination channels, while buildingon a rich history of success,” said Suess,formerly executive vice president andhead of mortgage banking at CertusBank.“We see this as a great combination ofteam members and business relation-ships. The CertusBank mortgage groupprovides a traditional retail channel tocomplement AmeriSave’s leading con-sumer direct and third-party originationchannels.”

Academy MortgageAcquires RepublicMortgage Home Loans

Sandy, Utah-based Academy MortgageCorporation has announced the acqui-sition of Salt Lake City-based Republic

continued on page 44

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www.BoomerangProspecting.com

nmp news flashcontinued from page 16

NCUA is pursuing claims, Wells Fargoneglected its statutory and contractualobligations to certificate holders, includ-ing the five corporate credit unions,”NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said.“This litigation is intended to hold WellsFargo accountable for losses caused bythat neglect.”

Five corporate credit unions—U.SCentral, WesCorp, Members United,Southwest and Constitution—purchasedapproximately $2.4 billion in RMBSissued from the trusts between 2004 and2007. Those securities were faulty andlost substantial value, contributing to thefailure of all five corporates.

NCUA’s complaint states the value ofthe securities depended on the quality ofthe pooled mortgage loans the trustscontained, and the bank, as trustee, hadcontractual and statutory duties to pro-tect the interests of certificate holders.The complaint states that, despite know-ing about defects in the mortgage loans,Wells Fargo failed to provide requirednotices to certificate holders and otherparties and failed to take timely action toforce the repurchase, substitution, orcure of defective mortgage loans or oth-erwise preserve trust remedies.

Study Identifies RealEstate as a DepressingOccupation

Real estate profes-sionals that findtheir work to bedepressed may findsome consolation ina new study that

determined their industry is, indeed,a very depressing place to work.

According to a study published inthe medical journal Social Psychiatryand Psychiatric Epidemiology, realestate-related professionals have thesecond highest rate of occupationaldepression, topped only by publictransit system workers. Social workerscame in third place. The study identi-fied depression-inducing work wasmostly performed by those who“require frequent or difficult interac-tions with the public of clients, andhave high levels of stress and low lev-els of physical activity.”

At the far side of the spectrum, jobsthat brought about the least amountof depression involved duties thatrequired physical activity and/or out-doors labor.

However, Dr. John Grohol, founderand CEO of the Psych Central blog,pointed out that the study might beskewered based on where theresearch took place. The researchersstudied the insurance claims data cov-ering more than 214,000 people inwestern Pennsylvania (includingPittsburgh) during the years 2002-2005, and it covered a broader defini-tion of depression to include bipolardisorder diagnoses and medical treat-

ments where depression was the sec-ondary and not the primary focus ofthe treatment.

“There are, of course, a few limita-tions to the study,” Dr. Grohol stated.“Examining insurance claims data maygive us a biased sample, since peoplewho never seek out treatment fordepression aren’t included in thedataset. This is a potentially hugeissue, since previous research hasshown that most people don’t seektreatment for depression. The data

also were drawn from just one smallgeographic region in the U.S. and maynot generalize to other regions.”

Your turnNational Mortgage Professional Magazineinvites you to submit any information onregulatory changes, legislative updates,human interest stories or any other news-worthy items pertaining to the mortgage

industry to the attention of:

NMP News Flash columnPhone #: (516) 409-5555

E-mail:newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are pre-ferred. The deadline for submissions is the1st of the month prior to the target issue.

continued on page 74

www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com

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leadershipLYKKEN ON

leadership

Five Powerful Benefitsto Becoming a Transparent Leader

By David Lykken

As I think about lead-ership in the mort-gage industry go-ing into the new

year, I cannot stop thinking about one

concept that I feel to be increasinglymore important in our line of work.However unfair it may be, the harsheconomic client of the past severalyears has been attributed in a largeextent to the negligent practices ofour industry. The general public

seems to possess a lack of trust inmortgage organizations, and I thinkthose of us who are leaders in thebusiness need to do what we can doremedy that perception. And rebuild-ing that trust, I believe, begins withtransparency.

Transparency can be a scaryword—especially in the financial sec-tor. We’re wary about revealing cer-tain information and, indeed, weshould be! Certain data is confiden-tial, and we should have the securityin place to make sure it remains so.When I say “transparency,” I’m nottalking about giving away secretsthat aren’t ours to give away. Rather,I’m talking about something elseentirely. I’m talking about trans-parency of purpose. I’m talkingabout being open and honest aboutwhat you’re doing and why you’redoing it. I’m talking about being can-did with your employees, with yourinvestors, with your customers, andwith the general public. That’s what Imean by transparency.

Being transparent isn’t just aboutsaying what you mean and meaningwhat you say. It’s a mindset, a philos-ophy, a whole new way of looking atthe world. When you are transparentwith everything you say and do, yousend the signal to yourself and othersthat you are doing the best you can inthe best way you know how. Andwhen you can be forthright aboutyour intentions and your actions, peo-ple will follow you. Why? Becausebeing transparent changes you in anumber of ways …

First, and it almost goes withoutsaying, being transparent makes youmore trustworthy. When you are openand honest about your strategy andhow you plan execute it, you empow-er people to have faith in you. Your

employees can get behind you,because they will know that youaren’t going to go back on your wordand do something other than whatyou said you would do. Your cus-tomers and potential customers willbe much more willing to do businesswith you, because they won’t believeyou are trying to cheat them in anyway. Transparency is the very founda-tional of trust. If you are hiding infor-mation from someone, how can youexpect them to trust you? Being trans-parent is the first step to getting peo-ple to believe in you. And, if you are aleader, that is something you mostdesperately need.

Similarly to becoming more trust-worthy, adopting a transparent mind-set makes you more dependable. Yes,again, people can trust you do honoryour word when you are transparent.But, it’s more than that. Transparencyprovides an internal sense of account-ability. If you are keeping secretsfrom people, there is a constanttemptation to use the informationthey don’t have against them for yourown benefit. Being an open bookkeeps you honest. If you clearly stateyour intentions, plans, and beliefs,the pressure is always on to live up tothem. When you make a commit-ment, everyone knows about it; so,you can’t simply decide to give upwhen it’s convenient. You get the jobdone, because there is a sense ofsocial pressure pushing you to do it.

All of the great leaders I know havea strong sense of integrity. They havea sturdy moral compass and are hon-est by nature. However, to get aheadin business, even the greatest amongus has been tempted to hide informa-tion in order to make a deal or coverup our mistakes. Feeling the tensionbetween the desire to be honest and

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the pressure to succeed can be a diffi-cult ordeal. When you adopt a trans-parent mindset as a leader, you canoperate with greater confidencebecause you won’t have to feelembarrassed or uncomfortable abouthiding anything. Being transparentliberates you to believe in yourself,your organizations, and your strategyfor success. Being confident is allabout being about to trust yourself.And, just as transparency makes youmore trustworthy to others, it willalso make you more confident in yourown skin.

Now, this one may not be so intu-itive, but I also believe that becominga more transparent leader will makeyou smarter. How exactly does thathappen? Well, let me explain. Whenyou are open and honest about your-self, you are making yourself intellec-tually vulnerable—you are revealingwhat you don’t know as much as youare what you do know. Many people,when they don’t quite grasp a con-cept, will pretend that they under-stand it just to save face. Being atransparent leader denies you thissafety net. So, why is that a goodthing? Because it is only when youhave the willingness to admit yourignorance that you can learn some-thing new. Being transparent meansbeing open to the possibility that youare wrong; it means revealing to oth-ers that your knowledge is incom-plete. And, when that happens, youcan fill in the gaps. You broaden yourknowledge, because you are willing toreveal that you still have more tolearn.

Finally, being a transparent leadermakes you a more relatable leader.When you are open and honest aboutyour dealings, you create an atmos-phere in which your relationshipswith others can thrive. Your employ-ees will feel more comfortable open-ing up to you, because they’ll trustyou with what they say. They won’tbelieve that you are hiding thingsfrom them, so they won’t feel com-pelled to hide things from you. Andit’s the same for your customers andpartners. In negotiations, they won’tfeel like they need to hide informa-tion to gain a competitive edge. Whenyour honest with them, they’ll behonest with you. Transparent leader-ship tears down the walls that makerelationships shallow and unstable,and it build bridges to allow trulymeaningful relationships to grow.

In his book Get Naked, managementconsult Patrick Lencioni advises leaderson how adopting an attitude of trans-parency can help them run their busi-nesses more successfully. But first, hesuggests, we have to get passed ourfears—the fear of losing business, thefear of being vulnerable, and the fear offeeling inferior. These worries oftenhold us back from becoming transpar-ent and make us more guarded in theway we interact with customers,employees, and society.

Is it fear that’s holding you back?

clear corporate strategy while focusingon process improvement and opera-tional efficiencies resulting inincreased profitability. David has beena regular contributor on CNBC and FoxBusiness News and currently hosts asuccessful weekly radio program,“Lykken on Lending,” that is heardeach Monday at noon (CentralStandard Time) by thousands of mort-gage professionals. He produces a dailyone-minute video called “Today’sMortgage Minute” that appears onhundreds of television, radio and news-paper Web sites across America. Hemay be reached by phone at (512) 501-2810 or by e-mail at dlykken@mbs-team.com.

Transparency will only make you losebusiness if you are doing somethingyou shouldn’t have been doing in thefirst place. Will transparency makeyou vulnerable? Yes, but it will alsomake you better. And, while trans-parency may temporarily make youfeel inferior, it will provide the richsoil in which you can learn and growall the more in the long run.

As people becoming increasinglymore suspicious of our industry, thoseof us who are leaders cannot affordnot to adopt a transparent mindset.It’s no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity.Yes, I believe that being transparentwill change your life, your business,your organization, and everything you

touch. But in a broader and moreinfluential sense, it will also changeour industry. Transparency is thefuture of leadership in the mortgageindustry. Will you be there to see it?

David Lykken is 40-year mortgageindustry veteran who has been anowner operator in three mortgagebanking companies and a softwarecompany. As a former businessowner/operator, today David loveshelping C-Level executives and busi-ness owners achieve extraordinaryresults via consulting, coaching andcommunications, with the objective ofeliminating corporate dysfunction,establishing and communicating a

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continued on page 67SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Rene Rodriguez

The results of the Local Consumer Review Survey are in, andas we predicted, the trend is continuing. Online reviews arehere to stay and are gaining power.

Just how important are online reviews to consumers?Survey says: EXTREMELY!

Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting results from the surveyto learn why consumers are relying on online reviews more, and why it’scritical that your business has an expansive arsenal of positive reviews.

If your business relies on customers who value quality over price, this firstbit of data should make you happy. Seventy-three percent of consumers re-ported that positive customer reviews make them more likely to use a localbusiness (up from 58 percent in 2012) compared to just 24 percent who maketheir selection based on other factors like location and price (down from 28percent). Even more encouraging for businesses, 79 percent of consumerstrust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations—providedthey look authentic, of course. A Bazaarvoice Survey published survey resultsof its own, citing that 51 percent of people actually found user-generatedcontent (an online review) more important than the opinions of their friendsand family.

That’s great news, because it means you have more control over howyour business is represented. If you choose to take an active role in gen-erating online reviews, that is.

The survey’s findings also revealed that 85 percent of consumers reg-ularly or occasionally use online reviews to determine which local busi-ness to use. That means almost everyone is searching you out when theywant to do business with you.

Two simple tips to maximize reviewsYou most likely close business on the phone, in person, with pen andpaper, behind a desk, and even in coffee shops. If you do, you should becollecting online reviews!

1. Fit it to your sales process: Search Engine Land cites Customer Lobby CEOTed Paff saying, “Comment card reviews solicited at the time of service cansee completion rates of 80 to 90 percent.” It makes sense. The point of sale isthe height of customer euphoria. Take advantage of these feelings by verballyasking for a review. The true professionals carry their iPads with them at alltimes, just waiting for those moments to arise. Include it on the back of everydocument you give to the client. Staple it to their paperwork.2. Proactively share your reviews BEFORE they search for you: As muchas we all want people to find us when they need us, it just doesn’t alwayshappen that way. Be proactive in how you share your positive reviews. Makethem available to read on your Web site, in your physical lobby while theywait for you, and attached as a link to your e-mail signature. This way, youdirect them to what you want them to see versus them having to seek youout. And who knows what they’ll find then besides your competitors.

For more tips on maximizing your online reviews, please visithttp://Blog.BetterLoanOfficers.com/TIPS.

Rene Rodriguez is founder and chief executive officer of BetterLoanOfficers.com,a powerful and easy-to-use online loan officer review management system. Loanofficers can collect, manage and promote their reviews in order to build trust,secure more referral relationships and close more deals. Rene is also CEO of Vo-lentum, an enterprise education and consulting company. He has been namedto National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Most InfluentialMortgage Professionals” for five consecutive years. He is a renowned behavioraland organizational change expert, leadership coach, world class sales trainer &dynamic keynote speaker who has shared the stage with Tony Robins, Lou Holtz,Ben Stein, Roy Firestone and Jeffery Gitomer.

Why Your Business Needs Quality Online Reviews

�

Mortgage Home Loans. RepublicMortgage was founded in 1983 on thecore values of integrity, service, pas-sion and excellence. RepublicMortgage is focused on purchase (vs.refinance) business and on the profes-sional and personal development of itsmortgage originators, employees andreferral partners. The company is alsoactively involved in giving back to itscommunities and donates a portion ofeach closing to local charities.Republic Mortgage currently operates44 branches in 12 states with 350employees.

“Republic Mortgage aligns well withthe service-oriented and people-centricculture at Academy,” said RepublicMortgage President and CEO ScottLeishman. “We are confident that thispartnership will greatly benefit our teammembers by providing them with addi-tional resources and volume to enhancetheir capabilities moving forward.”

The acquisition of RepublicMortgage brings an additional elementof scale, scope and talent to Academy,which will be instrumental in helpingthe organization achieve its corporatevision and mission.

“By joining forces with RepublicMortgage, we will be able to accelerateour opportunities for growth and,most importantly, our opportunitiesfor each individual to push forwardour vision to inspire hope, deliverdreams, and build prosperity,” saidAcademy President Adam Kessler.

Inlanta Mortgage Opens New FloridaBranch in Sarasota

Inlanta Mort-gage Inc. hasannounced itsexpansion intothe Florida

market with the addition of a newbranch in Sarasota, Fla. The StettlerGroup, one of the nation’s leading resi-dential mortgage teams with more than6,500 mortgage closings for over $1.3billion, has left Wells Fargo HomeMortgage to become part of the InlantaMortgage team. The Stettler Group ofInlanta Mortgage is managed by veteranloan originator and manager RobStettler.

“The fact that Inlanta has become apurchase market leader makes this agreat fit for our team,” said Stettler.“The mortgage process does not have tobe difficult because life’s already com-plicated enough.”

“We are fortunate to welcome andpartner with the Stettler Group,” saidInlanta Mortgage Vice President ofBusiness Development Joe Ramis.“Rob’s team is known for their integrityand ability to get the deal done. Theyare an ideal match for Inlanta Mortgagewe look forward to helping themexpand their purchase business.”

Aquiline CapitalAnnounces MajorityInvestment in LenderLive

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a NewYork-based private equity firm investingin financial services, has announcedthat it has signed a definitive agree-ment to become the majority investorin LenderLive Network Inc., a Denver-based, end-to-end mortgage servicesprovider. Founded in 1999, LenderLiveserves more than 300 financial institu-tions including a number of the world’slargest commercial/investment banksand top-tier mortgage lenders. Thecompany’s suite of offerings includesmortgage origination, subservicing,document solutions, due diligence, andtitle and closing services.

The transaction, the terms of whichwere not disclosed, is subject to cus-tomary closing conditions.

“Aquiline has financial services oper-ating experience and a reputation forbuilding value within their portfoliocompanies,” said Rick Seehausen, chiefexecutive officer of LenderLive.“Aquiline will provide the strategicguidance and resources to accelerateour growth and support the continueddevelopment of the technology andsolutions that provide our clients withcompetitive and compliance advan-tages in the market.”

“Increased market complexity andheightened regulation are drivingdemand for compliant, cost-effectiveresidential mortgage solutions,” saidJeff Greenberg, chief executive officer ofAquiline. “We are excited to be partner-ing with Rick and his team to supportLenderLive’s core business and strategicgrowth initiatives in the mortgage serv-ices industry.”

Guild Mortgage OpensNew Operations Center in Reno to ServeSouthwest U.S.

Guild Mort-gage Comp-any has an-nounced theopening of a

new operations center in Reno, Nev.Guild’s new center will process, under-write and fund loans for Guild’s Nevadabranches in the Southwest region,including the Green Valley, Las Vegas,Reno and Lake Tahoe branches. Guild,based in San Diego, Calif., now hasmore than 250 branch and satelliteoffices in 23 states, with recent growthoccurring throughout the Southwestand Southeast.

Andy Stewart, Southwest regionalmanager, said Guild recognized the

heard on the streetcontinued from page 40

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www.TagQuest.com info@tagquest.com

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Knowledge is power. Power trans-lates to success, whether it is dol-lars in your pocket, strongerleadership, increased bottomlines or peace of mind, we are

here for you.This month, we are introducing a new

column for questions relating to starting abusiness, managing a business, training,networking, tax-related issues, corporatesecurity policy, fraud alerts and compli-ance. All answers are for informationalpurpose only, and are not intended topractice law, or are meant to provide taxadvice or tax opinions. After reviewing ourinformation, we both recommend seekinglegal counsel or the advice of a tax profes-sional. Please e-mail us at

JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com to voiceany questions or problems. We are here foryou!

Rosemary from Amityville, N.Y. asks …I have bad credit, eat dirt and Satan livesin my closet. Can I come and work for you?

Eric’s reply to Rosemary …No … I work for a broker. Under theSecure and Fair Enforcement forMortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFEAct) enacted on July 30, 2008, state-licensed MLOs must pass a written qual-ified test, complete pre-licensure edu-cation courses, and take annual contin-uing education courses. The SAFE Act

also requires all MLOs to submit finger-prints to the Nationwide MortgageLicensing System (NMLS) for submissionto the FBI for a criminal backgroundcheck; and state-licensed mortgageloan originators (MLOs) to provideauthorization for NMLS to obtain anindependent credit report.

With your bad credit, I am afraid youwould not qualify. You may wish to applyas a loan officer with a federally regulatedbank. They have no such restrictions.These are the only criteria:

Individual residential mortgage loanoriginators employed by Agency-regulatedinstitutions must:l Register with the Registry and main-

tain their registration.l Obtain a unique identifier through

the Registry that will remain withthat originator, regardless ofemployment changes. Mortgageloan originators and their employ-ing institutions must provide MLOunique identifiers to consumers.

Agency-regulated institutions must:l Require their employees who are

mortgage loan originators to complywith these requirements.

l Adopt and follow written policiesand procedures to assure compli-ance with the registrationrequirements.Best wishes. You will fit right in there.

ByEric Weinstein & Laura Burke

Just Ask

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continued on page 49

k Eric & LauraLaura’s reply to Rosemary …As usual I disagree with Eric. Mostemployees who work for a bank arefingerprinted, regardless of their title,and yes, it is true they do not have topass the state licensing requirementsbut that’s because the bank is takingresponsibility for their actions. If aloan officer from a bank makes a mis-take, who is ultimately responsible?The bank. The bank will have toresolve the issue, they most likely willlet the loan officer go, who has a reg-istered with the registry system, soprobably difficult for loan officer tofind another banking position.

In the case of the MLO working fora broker or banker, yes they do needto follow the steps laid out by Eric,but rightfully so. If you’re a hairdresser, a nurse, a doctor, most pro-fessions require ethical standards,licensing and continuing education.

The continuing education isanother topic. I do feel the CE inmortgage banking needs to berevised. I have taken the same cours-es year after year … they are boring.But as an MLO, we all must take ourCE and pay our fees to maintain ourlicense.

As for the dirt, the old wives tale iswe all must eat a pound of dirtbefore die, so here’s hoping you arebelow the one-pound mark!

Kelly M. from Seattle asks …I recently went up against anotherloan officer for a large, high enddeal, and lost. I am wondering if mybeing a female has any bearing as towhy I may not have landed the deal.Do you still think the good ol’ boysclub still exists, especially with realestate agents, or on a high-end deal?

I also have a follow-up question:What have you found the best tacticor plan to get more business fromreal estate agents?

Eric’s reply to Kelly M. …I was once training a young prettywoman as a loan officer. She thoughtby dressing provocatively she wouldget more business. The truth is, ithas the exact opposite effect. Withmarried couples, the woman halfwill immediately talk you down sotheir husbands don’t get any ideas.Male real estate agents will readilytalk you up, but will assume anybeautiful woman has to have nobrains. It’s a cultural bias fomentedby the entertainment industry.

The best tactic for an attractivewoman is to dress and act in a busi-ness-like manner. It is okay to bepretty, but not sensual. In my per-sonal opinion, no there is no oldboys network, I will work with a

chimpanzee if gets me more busi-ness. I think many business profes-sionals feel the same way. The samewith race. To me, everybody is greenlike the color of money. Of course,my wife will not let me work with thereally sexy green ones, though …

Laura’s reply to Kelly M. …I cannot say whether your gendermade a difference in you getting theloan or now, but I can say there is a

distinct difference in selling betweenthe genders. Men typically do notbuild relationships; they are after thetransaction, where women oftenbuild relationships first. Is this goodor bad? I am going to say neither,just different techniques.

For example Eric’s first thoughtswere sex and humor, which may ormay not be a good combination. Myfirst instinct is to answer your ques-tion sincerely and often a solution.

Single women buy homes twice asoften as single men, as they are well-educated with good incomes. Yet sta-tistically it is said they are less likelyto be approved. Why is that?

A recent report published by theNational Association of Realtors(NAR) using numbers gathered by thereal estate brokerage Redfin, foundthat single women have been taking

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

No changes to 2015 conventional loan limitsThe Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announcedthat, except for 46 counties in which high-cost area loan lim-its have increased, the 2015 maximum conforming loan lim-

its for first-lien and second-lien loans will remain unchanged from themaximum conforming loan limits for 2014.

Note that loan limits apply to the original loan amount of the mortgageloan, not to its balance at the time of purchase by Fannie Mae, and theloan origination date is the date of the note.

2015 FHA and VA loan limitsThe Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) have released their maximum loan limits for 2015.

The FHA maximum loan limits are applicable to FHA Title II ForwardMortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) insurance pro-grams under the National Housing Act, except for streamline refinancetransactions without an appraisal, and are effective for case numbers as-signed on or after Jan. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2015.

VA Circular 26-14-39 announces its 2015 County Loan Limits. Circular26-14-39 clarifies that there is no maximum VA home loan in that lendersmay originate loans in excess of the County Loan Limit. However, the VA’sguaranty will be limited to 25 percent of the County Loan Limit.

The Circular also announces that the County Loan Limits do not applyto Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans (IRRRLs). It also addresseshow loan applications in process, whereby the purchase and sales agree-ment has been ratified by all parties, and the Uniform Residential LoanApplication (URLA) has been signed by both the lender and borrower, willbe handled.

Please refer to VA Circular 26-14-39 for more details.

Vermont declared rate remains unchangedNo later than Dec. 15 of each year, the Vermont Commissioner of Taxes:Establishes the rate ("Declared Rate") pursuant to Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 32, §3108(a):

For 2015, the Declared Rate used by the Vermont's High Rate, High Pointlaw (the "Act") will remain unchanged at 3.6 percent. The Act provides,among other things, that if the interest rate being charged on the loanexceeds the Declared Rate by more than three percent, then the loan is ahigh rate loan.

Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. is DocMagic Inc.’s chief legal officer and currentlyserves as editor-in-chief of DocMagic’s electronic compliance newsletter, TheCompliance Wizard. She received her JD from the Georgetown University LawCenter, and is licensed in California and Texas. She may be reached by phoneat (800) 649-1362 or e-mail melanie@docmagic.com.

Legal Updates:January 2015

�

By Phil Hall

When Congress establishedthe Farm Credit System in1916 as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE),

it was intended to help small-scale farm-ers and ranchers that were having diffi-culty obtaining financing for their ruraloperations. Nearly a century later, how-ever, things are a little bit different.

The Farm Credit System is uniquebecause it is the only GSE that also servesas a lender. The system is a network ofborrower-owned lenders and specializedservice organizations that are supposedto serve communities of 2,500 and less.But demographic shifts from rural com-munities to urban and suburban settingsresulted in this GSE aiming its financialactivities elsewhere—much to the cha-grin of the commercial bankers that theFarm Credit System works directlyagainst.

“The Farm Credit System has gone faroutside of agricultural lending,” said EdElfmann, vice president of congressionalrelations for the American BankersAssociation (ABA). “What put them overthe top was the recent $725 million loanto Verizon so the company could do acorporate buyout of Vodafone. In theireyes, Verizon is similar to rural telephonecooperatives.”

Elfmann noted that the Verizon loanwas not an aberration, but part of a trendin which the Farm Credit System began toshow increased interested in deep-pock-eted individuals and corporations. Mostof these transactions attracted littleattention, but in the past few years a pairof Farm Credit loans to deep-pocketedindividuals—financing for the KlugeEstate Winery and Vineyard nearCharlottesville, Va., founded by the ex-wife of the late billionaire media mag-nate John Kluge, and a 55-acre equestri-an facility and guest house in SouthDakota reportedly owned by a HollywoodTV producer—generated headlines andheadaches for the GSE when both prop-erties wound up in foreclosure auctions.

Last year, CoBank, one of the institu-tions within the Farm Credit System, pro-vided a $350 million “credit agreement”with Frontier CommunicationsCorporation to partially finance the com-pany’s $2 billion acquisition of theConnecticut wireline business owned andoperated by AT&T.

“This is corporate lending and is notrelated to agriculture,” stated Elfmann.

For many years, the ABA has seen theFarm Credit System’s lending as a form ofencroachment, and it has worked to pre-vent the GSE from using the legislativeprocess for expanding its mandate—mostnotably in 2007, when it spearheaded theeffort the halted the Horizons proposalsthat would have furthered the GSE’s non-

farm lending. The trade group recentlystarted a new campaign called ReformFarm Credit that is designed to use socialmedia and grassroots outreach to curtailthe GSE’s deviation from its mission.

“We are trying to bring equitybetween ourselves and the Farm CreditSystem,” said Elfmann. “We want tomake sure they stay in their sandbox.”

Indeed, the playing field between theFarm Credit System’s institutions and thebanks and thrifts serving rural communi-ties is anything but equal. Elfmann notesthat banks and thrifts are subject to thecompliance burdens of federal legisla-tion including the CommunityReinvestment Act and the Dodd-FrankAct, while the Farm Credit System institu-tions are not. Nor are the Farm CreditSystem institutions subject to oversightby the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau—instead, another regulatoryagency, the Farm Credit Administration,exists to keep an eye on these lenders.

“A lot of the Farm Credit institutionsare not even required to supply HomeMortgage Disclosure Act information,”Elfmann said. “But Farm Credit is abank—it has retail offices and loan offi-cers that drive out to the farmers.”

Furthermore, Farm Credit Systemlenders are not concerned about loanlimits.

“Their lenders’ limits increased lastyear from $750 million to $1 billion foran individual,” Elfmann observed. “Theycan do this as long as the property is in alocation under 2,500 in population.”

Elfmann also expressed concern thatthe Farm Credit System is using creativelanguage to re-define what constitutes arural area.

“If you have a small swamp in yourbackyard, they will call it a huntingground and you can qualify for a loanfrom them,” he continued. “In Wisconsin,there are billboards telling people theycan get financing for new huntinggrounds with Farm Credit.”

ABA is using Facebook and Twitter toraise awareness of its Reform Farm Creditendeavor, and Elfmann is encouragedthat the new 114th Congress will beinterested in paying more attention tothis issue.

“I was at the swearing in on the Hilland I heard from quite a few people,”Elfmann reported, adding that shiftingdemographics in Congress—there arenow only 185 rural-area representatives inthe House—may enable a renewed inter-est in how the Farm Credit System oper-ates. “Agriculture in D.C. is kind of a smallcommunity, and it will be interesting toget this outside of that community.”

Phil Hall is managing editor of NationalMortgage Professional Magazine. He maybe reached by e-mail at philh@nmpmedi-acorp.com.

ABA Takes New Volleyat Farm Credit System

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just ask eric & lauracontinued from page 47

the homebuying business by storm.According to the report, the numberof 45- to 54-year-old single femalehomeowners soared 120 percentfrom 1982-2012, the latest numbersavailable. Some of the most success-ful women are found in Virginia …uh-oh Eric!?

To answer your question, if youdid all you could do to get the loan,let it go. Keep it as a learning experi-ence, and remember what you feelyou did right, and think of what youmay change the next time in a simi-lar situation. Be true to yourself,don’t dress inappropriately, besmart, let your candle shine. One bigdeal can often result in moreheadaches than four normal-sizeddeals. If your competition got onedeal, and you get two, three or fourto his one, you will be ahead.

Think about the referral tree youwill build, if one person refers you totwo people, you could have threetimes as many referrals, and thosethree will continue to multiply.

Now, let’s talk about getting yourfoot in the door of new real estateagents. All too often, the real estateagent wants to test you and see whatyou can do. You can switch theprocess, and do a role reversal. Youcan talk to 10 real estate agents andsay you are looking for three agentsthat you will choose to be a part ofyour new 2015 team. You will offerincredible service, new products, sta-tus follow-up and reward points toeach of the agents. You can also goon to offer special live seminars fortheir potential clients, on the bene-fits of homeownership vs. renting,the tax benefits of homeownership,special loans for veterans, or becom-ing an investor. All you ask in returnis loyalty and referrals. Now somewill be nay-sayers and say, “No, butif you keep at it, you will find threewho will agree to be on your team.”Now you have reversed roles.

Tim M. fromAlexandria, Va. asks …My boss is making me give a presen-tation to 100 real estate agents at aconference. I am scared to death ofpublic speaking. Help!

Eric’s reply to Tim M. …As a former CEO, I too had to over-come my fears of public speaking. Ifyou plan on becoming rich andfamous, that is just part of the job.

Here are some quick tips:l Learn your speech really well, but

do not memorize it. Write downkeywords on an index card or asheet of paper to practice it. Ifyou can, try to avoid notes onstage, it reduces your sincerityand appeal to the audience. Pickout two or three people in the

crowd and pretend you are talkingjust to them. Ignore everyone else.Do not speak in a monotone voice,raise the pitch and volume of yourvoice, stressing different parts ofyour speech. Use logic and emotionto support your position.

l Like everything else in the world tomaster a skill, you must practice. Ifyou think this is something youmight have to do on a regular basis,join Toastmasters (www.toastmas-ters.org). This is an organizationspecifically designed to help peopleto learn the skills of oration.

Laura’s reply to Tim M. …Wikipedia calls it “Glossophobia” orspeech anxiety is the fear of publicspeaking. People who suffer fromglossophobia tend to freeze in frontof any audience, even a couple ofpeople. They find their mouth driesup, their voice is weak and their bodystarts shaking. They may even sweat,go red and feel their heart thumpingrapidly (Glossophobia.com).

It is also the second fear by manyonly preceded by death; some willargue that is the third fear held bymany second only to fear of snakes.Whether it is second or third it is areal fear that many people feel.Unfortunately, it is also a fear thatmust be overcome in many business-es, especially in sales and marketingpositions, as well as most top levelexecutive positions.

Start small by presenting to smallgroups, at your church, at a school,at a community event, as youbecome more comfortable you canease into large groups. Jumping intoa large group is a difficult task, butone that can by mastered with someplanning and preparation.

There are different types of speak-ing, first you have one that isplanned, prepared and about a topicyou are familiar with, this is the eas-iest to master. The more difficult oneis extemporaneous speaking, whereyou don’t know what the topic mightbe and you have to ad lib a talk.Again if it is relative to topics you arefamiliar with it is easier, than a topicyou may not be as familiar with.

Tony Robbins once said the moth-er to all success is repetition. I onceknew how many hours of practice toa 30-minute speech was necessary.Most seminars should be 30- to 60-minutes long at one time. A slidepresentation should have a mini-mum of 30 seconds per slide. Fifteenpages double spaced is about a 30-minute presentation.

Another organization you maywant to join is the National SpeakersAssociation (www.nsaspeaker.org).They also have local chapters in moststates that you can join. I was a mem-ber of this organization for many

Eric & Laura welcome your questions, please send your inquiries toJustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com.

years. What I liked about it was thatit didn’t matter what level a speakeryou were at, from newbie to estab-lish everyone would learn togetherand from one another. You can learnhow to add humor, how to tell astory, etc.

The two things I learned of valueis no one cares how much you know,they only want to know how muchyou care, or basically what’s in it forthem. Presenting is easier if you cantell stories. People may not remem-ber your name but they will remem-ber a story you shared. Most impor-tantly share your own stories.

Break a leg (good luck for actorsor presenters)!

Disclaimer: All answers are for infor-mational purpose only, and are not

intended to practice law, or providetax advice or tax opinions. Afterreviewing our information we recom-mend seeking legal counsel or theadvice of a tax professional.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, onthe commercial real estate side until1991, when he fell in love with residen-tial lending. In 1995, he started a smallmortgage company in his basementcalled Carteret Mortgage Corporation,which in 2003, grew to one of the largestmortgage broker companies in theUnited States. He may be reached byphone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail ewe-instein4u@gmail.com. Laura Burke isan author and trainer with 20-plus yearsof experience in the mortgage arena. Shemay be reached by e-mail at laura-lynnburke@gmail.com.

calendar of eventsN A T I O N A L M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L

see page 66

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Garrett M. Kolb

In my 35 years of mortgage lending, there has never beena product like the home equity conversion mortgage(HECM). The industry has seen its share of products but nonelike the often misunderstood reverse mortgage.

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) hasmade several significant changes to the program over the past 18 monthsimplementing borrower safeguards to mitigate risk to the Mortgage In-surance Fund. HUD’s changes appear to have worked in the short term,but still missed the long term issues facing the industry. Maintaining thecollateral per the terms of the deed requires a cash flow analysis and theability to set aside reserves to cover the expense of occupying the property.

The much anticipated Mortgage Letter No. 2014-22 released in Novem-ber during the National Association of Reverse Mortgage Lenders’ (NRMLA)Annual Meeting brings sense and sensibility to the program.

Ask industry insiders about this Mortgagee Letter and the response willbe “Financial Assessment.” This new guidance termed as Financial Assess-ment, provides much needed change to align the product with a timetested disposable income analysis utilized in the early days of FHA andVA lending.

HUD states:

“For borrowers who do not demonstrate their willingness to meet their loanobligations, life expectancy set-asides—full or partial—will be required.”“The mortgagee must evaluate the mortgagor’s willingness and capacity totimely meet his or her financial obligations and to comply with the mortgagerequirements.”“In conducting this financial assessment, mortgagees must take into consid-eration that some mortgagors seek a HECM due to financial difficulties,which may be reflected in the mortgagor’s credit report and/or propertycharge payment history. The mortgagee must also consider to what extentthe proceeds of the HECM could provide a solution to any such financial dif-ficulties.”

In short, Financial Assessment is a disposable income test to ensure thefuture payment of taxes, insurance and property maintenance are withinthe borrower’s ability to fund and provides a reserve (set-aside) when theanalysis reflects otherwise. The guidance includes a review of the bor-rower’s credit history with specific guidance on recent late payments tohelp determine the “willingness” factor.

Why offer a reverse mortgage without knowing if the client can affordthe cost of maintaining the property? It sounds simple, but in the case ofthe HECM too many businesses did not do their homework and put them-selves, the mortgage servicer and the MIP fund at risk.

It is impossible to write policy that eliminates all risk but HUD’s newestguidance takes a giant step in the right direction. Analyzing the borrowers’disposable income and mandating tax and insurance set-a-sides whenneeded, mitigates future problems for the borrower and all stakeholders.

The HECM has come full circle as a legitimate financial tool.

Garrett M. Kolb is senior managing director of correspondent and wholesalelending for Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. Garrett joined the RMS produc-tion team in 2011, and brings 35 years of sales management and financialservices experience. He may be reached by phone at (888) 471-7191 or e-mail gkolb@rmsnav.com.

FHA’s HECMis Here to Stay

�

With the 2013-2014 political cycle in the rearviewmirror, I think it is important to reflect on our suc-cesses. I want to first say what a pleasure it hasbeen to serve as your 2013-2014 Mortgage Action

Alliance Chairman. The cycle was record-breaking for MAA,enrolling 8,876 active MAA members—more than double the

number of members we started the cycle with. I traveled the country andconnected with so many advocates across the nation, spreading awarenessabout MAA. I thank you all for your dedication to MBA, the Mortgage ActionAlliance, and to our industry. We are shaping the future of real estate financethrough advocacy and our grassroots network, and it would not be possiblewithout your hard work and continued efforts.

Last cycle, we employed some new and creative ways to spread the wordabout MAA. We came into 2013-2014 with two goals: Engage our state lead-ers, and spread MAA through engaging individual companies in recruitmentefforts. As we had hoped, state associations, company leaders and individualMAA members met and welcomed this responsibility. We worked with stateassociations to run enrollment campaigns, and in October, the State MAAEnrollment Challenge increased our active membership by 1,556 members ina single month. We ran more than 40 individual company enrollment cam-paigns led by individual advocates all over the United States.

Together, we built the momentum needed to head into the next cycle withthe goal of reaching even higher.

I am proud to have worked with such a dedicated team of advocates. Forthose who ran an MAA campaign or signed up individually this cycle—I thankyou. For those of you who attended our National Advocacy Conference or metwith your state or local representatives—I thank you. For those of you whoresponded to a Call to Action—I thank you. You are all doing your part.

For those who did not, I challenge you to become a leader for the indus-try and be an active participant in moving the industry forward in 2015.

If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact StephanieGraham at (202) 557-2818 or e-mail sgraham@mba.org to receive an enroll-ment campaign kit and learn more about how you can engage your col-leagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.

Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learn moreabout the MAA can do so at www.mortgageactionalliance.org. If you have anyquestions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs, please contact MBA’sAssistant Director of Political Affairs Annie Gawkowski by phone at (202) 557-2816 or e-mail agawkowski@mba.org.

Amy Swaney, CMB is governmental relations officer and branch manager withScottsdale, Ariz.-based Citywide Home Loans. Amy is also chair of the MortgageAction Alliance (MAA), a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grass-roots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliatedwith the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Amy may be reached by phoneat (480) 822-6262, ext. 2164, e-mail amy@amyswaney.com or visithttp://mba.org/Advocacy/MortgageActionAlliance.

MBA’sMortgageActionAlliance

A Message From MAA Chairwoman Amy Swaney

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By Brian Sacks

As we start 2015,many originatorshave made their

goals and are ready to implementthem. Some will reach those goals,while others simply will end 2015wondering just what went wrong.

The best way to start the year isto look back at 2014. What went asplanned? What didn’t go asplanned? Why?

There is usually much more tolearn from your mistakes then thereare from your successes. How manytimes have you put a plan togetherand seen it through to success. Thanyou move on to something else thatcatches your attention and never goback to what was working?

There is a lot more to learn frommistakes.

Recently, I posted a survey to mysite, www.AgentsChaseYou.com,and asked them this very question:What was your biggest mistake in2014?

Here are just some of theresponses:

l Goal setting and review wasweak.

l Not enough contact with realestate agents!

l Staying in the mortgage business.l Not networking enough.l Not working hard enoughl Not effectively expanding your

real estate agent referral base.l Spending money advertising with

Angie’s List.l Not staying in touch with my

database of past clients.l Staying with the wrong company

too long.l Being completely unmotivated.l Taking my eye off the ball.l Not asking enough questions

when speaking to new clients.l Choosing the wrong recruiter.

As you read this …do you see a pattern?During my almost 30 years in thebusiness, I have been an originator, amanager, a regional manager and thefounder and president of a largetraining and consulting company. Ihave seen all sorts of markets andevery type of originator.

The responses above made methink back to my first years in thebusiness. I was working for a bank-owned mortgage banker. Mymanager was a great guy, but my“training” consisted of handing me amanual and a rate sheet and tellingme to go out and bring in somedeals.

Okay coach … now what?Naturally, I started going out andtrying to meet real estate agents andbuilders. When I didn’t see successquickly (who would) I started to placeblame. In my mind, I wasn’tsucceeding because our rates weretoo high, we had a bad reputation,we didn’t provide any advertising,etc.

It’s very natural to place blame butthe key to success is the day youwake up and finally realize that YOUare the problem. YOU are also thesolution.

Don’t misunderstand me here.You must have a company with aplatform built to originate and closeloans. You must have a companythat provides you with support. Youmust also have a company that has agood array of programs and decentpricing.

Please notice what I did not say …I did not say you need a company

with the BEST pricing because theresimply is no such company in thisbusiness. To be fair, we are all prettymuch the same with some slightdifferences. But what you need tofocus on is YOU!

l What are you doing to generatenew business?

l What are you doing to getreferrals?

l What are you doing to get yourname out there ?

l What are you doing to sell theprograms you do have?

l What are you doing to make thecustomer experience excellent?

l What are you doing to getreferrals?

l What are you doing to makeyourself “referable?”

l What are you doing to make yourprocess run more smoothly?

I would suggest that you take outa sheet of paper and copy thesequestions down right now. Thinkabout what your current answer is toeach of these questions. Then thinkabout your end goal of what theanswers should be. Now plan outexactly how you implement this.

What type of loan officer are you?Before I get into this topic, I want tobe very clear that I am notsuggesting which type you shouldchoose. But you must realize thatthere are two types of loan officersand you must make a consciouschoice as to which you want to be.Once you do, your life will becomemuch clearer.

IF IT’S GOING TO BE … IT

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Loan Officer #1 works for acompany and expects the companyto always have the best pricing,every imaginable product available,and strong internal support. This loanofficer also expects the company toprovide them with leads. In additionto the leads, the originator alsowants strong marketing support anda done for you program for bringingin new business with strongmarketing materials.

Loan Officer #2 wants the sameitems as Loan Officer #1. But LoanOfficer #2 will go out and startworking on bringing in business inspite of any of the areas above thathis/her company is deficient in.

This loan officer realizes that “Ifit’s going to be … it’s up to me.”

This is the time of year you mustchoose which loan officer you wantto be for 2015 This will be a year ofchange. This will also be the yearthat separates the “Purchase LoanOfficers” from the “Refi LoanOfficers.”

There is nothing wrong with beingLoan Officer #1, but you must realizethat margins in our industry are beingsqueezed tight and that there is onlya certain profit in each loanoriginated. That is a fact we all haveto live with.

But if you really want to make anice six figure income in thisbusiness than you must considerbeing Loan Officer #2.

Please write this down and pin itto your computer … “If it’s going tobe, it’s up to me!”

Make these your words to live byin 2015, and here are my wishes toyou for a happy, healthy andprosperous 2015!

Brian Sacks is a nationally-renownedmortgage expert who has careerclosing of more than 5,924transactions for in excess of $1billion. He has trained, consulted andcoached, tens of thousands of loanofficers and company owners overthe past 29 years on how to closemore loans, make more money andstill have a life. You can downloadhis report, “The Four Tools You CanUse to Immediately Grow YourBusiness,” atwww.AgentsChaseYou.com. Brianmay be reached by phone at (443)324-8424 or e-mailloanofficertips@gmail.com.

T’S UP TO ME

“There is usually much more to learn

from your mistakes then there are from

your successes.”

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Realtors and title companies rave about our service.

Relationships are everything.

Growing? We’ll help.

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By Kerry Elam

When was thelast time youtruly listenedto what the

other person was saying? Many timeswe are consumed with getting ourpoint across; we forget to simply listenbefore responding. How many timesdo you get off subject because of inter-jections of each person relating to theother? We all want to relate to eachother as it is human nature. Yet we allwant to be fully listened to as well.Taking the time to listen sparks cre-ativity and boosts esteem. Imagineinteracting with peers that were moti-vated and inspired to do the best eachand every day. As Henry Ford said, “Ifthere is any one secret of success, itlies in the ability to get the other per-son’s point of view and see thingsfrom his angle as well as your own.”Many times, it is not about being right,yet taking the time to allow both par-ties to actually be heard.

This article explores various ways toenhance listening and communication

to cultivate a strong and steady cul-ture that leads towards a commongoal.

Active listeningThe way to become a better listener isto practice active listening. This iswhere you make a conscious effort tohear not only the words that anotherperson is saying but, more important-ly, try to understand the completemessage being sent. In order to do thisyou must pay attention to the otherperson very carefully. You cannotallow yourself to become distracted bywhatever else may be going on aroundyou, or by forming counter argumentsthat you’ll make when the other per-son stops speaking. Nor can you allowyourself to get bored, and lose focuson what the other person is saying. Allof these contribute to a lack of listen-ing and understanding. To become anactive listener practice ensuring youhear the other person and that theother person knows you are hearingwhat they say by:

l Focused attention: Give the

speaker your full attention andacknowledge the message bothverbally and non-verbally.Checking e-mail or texts during aconversation is a sure way tomake the speaker feel less thanimportant. Put away the phoneand be attentive.

l Show listening: Use bodylanguage, such as smiling,nodding and subtle words such as“yes” and “I understand” to allowthe speaker to feel comfortable insharing ideas.

l Give feedback: Ensure that thespeaker feels as though youunderstand what is being said. Forinstance, paraphrasing or askingclarifying questions.

l Save judgment: Allow the speakerto portray their message withoutinterrupting as it may frustrateand derail what was being said.The speaker may not want tocontinue if there is a feeling youare not in agreement before theyhave even finishedcommunicating.

l Be responsive: There is nothing

worse than radio silence when youhave poured your heart and soulout and the listener says nothing.Even if you do not agree, bemindful and assert your opinionsgracefully. Treat the other personin a way that you think he or shewould want to be treated.

SummarizeconversationsNow that we have looked at active lis-tening, the next part of listening is tosummarize to ensure complete under-standing and avoid miscommunica-tions. Far too often, conflict arisesfrom lack of understanding the fullpicture. We are quick to makeassumptions to make decisions. In aconversation where information isexchanged, conclude with a summarystatement. Summarizing will not onlyensure accurate follow-through, it willhelp to ensure both parties are on thesame page. Use statements such as:

l What I am hearing isl Sounds like you are saying

Listento

Cultivate Culture

“Taking the time to listen sparks creativity and boosts esteem.

Imagine interacting with peers thatwere motivated and inspired to do

the best each and every day.”

loved one or found out someone closeto them passed away, or their toiletover flooded with major damage thismorning. Empathy is challenging aswe are also facing our own daily strug-gles and conflict. Yet if we could slowdown and take a moment toempathize before we judge in ourrelationships, they would go moresmoothly. This takes patience andpractice. Carl Rogers summarized elo-quently, “Empathy is a special way ofcoming to know another and our-selves, a kind of attuning and under-standing. When empathy is extended,it satisfies our needs and wish for inti-macy, it rescues us from our feelingsof aloneness.”

In conclusion, listening is instrumen-tal and the foundation for

effective communication.At work, home, with our

is not that I’m so smart. But I stay withthe questions much longer.” He wasconstantly asking why questions. Take amoment to ask why. Below is a list ofpotential questions from the book byMichael J. Marquardt, Leading WithQuestions:

l Can that be done in any other way?l What resources have we never

used?l What do we expect to happen if we

do that?l What other options do we have?l What happens if … ?

Empathize Empathetic listening is similar to activelistening with more of a focus on tryingto understand the othersfeelings and emo-tions of what theyare trying to commu-nicate. You neverknow what anotheris going through.What is the true“root” of the problemor behavior? Forexample, someoneon your team maynot be focused on abig deliverable todayand typically is onpoint. Many times, wewill push and say why didyou not do this? Versus, how are youtoday? Maybe they had a fight with a

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Ask questionsThe questioning process enables us tobecome more interested in what theperson is saying. And when we listen tosomeone respond to our question, wemay see the situation more clearly orhave awareness or better yet the per-son we are communicating with mightcome to their own resolution.Questions encourage others to contin-ue forward. For example, Columbuscould have asked himself, “Is there asea route to India?”

Now there is an art to asking ques-tions by taking the learner mindset ver-sus the judger. Focus on learning withquestions to foster new possibilities:

l What can we do about this?l What possibilities does this open

up?l How can we stay on track?l What can we learn from this?

On the other hand, judging ques-tions are ones that are reactive andfocus on the past. Be careful not to ask:

l Why is this failure?l Whose fault is this?l Why can’t you get this right?

Questions are powerful tools thatcan either hinder or catapult forwardmovement. As Albert Einstein said, “It

significant other, our kids, it is neces-sary to building trust. With trust, comeenhanced relationships to build a sta-ble culture for continued success notonly in the work place, but in our per-sonal lives. As we are engaging in allaspects of life, that transfers into ourworkplaces. Take time to listen eachand every day and see how muchsmoother interactions transpire.

Kerry W. Elam is managing director ofoperations and human resources withActualize Consulting. She oversees thefinance, marketing and recruiting func-tions of the firm, and is also responsi-ble for facilitating knowledge manage-ment, training and social activities forthe employees of the firm. She may bereached by phone at (703) 868-1506, e-mail kelam@actualizeconsulting.comor visit www.actualizeconsulting.com.

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By Allen Beydoun

I’m often asked about the fundamen-tal elements that drive the success ofour business. The answer is simple:Our culture and our people. Sure,bright colors and contemporary furni-ture are cool, but a culture comesfrom your people.

A successful company must also

have a shared vision that everyone inthe company must know, understandand live each day. At UnitedWholesale Mortgage (UWM), ourvision is within the pillars of our con-stitution. We live and breathe our pil-lars daily. They are, in themselves,secrets to our success. In this article I

will be sharing some core elements ofour pillars and how we leverage themto grow our business.

People are our greatest assetA lot of times, business leaders makethe mistake of looking solely atspreadsheets and charts to makedecisions. Or they think the companyis successful because they have thelatest technology, and bring in rev-enue. Don’t make this mistake. Yourpeople are your greatest asset. One ofthe biggest secrets to running a suc-cessful company is having great peo-ple. I consider my company oneteam, one company, and we worktogether to accomplish our goals. Webelieve every single team member isessential to our growth and success.Notice, I called them team members,not employees. Our managers,referred to as team leaders, inspireand guide team members to assist inreaching personal and companygoals. It seems simple, but titles com-pliment your vision to help mold anew mindset to support your overallculture.

Work, effort and attitudeEvery successful person I’ve met radi-ates a strong work ethic and positiveattitude. These two traits play a majorrole in creating a formula for success.I challenge our team every day to findsomeone that is outworking our team.Couple this with positive attitude andyou have a winning combination.Attitudes are contagious. If you haveenthusiasm and a desire to be thebest, then others around you will dothe same. Conversely, if someone onyour team is negative it effectsmorale. They have the potential todrag everyone down with them whichcould impact production. It’s impor-tant to rid your organization of thesetypes of people. Reward your teammembers that possess a strong workethic and positive attitude. They canhelp create and build a culture thatattracts talented individuals full ofpassion, energy and excitement.

Fun and friendshipIf you create a culture where everyoneenjoys what they do, you will build astronger organization. Providing anenvironment where you work hard butenjoy what you’re doing is a simple for-mula for success. Often, individuals insales are competitive by nature, so playoff their desire to be number one bycreating sales contests. It’s important tokeep the contests short so that they areimpactful and you don’t need to spenda lot of money to make it fun. Forexample, at my company, we ran a con-test called “Capture the Flag.” Lastingfor one month, our sales teams com-peted against a different team each dayto capture flags based on new loan sub-missions. The team with the most flagsat the end of the month won a round ofgolf and I was their caddy. Everyoneworked hard to win this prize, notbecause of the free golf, but because Iwould be at their beck and call. Whenyour leaders get involved, it shows thatit’s acceptable to have fun and willencourage team collaboration from alllevels of the organization. In addition,the prize was a team-building experi-ence, because it allowed the team toenjoy time together outside of work.

Constant improvement is essential to long-term successYou’ve heard the statement, “What gotus here, won’t get us there.” That’sexactly what continuous improvementis all about. UWM is one of the largestand fastest growing wholesale lendersin the country. One of the reasons isbecause we are constantly asking our-selves how we can get better every day.And we don’t plan to ever stop askingthat question. Successful companiesneed to continue to grow and evolveand it starts with leadership. By encour-aging new ideas and processes, yourcompany will stay relevant and willhead in the right direction.

Service is everyone’sresponsibilityHaving an exceptional level of servicecan differentiate you from your compe-tition. Are you setting expectations with

“Attitudes are contagious. If you have enthusiasm and a desire

to be the best, then others around you will do the same.”

Nine Ways to Leverage Culture to Grow Business

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your clients and delivering on yourpromises? It all starts internally. At myfirm, service is one of our strengths,and that is because we view internaland external service to have equalimportance. In order to best serviceyour clients, you need to interact posi-tively within the walls of your organiza-tion. If you are able to provide unparal-leled service internally, then your exter-nal service will be just as impactful. It’simportant that you establish expecta-tions with all of your team members,from the receptionists to the CEO, noone should be exempt. Then, make it apoint to tell your clients what your serv-ice guarantees are. When you commu-nicate your promises, you can holdyourselves accountable to deliver eliteclient service.

It’s all about the relationshipIn our industry, you have to be rela-tionship-driven, not transaction driven.My company focuses on the relation-ship to take our partnerships to thenext level. There is a big differencebetween a satisfied customer and aloyal client. We want to create successstories and we aim to wow our clientsto earn repeat business. Every success-ful company does the same thing. Theyget clients to come back to them timeand time again and if they are reallygood, those same clients also refer theirfriends and family.

Ask for feedbackSuccessful companies don’t just processtransactions for clients and wash theirhands of them. Successful companiesask their clients about their experi-ence. With today’s technology it is easyto receive feedback. There are manydifferent tools that can be used forsurveying your clients’ experience.Whether you choose a free option orone that costs money, there is a solu-tion to fit everyone’s budget. Considersending a simple survey asking a seriesof questions to manually gauge data,or utilize more complex tools such asNet Promoter Score (NPS). At UWM,we’ve implemented a system where weprovide a link on our team member e-mail signatures providing our clientsthe opportunity to share their experi-ence. The key is to take that feedbackand do something with it. We alwayscall the client and thank them for their

comments, both good and bad. It isimportant that clients know that theirfeedback is appreciated and taken seri-ously.

Be a thumb-pointerOnce you gauge client satisfaction, it’simportant to handle adverse situationspromptly and responsibly. When youget a complaint, don’t ignore it. Doyour research and call the client imme-diately. When you make the call, be athumb-pointer. It is easy to blame oth-ers—to point your finger—but turnthat around and point at yourself. Askyourself “What could I have done bet-ter”? By simply changing that mindsetyou seek to understand from a differ-ent point of view.

Communication is crucialOne of the simplest fundamentals thatis underutilized is communication.One’s trust and reputation is often builtupon the ability to communicate. Thereis no such thing as over-communicat-ing. Whether you are involved in a pur-chase or refinance, provide an open lineof communication with all parties. It’sjust as important to deliver bad news asquickly as you deliver good news. Everytime you receive an update, communi-cate it. No one likes to be left in thedark.

Some of these concepts might seemobvious, but the hard part is imple-menting them over and over again.The greatest investment is your timeand dedication. A successful businessisn’t something that happensovernight. It is shaped and developedover time. My best advice for the NewYear is to invest in growing and culti-vating your people and your culture.In time, this will pay dividends andyou will be happy you took the time toinvest in your success.

Allen Beydoun leads nearly 300 accountexecutives, team leaders, division man-agers and developmental teams as execu-tive vice president, sales of UnitedWholesale Mortgage (UWM). Beydounjoined UWM as an account executive in2007 and developed a strong under-standing of customer dynamics to createa leadership style that would furtherdrive UWM’s commitment to “LendingMade Easy.” His impressive leadershipguides the entire team of UWM in provid-ing exceptional client service, consistent

turn times and constant communicationbetween UWM’s operations team andbrokers. Recently, Beydoun was named

as one of “The Top 40 MortgageProfessionals Under 40” by NationalMortgage Professional Magazine.

By Ashley Lubey

The grass is always greener on the otherside. Or so the saying goes. When theeconomy crashed, people did what theyneeded to survive the Great Recession.People took any job available to avoidbeing unemployed and continue pay-ing bills as the economy took a dive.But times are changing and improving.So rather than taking the first job

offered, professionals are once againable to be picky when making theiremployment decisions and joining acompany. Job hunters have more free-dom to research and make an educateddecision about accepting a job with acompany that provides an enticing workenvironment best suited to fit theirneeds. This article explores four main

qualities that draw an employee to anorganization and foster a positive workenvironment for happy employees: ben-efits, compensation, a respectful atmos-phere, and a motivating culture.

Employees often take into accountthe benefits of a position before accept-ing an employment offer at a company.Besides a robust 401K plan and med-ical, dental, and vision coverageoptions, employees also look at addi-tional included perks. Will a holidaybonus be given? Are gym membershipdiscounts available or workout classesprovided at lunchtime? Does thedepartment allow employees to workremotely? How is personal time off andsick time accrued? Employees look atthe overall “benefits” package whenmaking a decision. A work-life balanceis incredibly important, as well as beingable to plan for and reach goals in thefuture. Having the opportunity to spendtime making this important decision isallowing job searchers and currentemployees to weigh their options andensure they are positioning themselvesto succeed moving forward. Are you set-ting up your workforce for success?Offering incentives allows employees tofeel secure, stable, and valued. Theseadded perks assist employees in devel-oping and maintaining a healthy, effi-cient lifestyle, which in turn benefitsthe company through their improvedquality of work. A company that investsin their employees will reap the bene-fits of growing an appreciative and ded-icated team of professionals.

Benefits paired with an appropriatewage can be a major differentiating fac-tor between competing companiesvying for top-tier talent. Professionalstoday are earning degrees, enrolling inadditional educational classes, attend-ing conferences, and doing everythingin their power to remain at the top ofhis or her field. The position and overallresponsibilities should be taken intoconsideration when determining a com-petitive and appropriate compensation.Employers should research an appropri-ate wage based on skill level, experi-ence, industry standards, and geo-graphic location. A company unwillingto pay for talent won’t be able to build

an experienced team poised to produceunique, quality work. Building a teamof true professionals with a high-levelskillset is difficult as experts are in highdemand and expect a competitivewage. Talented professionals are morelikely to remain at a company theyenjoy working for where they are beingproperly compensated and feel theperks and work environment meet hisor her demands for being successful. Beprepared to pay a comparable salarythat attracts high-level professionalsand encourages company loyalty. Bethe company that is offering the bestdeal in town, not the one losing the tal-ent to others.

Generally speaking, an office envi-ronment consists of professional adultswho applied for and agreed to theirposition within the company. Do youwant your employees to perform in atimely and profitable manner? Treatthem with respect. Employees are morelikely to work harder for managementthey feel respect them and place valuein their good work. Create a positiveenvironment by focusing all interac-tions and communications aroundrespect. It’s a little word that goes along way. We have all been in a situa-tion where a condescending tone orsnide, entitled remark makes us cringeand question our job, our projects, andourselves. Looking for a quick remedyto this problem? Use the Golden Rule.How would you want to be treated inthe same situation? In almost everycase, treating employees with respectwill result in higher quality finishedprojects and improved work relation-ships. Setting a respectful tone in theoffice allows employees to feel safe andencourages them to be more willing tocontribute ideas and solutions therebyimproving business as a whole.

Communicating using positive rein-forcement will keep employees happi-er, motivated and working harder. Anemployee who feels disrespected expe-riences a low morale. Low morale leadsto decreased productivity and anincrease in absenteeism, conflict, andemployee turnover rates. Respectingpeople goes a long way in creating aneffective working relationship. Having

“Job hunters have more freedom to research and make an

educated decision about accepting a job with a company that

provides an enticing work environment best suited to fit their

needs.”

Satisfaction in the Office:Keeping Employees Happy

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om The National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) Partners in

Progress sponsor program is designed for companies of all sizes interested in enhancing their national presence with NAPMW, the premier community of professionals in the mortgage banking industry.

NAPMW’s sponsor packages are priced to encourage participationby businesses of all sizes. The fee for each package is affordableand all maximize sponsors’ exposure beyond what would be received if purchased individually.

Primary benefits include:

• National visibility to professionals from all areas of the mortgage industry

• Advertising exposure through numerous proven communication channels

• High-profile marketing at key association events

For more information or to become a sponsorof the Partners in Progrees program, contact:

BECOME APARTNER IN PROGRESS TODAY

DEANNA MELLAS North American Title Company Business Consultant, National Partners in Progress Chair

c: 832.465.6413 e: dmellas@nat.com

www.nat.com/DeannaMellas

www.nat.com/Texas

Like Clockwork ®

©2014 North American Title Group and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. North American Title Group and its subsidiaries are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. | TX14-5945 R 10-22-14

Provided by North American Title Company

rewards and incentives to work towardsmotivates employees to be more pro-ductive. Additionally, many companiesare providing extra job training. Givingemployees the opportunity to grow andcontinue their education is an incredi-ble morale booster. Remember,employees are people, too. They arerational people who will react profes-sionally when treated with respect.Showing your faith in people and sup-porting them in their career develop-ment proves you place value in themand their work.

With respect comes the concept ofmotivating the workforce with arewarding culture. A “work hard, playhard” mentality is one that has beenadopted by many companies. Most ofthe companies that have been voted“best companies to work for” in the

nation have implemented Friday happyhours, monthly employee lunches,break rooms stocked with snacks, andcreative activities designed to helpemployees unwind and reenergize.Bottom lines and profitability are obvi-ously important. But so is keeping theworkforce happy, content and inspired.Skipping out on such expenses mightseem like smart business sense but canultimately hurt the company in the longrun when employees find themselvesworking hard with little reward and ulti-mately burning out. Showing employ-ees they are cared about increases theirdesire to deliver quality work. Studieshave shown that employees with theirnose to the grind are less productiveand less attentive to details than thosewho take breaks and allow their mindsto relax at regular intervals. Developing

an open, creative, and constructivework environment has proven to beincredibly beneficial to the success ofmany businesses. This concept of build-ing a supportive culture enablesemployees to feel like part of somethingimportant and meaningful.

Be the greener grass. Create a workenvironment so appealing, supportive,and inclusive that you attract the besttalent and dedicated workers in yourfield. Establish your company as the ulti-mate destination for professionals intheir career. Providing benefits, a com-petitive salary, a respectful atmosphere,and a motivating culture are just someways you can ensure your employees’satisfaction in the workplace. By creatingan inspiring and rewarding work envi-ronment, you are allowing employees towork to the best of their ability and

deliver well-informed results. Do youwant to be known solely for pumpingout numbers and production? Or do youwant your company to have a reputationfor developing a successful businessmodel based on the creation of a collab-orative and respectful environment withhappy and dedicated employees?Consider these questions as you take acloser look at how your organization isrun as well as the desired reputation ofyour company. Happy employees createa happy company!

Ashley Lubey is copywriter and publicrelations specialist for CMG Financial.She graduated from Saint Mary’s Collegeof California with a bachelor’s degree incommunications. She may be reached byphone at (925) 983-3207 or e-mailalubey@cmgfi.com.

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*

urnpike, Suite 300, Levittown, NYT601 Hempstead 3United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

Y** This doc**FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLLY 1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 • 1urnpike, Suite 300, Levittown, NY

United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home Y** This document is not an advertisement as defined in 12 CFR 226.2(a)(2). This is a business to business communication and i

oal. All loans ar*This is not a commitment or loan appr

1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 •United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

s intended for LICENSED MORY** This document is not an advertisement as defined in 12 CFR 226.2(a)(2). This is a business to business communication and i

oval.e subject to approal. All loans ar

AL, CA, CO, CTA, MA, MD,, NJ, PPALicensed in NYY,1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 •Advantage, Senior Security United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

Y and is NOTTGAGE PROFESSIONALS ONLLYs intended for LICENSED MOR • additional licences avAATX, WTN, , FL, GA, NC, SC, AL, CA, CO, CT

AdvisorsAdvantage, Senior Security Y and is NOT INTENDED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CONSUMER OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

• additional licences available upon requestAdvisors

Y and is NOT INTENDED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CONSUMER OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

By Eric Weinstein

The economic picture of the future issomewhat different. You see, moneydoesn’t exist in the 24th Century. Theacquisition of wealth is no longer thedriving force in our lives. We work tobetter ourselves and the rest of human-ity … so said Captain Picard in “StarTrek: First Contact”

In 2008, I took my chips off the table,closed my mortgage company and retiredat the age of 50. After about 12 months of

watching Dr. Phil and the Ricki Lakeshow, I was ready to shoot myself in thehead with a Type-2 Phaser.

True story. I actually applied for ajob as a dispatcher for DirecTV just tohave something to do. Here I was withan MBA, just coming off of owning oneof the largest mortgage companies inthe country and they turned me downbecause I did not have any experienceas a dispatcher!

It was then that I got my loan offi-cer’s license and did the only job I knewhow to do, be a mortgage loan officer.

I have been doing this about fiveyears, and there are times when I say tomyself, “I don’t need this crap, I can justretire,” but who am I kidding? Even ifyou have all the money in the world, aman, to be a man, must work.

“Star Trek” shows a post-scarcity socie-ty—the combination of practically unlim-ited energy (from antimatter/matter reac-tions focused through dilithium crystals)and replication technology means that inthe Star Trek universe almost every wantof humans can be produced without theneed for capital or labor.

It is an unfortunate condition thatmankind is always seeking more: Moremoney, more conveniences, more luxu-ries, more love, more self-esteem, etc. Itis a soul-sucking black hole that cannever been filled and leads to humanfrailties like greed, pride, gluttony andthe other seven deadly sins.

Sure, if you can make more moneysomewhere else, or if you hate your job,it makes sense to move, but before youdo that, really ask yourself if it is for thebetter or are you just running awayfrom yourself. Being a loan officer is azero-sum game. Other places may payyou more, but you are required to domore. Either they are paying for theservices, like processing, or you are bydevoting more time and opportunitycost. Possibly you can change careersand make more money as a doggroomer or a phone sanitizer. Go for it!Just don’t move because you think itsbetter. Nothing is better. It is the same,just different.

After a point, you will get to theplace where you have everything youwant. You will have enough money, aloving family and respect in the indus-try. What more is there?

It is times like these that I look to ahigher intelligence for an answer …Star Trek. As Captain Picard said, thenwe move on to bettering ourselves andhumanity. That is why I do mortgages!

I have a loan right now where theproperty is only 500-square feet. Theappraisal is taking forever, the realestate agents are yelling at me and the

borrowers are threatening to switchloan officers. I am tearing out my hair,questioning the loan, my career choicesand what Dr. Phil would advise me todo. Times like this make me want torun off to Bora Bora!

Then, I take a deep breath, count to10 and remember all the other loans Ihad just like this. In the end, at closing,the buyer and real estate agents aresmiling, everyone is friends and every-one is happy. I have fulfilled my basicprogramming by making humanity justa little bit better. Okay, so we all can’tcure cancer, but helping people anddoing good things are little baby stepstoward helping all of humanity. Peoplebuying homes make them stable, Stablepeople are more likely to do goodthings. Who knows, maybe by raisingtheir daughter in a good environmentshe becomes the one who cures dia-betes!

For me, there is nothing better to do.Despite all the aggravations, anxietiesand angst, it is the best life in the world.And as to life, even with all the trou-bles, trials and tribulations, it beats thealternative.

Maybe today is the day you takestock of everything in your life and real-ize you are truly already content. Morestuff and a different job are not goingto help. Doing good things in life, help-ing people, bettering your self is reallythe answer. To that, I say “Mr. Crusher,Engage.”

Parts quoted without shame fromwww.quora.com/How-can-the-world-function-without-money-in-Star-Trek.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on thecommercial real estate side until 1991,when he fell in love with residential lend-ing. In 1995, he started a small mortgagecompany in his basement called CarteretMortgage Corporation, which in 2003,grew to one of the largest mortgage bro-ker companies in the United States.These days, Eric is semi-retired, doingmortgages by referral only. As he likes toput it, “He is either saving people moneyper month or helping them buy a newhome. What a great job!” He may bereached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail eweinstein4u@gmail.com.

“Even if you have all the money in the world, a man, to be a

man, must work.”

The Grass Is Greener on Seti Alpha IV

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“The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional

lengths to hire the best people in the world.”—Steve Jobs

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By Brent Emler

As 2015 arrives, many of us will bethinking about the key areas in whichwe can grow our business. One of theobvious ways to grow a mortgage busi-ness is by hiring talented, motivatedoriginators. The difficult part is know-ing how to attract the particularlymotivated, successful personalities;those who will drive our vision forward

with energy. We know what we want,but do we know what they want anddo those two worlds align?

Companies who intend to hire havean important set of criteria to whichthey refer throughout the recruitmentand interview process. Beyond that,however, is an important step that canbe the make or break quotient in the

hiring formula and unfortunately, it’soften overlooked.

A company must first look inward todevelop a strategy around their hiringprocess.

First, leadership needs to invest inan honest evaluation of their opera-tional processes, technological sys-tems, and company culture and reallydefine who they are, what theirstrengths are, and what they have tooffer. With that knowledge, define thetype of originator who would best fitand then begin doing some very tar-geted head-hunting.

Next, a system for developing apotential originator’s trust is key. What

is your message? What happens afterthe initial contact? What material canbe sent to bolster your position anddemonstrate your strengths? Howoften will follow up calls be made andwho will be responsible to makethem? How do you know if a newapplicant is a good fit for your compa-ny? Is your hiring and onboardingprocess designed to be a seamless andpleasant transition for a new origina-tor?

Systems and processes are just asimportant when it comes to hiring asthey are in conducting your day to day

Recruitment: How to Attract the Very Best

www.callfurst.com

business. For those companies withthe resources, I would highly recom-mend partnering with an establishedrecruitment company who can helpyou design and implement your sys-tem for maximum results.

On the other side, a loan officermust spend the time to really figureout who he or she is as an originator.Many times, the initial question anoriginator will approach a companywith is, “What are your turn times?” or“What niche product would I have tosell?”, or “How are you priced?” Whilethese are appropriate questions, thereare several others that are vital tomaturely and carefully making thedecision to start with a new company:What type of company culture bringsout the best in me? What’s my targetaudience and does this potentialemployer provide the necessary tools,resources, and product offerings I’llneed to foster growth in my area ofstrength? Does the leadership over-manage or under-manage? How doesthe support staff and marketing tech-nology facilitate my ability to meet myproduction goals?

Drew Waterhouse and Eric Levin ofHammerhouse Strategic GrowthPartners, provide us with some valu-able insight with an annual surveyconducted expressly for the purpose of… “understanding originator opinionson critical issues facing the mortgageindustry and impacting their produc-tion and job performance …”

There are six core components eval-uated through this survey:

1. Leadership2. Culture3. Business Model4. Operations5. Technology6. Geography

The conclusions arrived at with the2014 survey indicate that we are nowin an environment where lendersmust convince proven producers,both existing and potential origina-tors, that they offer the combinationof benefits that will best serve themin the current environment of com-prehensive compliance and regulato-ry restraints.

Key Retention and RecruitingFactors in 2014 were:

l Platform to build the originator’sbrand in the marketplace

l Robust business development sys-tems

l Competitive pricing model andproduct growth strategy

l Jumbo lending as a focusl Infrastructure to protect origina-

tors from compliance traps thatcan impact licensing

As this article is being written,2015’s survey is being compiled forrelease in February. Last year’s surveydemonstrated that the general feeling

in the industry was that we wereentering a healthier market; origina-tors were feeling more secure aboutlending in general and were focusingon the need for strong leadership,sound compliance processes, and suc-cessful marketing platforms.

The year 2015 promises to contin-ue that trend and the expectation isthat the results will focus furthertowards companies and systems thatsupport strong relationship buildingwith referral partners.

As a professional who providesmarketing software and services toindividual loan officers and to largercorporate entities, I can tell you thatthere is a marked difference in thelevel of success experienced by thosewith a comprehensive strategy foraddressing originator concerns andthose who meander through theirbusiness and marketing plans withthe attitude that “as long as I’m check-ing the basic boxes, we’re going to besuccessful”.

More than ever, loan officers needthe security of a company whichinvests in process and technology toprotect them from the compliancepitfalls that now exist. Furthermore,these systems simply must facilitatemarketing a strong brand and mes-sage through compliant print, email,video, and social media advertise-ment.

With the qualified mortgage (QM)rule implemented a year ago, volumebecomes key to an originators success.A loan officer has to bring in morebusiness to make the same living.Marketing departments all over theUnited States are taking on more andmore of the actionable marketingload in order to leave their originatorsfree to do what they do best—createand maintain relationships and bringin business. Part of the challenge mar-keting departments face is consistent-ly deploying marketing material thatis focused, interesting, compliant, andmost of all, effective.

The only thing that can make thispossible on a large scale is a systembuilt specifically to execute market-ing tasks on behalf of the originator.Automated, set-it-and-forget-it cam-paigns are vital to the consistentflow of valuable content. If an origi-nator can rest in the fact that theirmarketing is being done and is work-ing, they can really focus their ener-

gy on building relationships withreferral partners and the overallclient experience.

Additionally, think of the value thatautomatic campaigns could be to yourrecruitment process. It’s a perfect wayto introduce your marketing platformand the quality and variety of yourproducts. Design an entire line of mar-keting material focused on recruit-ment and strengthen your hiring posi-tion by delivering real results.

Selling can be a very “rinse andrepeat” venture and has the dangerof becoming boring or redundant toboth your sales force and yourclients. If you do not have a plan inplace to keep your product offeringsfresh and current, your message willstagnate as will interest from yourpotential client base. As a company,make sure that you provide newfinancing opportunities to give bothyour originators and clients some-thing to get excited about. If youdon’t remain open to the corporatediscomfort of adding new productsto your portfolio, you might be miss-ing out on a valuable market seg-ment. Your potential hires will wantto know that this is as important toyou as it is to them.

While I’ve touched on several spe-cific things that you can do to increaseyour chances of attracting top talent, Iwant to emphasize the importance ofknowing how to identify the right orig-inator for your company. You mayhave a brilliant recruitment systemthat is in place and working well foryou, but if you’re not approachingeach individual with the intention ofdiscovering who they are in a holisticway and then requiring that there bealignment with what you can deliveras an employer, you may hire a quali-fied individual who is actually so farout of synch with your company cul-ture and process that ultimately, youboth end up frustrated, unfulfilled,and unsuccessful. If you’d like to learnmore about the model-matchingprocess, please visit www.teamham-merhouse.com.

May 2015 be a year of resoundingsuccess for you and your team!

Brent Emler is director of sales and mar-keting at Velma.com, a customizablemarketing software provider exclusive tothe mortgage industry. He may bereached by e-mail at brent@velma.com.

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how to attract the very bestcontinued from page 61

www.nationalmortgageprofessionalmagazine.com

By Laura Burke, EA, MBA, MS

In today’s marketplace, millions ofAmericans are currently unemployed,so job competition is fierce. Knowinghow to job search is your first step,your second step in the process isacing the interview.

In a recently attended a profes-sional development seminar present-ed by Gary Pezzuiti, “InterviewingFrom Both Sides of the Desk,” wherewe looked at shifting your focus from“What’s in it for me?” to a “How can Ihelp?” perspective. The room wasfilled with half HR professionals, andthe other half with industry profes-sionals. There was a consensus aboutkeeping your resume up to date.

One very strategic step was to tai-lor your resume for each position youwere applying for by interspersingkey verbiage used in the job descrip-tion. This is a little more time con-suming, but presents a laser focusedresume, rather than a vanilla allaround resume.

It is also important to keep yourLinkedIn profile up to date. Many HRpersonnel research candidates onLinkedIn and yes, even Facebook!Watch what you say on Facebook, it isnot as private as you once thought itwas. Often, an HR professional willcompare your resume to what youhave on LinkedIn looking for poten-tial discrepancies. LinkedIn is a goodnetworking tool and a tremendoushelp in searching for key job posi-tions, use it wisely.

Know what positions you are inter-ested in, and stay focused on thosethat fit your criteria and you fittheirs. Another aspect I heard men-tioned during the seminar was thateven if you didn’t have all of theexact qualifications being asked for,apply anyway. The HR personnel thatattended the session stated that,oftentimes, the list of qualifications

is nothing more than a wish list. Thatthe ideal candidate would possessthe matching skills being soughtafter, but more often the right candi-date would NOT have all of them.

A strong candidate that had otherqualities such as team spirit, addi-tional education or experience wouldalso be chosen to interview, as if thecandidate was strong in other areas,some requirements could be tem-porarily forgone, and the newly hiredperson could take specific courses formissing certifications.

Honesty, integrity and ethics stillranked high with all HR hiring pro-fessionals, as well as handwrittenthank you notes, as opposed to aquick e-mail. The handwritten noteshowed effort, and thought put intosending a follow-up message.

Asking for feedback via e-mail isokay. For example, “Hi, I just wantedto touch base after our conversationlast Friday to follow through; can youplease tell me the status of the posi-tion I applied for?” You have justasked for the status of the position,not your status. This will often openthe door to invite a conversation tostart. You might hear a response like,“We are still reviewing all resumes,and our planned cutoff date isThursday. At which point our VP willbe reviewing all candidates andchoosing five to come in for liveinterviews” or “We have chosen threecandidates, and will be making ourfinal decision shortly.” This lets youknow where you fit in without direct-ly asking for feedback. Once you havehad a live interview, then you shouldask for personal feedback, “Hi, Ienjoyed our meeting last Tuesday, Ijust wanted to follow-up with a statuscheck on position, and if there maybe any unanswered questions fromour meeting?”

Before any interview, practiceanswering questions you think youmay be asked. Be able to discuss yourstrengths and weaknesses. Discusspast accomplishments withoutsounding as if you are bragging.Know the company you are interview-ing with. Study them, and researchthe company online. You need toknow as much information about thecompany you are applying for inorder to speak intelligently whenbeing interviewed.

All too often, we get nervous andsay things we wouldn’t normally say. Iremember at the end of a phone

interview I had, I said, “Okey, dokey!”Yes, those strange words came ram-bling out of my mouth, like a badmovie. I knew as soon as I said it … Iwanted to take my words back. I wasthinking in my head, “Okey, dokey …wow, where did that come from?” Idon’t even say those words in mydaily speech, I simply got nervousand said something I interpreted tobe stupid.

I lost my train of thought andfocus. I just wanted to hang up, andstart over. I did not get called back,

“Often, an HR professional will compare your resume to what

you have on LinkedIn looking for potential discrepancies.”

The 12 Steps to Strategically Stage Your Interview

continued on page 64

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JOIN A GROWING TEAM

CONTACT:John Cervantes | RECRUITER John.Cervantes@CarringtonMH.com

949-517-7127

Carrington is expanding nationwide and we need experienced managers and teams to join our organization. WE OFFER:

Great compensation and benefits Operations focused on quality and speed of closing Marketing support and lead generation Licensing and compliance support Agent co-marketing programs Government loan programs from FICO of 550

Carrington Mortgage Services is adding retail branches today.

IT’S TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE.

Join our career webinars, posted on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/CarringtonHomeLoanswww.Carringtonhomeloans/CareerWebinar

Loan Officers, Branch Managers and Teams,

© Copyright 2007-2014 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1610 E. Saint Andrew Place, Suite B150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Toll Free (800)561-4567. NMLS ID

2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake

Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File No. 413 0904. CO: Check the license status of

your mortgage loan originator at http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm. GA: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee.

MN: This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate lock agreement under Minnesota Law. MO: Residential Mortgage Broker License 09-1746-S. NH: Licensed by the New Hampshire

Banking Department. NJ: Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY: Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services. New York Mortgage

Banker License B500980/107664. OH: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption MBMB.850208.000 (FHA DE & VA Automatic loans only) OR: Mortgage Lender License

ML-4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island Licensed Lender, Lender License 20112809LL. VA: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission

MC-5382. WA: Consumer Loan License CL-2600. Also licensed in AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, ID, IN, ME, MD, MI, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, WV and WI. All rights reserved.

Find out more about Carrington today and make the move to expand your business and career.

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maybe because of those words, maybenot. In my mind, it will always bebecause of “okey, dokey.” I shiver justthinking about it. By practicing ways torespond effectively to questions willhelp elevate some of your tension andnervousness.

For live interviews, choosing yourwardrobe is also very important. Youwant to dress to impress, you don’twant to be over-dressed and neverbe undressed. Dress for the positionyou are applying for. A suit for menis always appropriate, with a tie.You can choose the color of the shirtand tie to match the position youare applying for. If applying for aloan officer position, you have somelatitude with colors and patterns,verses applying for executive posi-tion which may require a strictercolor code, one of basic, acceptablecolors. Having two strong interviewoutfits is a must. Make sure they arecleaned, pressed and always readyto go.

When doing a phone interview,dress up for it. Put on a suit; fix yourhair, and make-up. The better youfeel, the stronger your personality

and professionalism will comethrough. Never interview in your PJ’sor sweatpants!

As a woman, I recommend a busi-ness suit as well. You will alwayslook professional and never be mis-taken for being improperly dressed.You too can play with the colors ofyour suit, blouse, scarf and acces-sories. Always look fresh, well-groomed and like the person youwould hire for the position.

Certain colors speak volumesabout who we are. Some quickinside tips are black, and red arepower colors. They make bold state-ments about who we are, and com-mand respect. Your blues are a stepdown, but are also professional, yel-low is a weaker color. Oranges areunique, and I wouldn’t choose towear orange unless I was applyingfor a cosmetic position or an actingposition. Basic black and whitetogether is also eye-catching, boldand makes a statement.

Good grooming should be a given,clean nails, polished or well-mani-cured for women. Hair style shouldbe attractive and not ostentatious.

Be yourself! Don’t try to be some-one else, or to walk in someoneelse’s shoes. There’s a fine linebetween fake it until you make it,and being yourself. You will knowwhen you’ve crossed the line.Honesty, integrity and ethics arethree personality traits sought after,make sure yours are showing.

I look at interviewing as aprocess—a series of actions or stepstaken in order to achieve a particu-lar end. By following these strategicsteps, you will master your inter-view.

Twelve steps to leverage yourchances of landing your next dreamjob:

1. Choose the parameters of searchfor new position

2. Know the salary range you arelooking for

3. Research key companies youwould like to work for

4. Look up a company’s hiring inCareer Builder, Ladders, etc.

5. Apply for positions using a targetresume

6. Once called for the interview, doyour homework and researchthe company

7. Practice interviewing, questionsand answers

8. Have an interview outfit alreadychosen

9. Smile and be confident on theinterview

10. Follow-up with a personal, hand-written thank you note

11. One week later, follow up withstatus check

12. You have been chosen for the finalinterview

This process is for any careeropportunity, loan officer, processor,underwriter, manager or executivelevel positions, all require the sameinterview skills and strategic interviewdesign.

By creating your unique, individu-ally styled, well thought-out andplanned interview, you will be on topof your game.

Laura Lynn Burke, EA, CFE, MBA, MSMIS (2015) has gone from Avon lady tochief executive officer of her own mort-gage company, residential and com-mercial. She currently owns Global TaxMasters, along with a tax school, TheGlobal Tax Training Institute. Laura isa Certified Fraud Examiner, and stud-ied information security along with dig-ital forensics. She may be reached byphone at (708) 692-6199 or e-mail lau-ralynnburke@gmail.com.

strategically stage your interviewcontinued from page 63

NMP Daily is the mortgage industry's sourcefor news, insights, trends and tips.It keeps subscribers informed of the regulatory and legislative updates, latest industry happenings and breaking news about the mortgage technologies and services.

W W W . N A T I O N A L M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L . C O M

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A Message From

NAPMW Atlanta

President Nikki BellAs we enter a new year, everyone begins with their resolutionsto lose weight, become more organized, save more money, etc.,so now is the perfect time to RE-Charge your business.

This industry shrinks daily under the weight of new laws andregulations, creating a more competitive environment. Thisshould encourage each one of us to be more forward-thinking,

and to foster new personal and professional development strategies. Now isthe time for companies and team leaders to re-evaluate the mission, visionand goals of the company and/or team. An organization that has activelyengaged employees and customers will have a dynamic culture … a culturethat allows for a competitive advantage by being difficult to replicate at theorganization down the street. Leaders need to understand that they mustchange the ordinary into extraordinary, so their employees and customerswill articulate the mission and vision with passion and enthusiasm, thusattracting higher quality employees and new customers.

The basic fundamental of customer engagement is to create a strongpersonal brand through knowing your passion and purpose. As a leader,cast your vision to influence the team with an authentic clear concise mes-sage. This influence will have an impact on retaining and attracting newcustomers or other measures which create and bring value to the business.What are your customers and employees talking about? Is it a new productor lack of innovation or is it a new trend in business they want to knowabout and cannot find an outlet for this information? Create new opportu-nities for your customers by offering education, networking events and cre-ative roundtable discussions. This will allow businesses to become aresource and attract new customers.

Create a new message in 2015 by RE-Charging business with NAPMW.NAPMW exists to inspire individuals in the mortgage industry by keeping itsmembers up-to-date on the latest technology, industry trends and marketinginsights. There is a clear correlation between a company’s leadership and cus-tomer engagement. When leaders recognize the importance to motivate andinspire those around them, a strong culture will flourish, and everyone willbegin to thrive. Leap into 2015 with NAPMW and let us RE-Charge you andyour business.

Nikki Bell is the vice president of business development for BrandMortgage. Sheserves as president for NAPMW Atlanta and is a member of the board for theMortgage Bankers Association of Georgia (MBAG). Nikki also serves on variouscommittees with MBAG and the Atlanta Board of Realtors. Nikki earned her BASin organizational leadership from Mercer University. She may be reached byphone at (678) 442-3966 or e-mail nbell@brandmortgage.com.

NAPMW REPORT

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

calendar of eventsN A T I O N A L M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage ProfessionalCalendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact

information, to newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com.

* Looking for additional exposure at key industry events?Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.

Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20American Land Title Association 2015

Federal Conference and Lobby DayMandarin Oriental Hotel

1330 Maryland Avenue SWWashington, D.C.

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org

or e-mail service@alta.org.

JUNE 2015Friday, June 5

2015 Southwest Mortgage FestEmbassy Suites Hotel & Spa

1000 Woodward Place NortheastAlbuquerque, N.M.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991,

e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.comor visit www.swmortgagefest.com.

Monday-Wednesday, June 22-24Ultimate Mortgage Expo 2015

The Hotel Monteleone214 Royal StreetNew Orleans, La.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991,

e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.comor visit

www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com.

AUGUST 2015Thursday-Friday, August 20-21

Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association(LMLA) 2015 Education ConferenceThe Hilton New Orleans Riverside

Hotel2 Poydras StreetNew Orleans, La.

For more information, call (225) 590-5722 or visit

www.lmla.com.

OCTOBER 2015Wednesday-Friday, October 7-10American Land Title Association 2015

Annual ConventionWestin Copley Place Boston

10 Huntington AvenueBoston, Mass.

For more information, call (202) 296-3671,

visit www.alta.org or e-mailservice@alta.org.

Saturday-Monday, October 17-192015 NAMB National Conference

Luxor Resort and Hotel3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard

Las VegasFor more information,

call (860) 719-1991, e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.com

or visit www.nambnational.com.

Sunday-Wednesday, October 18-21

Mortgage Bankers Association AnnualConvention and Expo 2015

San Diego Convention Center111 West Harbor Drive

San Diego, Calif.For more information,

call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

JANUARY 2015Thursday-Friday, January 29-30

California Association of MortgageProfessionals 2015 Sales & Marketing

ConferenceHilton Los Angeles/Universal City555 Universal Hollywood Drive

Universal City, Calif.For more information,

call (916) 448-8236, e-mail info@ca-amp.org or visit www.thecampsite.org.

FEBRUARY 2015Tuesday, February 17

Florida Association of MortgageProfessionals (FAMP) Broward Chapter

2015 Annual Trade ShowBonaventure Resort Conference Center

and Spa250 Racquet Club Road

Weston, Fla.For more information,

call (954) 986-0808 or e-mailadmin@browardfamp.org.

MARCH 2015Sunday-Thursday, March 8-1232nd Annual Regional Conference

of MBAsTrump Taj Mahal Casino Resort

1000 BoardwalkAtlantic City, N.J.

For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit

www.mbanj.com.

Wednesday-Friday, March 18-20American Land Title Association (ALTA)

2015 Business Strategies ConferenceSheraton Philadelphia Downtown

201 North 17th StreetPhiladelphia

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org

or e-mail service@alta.org.

APRIL 2015Thursday, April 2

Texas Mortgage Roundup 2015Hyatt Regency San Antonio

123 Losoya StreetSan Antonio, Texas

For more information, call (860) 922-3441,

e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.comor visit www.txmortgageroundup.com.

Sunday-Tuesday, April 12-14NAMB 2015 Legislative

& Regulatory ConferenceHyatt Place Hotel

33 New York Avenue NEWashington, D.C.

For more information, call (972) 758-1151 or visit

www.namb.org.

Wednesday, April 292015 Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker Conference

Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa1 Ameristar Boulevard

Saint Charles, Mo.For more information,

call (314) 690-1504, e-mail information@mamp.biz or visit

www.mortgage-matchmaker.com.

MAY 2015Tuesday, May 12

2015 Great Northwest Mortgage ExpoCrowne Plaza Downtown Portland

1441 NE 2nd AvenuePortland, Ore.

For more information, call (503) 567-9326,

e-mail info@oamponline.com or visitwww.greatnorthwestexpo.com.

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REcharge!! Get ready for

2015 with NAPMW

The National Association of

Professional Mortgage Women is a

community of individuals within the mortgage industry that focuses on business growth through innovation,

collaboration and partnership.

NAPMW will bring together a dynamic array of industry professionals, marketing and technology speakers to REcharge your business in 2015!

Leap forward with NAPMW into a new year and new potential.

www.napmw.org

800.827.3034

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need to create a local operations centerto better serve customers as it addedoffices and loan volume grew. Its Nevadabranches closed 2,542 loans totaling$502,686,882 in 2014, a record. Guildselected Reno as a central location tomeet the fulfillment needs of the area’sborrowers.

Kevin Green has been named opera-tions manager of the center and will over-see a staff of 16 and the underwriting andfunding functions. Green has more than20 years of experience in the mortgageindustry in the Reno area. Before joiningGuild in June 2013 as branch operationsmanager, he was loan-processing manag-er for iMortgage.com in Reno. Prior toiMortgage, he was fulfillment teamleader and assistant vice president ofBank of America Home Loans in Reno.

“I joined Guild Mortgage because ofthe opportunity to help grow a local oper-ations team to be the best in the region,”Green said. “Guild saw a bright future inNorthern Nevada. We have an initial staffof 16, plan to go to 20 shortly to betterserve our customers across the state andare looking forward to future growth.”

Mortgage Professionalsto Watch

l HomeBridge Financial Services Inc.is continuing its emphasis onMidwest expansion with the open-ing of a new office in the Chicagosuburb of Naperville, Ill., to be ledby Branch Manager Matt McInerney.

l Ellie Mae Inc. has announced thatits Board of Directors has appointedJonathan Corr as chief executiveofficer and a member of the boardof directors, effective Feb. 1. SigAnderman, Ellie Mae’s CEO sincefounding the company in 1997, willcontinue to serve on its board ofdirectors as executive chairman.

l Guild Mortgage Company hasannounced the opening of a newretail branch in Healdsburg, Calif. as

part of the company’s continuedexpansion throughout the West, tobe led by new Branch ManagerSuzanne Martindale.

l Rich Levy has joined MortgageReturns as director of sales and is thenewest member of the executiveteam, bringing more than 20 yearsof success in business development,sales management, building salesteams, and improving sales process-es to the Mortgage Returns team.

l Michael R. Brown, president of CIS,has been named 2015 president ofthe National Consumer ReportingAssociation (NCRA).

l Veteran mortgage professional JohnMondoro has joined MortgageNetwork Inc. as a sales managerwhere he will be responsible for man-aging sales and serving borrowers andhomeowners throughout the NewJersey area.

l Visionet Systems Inc. has announcedthat it has appointed NormanGottschalk to the position of chieftechnology officer for its LenderServices Division.

l REMN Wholesale continues its expan-sion with the addition of Felix Ortiz asregional sales manager, compliment-ing Christine Lacy and AnnStockberger, REMN Wholesale’s exist-ing regional sales managers forSouthern California.

l LenderLive Network Inc. hasannounced that Mark Hughes hasbeen named president of the compa-ny’s Due Diligence Division.LenderLive has also announced thatLorie Helms has joined the firm aschief information officer, managingLenderLive’s IT infrastructure, net-work and data security and will pro-vide oversight for corporate and divi-sional application development.

l The Mortgage Bankers Association

heard on the streetcontinued from page 44

continued on page 68

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(MBA), parent corporation of theMortgage Industry StandardsMaintenance Organization (MISMO),has appointed Bill Beckmann, KyungCho-Miller, Michelle Korsmo, and JoeTyrrell to the MISMO Board ofDirectors.

l Caliber Home Loans Inc. hasannounced that Kevin A. Ginsburg hasjoined the company as regional vicepresident of the Central and SouthTexas region.

l NMI Holdings Inc. has announcedthat Jay Sherwood will be promotedto president of NMI Holdings Inc. andits subsidiary company, NationalMortgage Insurance Corporation(National MI). Glenn Farrell, a 33-yearveteran of accounting and consultingfirm KPMG LLP, has been namedNationalMI’s new chief financial offi-cer. Current NationalMI PresidentBradley Shuster will remain chiefexecutive officer and chairman of theboard of NMI Holdings Inc.

l Prospect Holding Company LLC, andits subsidiary, Prospect Mortgage LLC,has announced the appointment ofJoseph J. Grassi III as executive vicepresident and general counsel.

l David H. Stevens, president and CEOof the Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA), has announced the promotionof Rick Hill, a staff member in theResearch and Industry TechnologyGroup, to the position of vice presi-dent of industry technology. The MBAhas also announced that JamieKorus, CMB, president and principalof Alliance Financial Resources LLC,was appointed chairman of theMortgage Bankers AssociationPolitical Action Committee (MOR-PAC) for the 2015-2016 politicalcycle, by Bill Cosgrove, MBA chair-man and CEO of Union HomeMortgage. Korus succeeds KurtPfotenhauer who served as MORPACChairman for the 2013-2014 electioncycle.

l Mortgage Guaranty InsuranceCorporation (MGIC), the principalsubsidiary of MGIC InvestmentCorporation, has hired Sean Dilweg assenior vice president of governmentrelations, where he will lead MGIC’sWashington, D.C. government rela-tions activities relating to housing pol-icy to help shape the discussion of theissues impacting the private mortgageinsurance (PMI) industry.

l LRES has named Cand iceMerriweather vice president, nation-al sales manager. In this role,Merriweather’s responsibilities focuson recruiting and training sales asso-ciates, meeting sales goals of prof-itable revenue and developing andcultivating client relationships.

l ARMCO–ACES Risk Management hasnamed Phil McCall as chief operat-ing officer.

l Capsilon has announced that

Ramarao Velpuri has joined theCapsilon leadership team as vice pres-ident of engineering where he will beresponsible for Capsilon’s global engi-neering team and delivering innova-tive solutions that change the waymortgage lenders do business.

l Guaranteed Rate has named CliffTheriault as regional manager, basedin the company’s Schaumburg, Ill.office. Theriault will support the com-pany’s regional managers nationwidein their efforts to recruit top loan orig-inators and will be responsible forsales leadership and mentoring origi-nators, drawing on his more than 40years of experience in the mortgageindustry.

l Churchill Mortgage continues toexpand its team with 15 newemployees across its branches inGeorgia, Texas, California, Michigan,South Carolina, Tennessee andVirginia, adding nearly 200 years ofindustry experience. In Brentwood,Tenn., Churchill has added JearlynHooker and KaLynn Jenkins as cus-tomer care specialists. Also inTennessee, the lender’s Chattanoogabranch welcomed MelissaThompson as a home loan special-ist. Lorna Gamboa-Tankersley,Tiffany Paul, Scott Mosher andRichard Izaguirre join the Californiabranch as home loan assistants with59 years of combined experience. InHouston, Texas, Churchill addsChristina Carillo, Gabe Cardenas andRichard McClure as home loan spe-cialists with 21 years of sharedexpertise. Churchill welcomesJoanne VanDyke as a home loanassistant, Lisa Crawford as a homeloan specialist and Joan Sosaas aprocessor for the lender’s GrandRapids, Mich., Greenwood, S.C., andHerndon, Va. branches, respectively.The lender also adds Lori Wright toits Atlanta branch as a customercare specialist with five years ofexperience and Cora Hall as anadministrative assistant to itsLansing, Mich. branch.

Your turnNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine invites its readers to submitany information, events, passages, pro-motions, personal or professionaloccurrences that seem appropriateand/or other pertinent data to theattention of:

Heard on the Street/MortgageProfessionals to Watch column

Phone #: (516) 409-5555E-mail:

newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail arepreferred. The deadline for submissionsis the 1st of the month prior to the tar-get issue.

heard on the streetcontinued from page 67

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SUBSCRIBE for free today! www.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com

By Jim Deitch

In the past several years,mortgage lenders havefocused on the develop-ment and implementa-

tion of risk management policies, pro-cedures, programs and practices. Yet,regulators seem to cite two areas whereoperational risks still constitute fre-quent regulator critique.

l Lender Secrecy/Anti-Money Launder-ing (BSA/AML): BSA/AML is a regula-tory risk that requires careful andextensive planning and governanceby every lender. Executives shouldask what types of customer AML riskis my lender willing to take? Has thelender’s risk management functionmanaged these risks sufficiently tomitigate the risks the lender is will-ing to accept? Have the lender’s sys-tems and BSA/AML automated toolsbeen integrated and calibrated todetect and manage the specifictypes of customer risk the lender’sbusiness plan accepts?

Has the lender validated and test-ed the BSA/AML automated toolcalibration and effectiveness vis-a-vis the lender’s consumer and busi-ness customer profiles? Oftentimes,lender executives are criticizedover lack of initial and periodic val-idation of the BSA/AML monitoringtools and clearance of exceptions.Thoughtful consideration of thespecific risks that a lender under-takes with its customer base, andeffective monitoring of these risks,can avoid regulatory criticism andenforcement action in the BSA/AMLareas. BSA/AML automated toolsmust be calibrated to specific cus-tomer threshold limits to be effec-tive. Periodic testing and validationof these limits and system effec-tiveness should be considered inview of “false positives” and “falsenegatives.”

Self-initiated model review andback testing of BSA/AML monitoringtools can go a long way in effectivegovernance and avoidance of examfindings and enforcement actions,according to a managing partner ata national law firm that assistslenders with enforcement actions inBSA/AML. Ineffective AML monitor-ing can lead to enforcement action,civil money penalties or worse.

l IT and Cybersecurity: Another area

of operational risk is cybersecurity,cyber-attacks, customer databreaches, and resulting damage toone’s reputation and financial loss-es. Don’t think a “clean” penetrationtest means you are not at risk.Lender senior executives make threecommon mistakes regarding cyber-security: The senior executive letsthe IT manager handle cybersecuritytesting; the executive team does notview IT security in global terms thatinclude employee and vendor com-pliance with IT security policies; andthe senior executive does notdemand a comprehensive and fre-quently tested Security IncidentResponse policy to guide theirlender’s reaction to possible securityincidents.

Another common mistake is tohave the wrong kind of cyber insur-ance. Companies find out that cov-erage can be denied because secu-rity procedures listed on the insur-ance application were not meticu-lously followed or were ineffective.Some policies do not cover the lossof revenue arising from a breach,or do not fully cover remediationcosts.

Lender executives should removeresponsibility for cybersecuritytesting from the chief informationofficer. Independent testing is afundamental security control, andcyber testing should be rotatedamong third-party firms periodical-ly. IT security testing should emu-late realistic threats and should notbe confined to simply probing thefirewall. Most mortgage bankershave laptops in the field and atproduction offices. Loan officerscan also be sources of vulnerabili-ty, as they often receive informa-tion from customers via e-mail.Poor security can introduce mal-ware into the lender’s systems.

Effective cybersecurity assumesthat a non-authorized user willgain access. Effective risk manage-ment of cybersecurity includes ITsecurity controls that prohibitthumb drive and other deviceinstallation on lender computers. Itincludes employee security policiesthat highlight the threats of click-ing on phishing e-mails, verifyingthe security of WiFi networks andfrequent training and testing ofhuman frailty exploits: Phishing,poor physical control of lenderpremises and careful and continu-

ous vendor management. Itincludes designing and testing thesegregation of system access andsegregation of data to limit dam-age if an unauthorized intrudergains access to a lender network orsystem. The arc of risk in cyberse-curity encompasses all lenderemployees, trusted vendors and allof the elements of the lender’s ITsystems.

Effective risk management assumesthat lender IT systems will be pene-trated. A cybersecurity program mustaddress how will penetration bedetected, what is the security incidentresponse, and how can the lender’s ITsystems be designed to minimizemovement laterally across lender sys-tems in the event of penetration.Finally, effective risk managementassumes that the lender has alreadybeen penetrated and an Advanced

Persistent Threat (APT) is lurkingsomewhere within the IT infrastruc-ture. APTs include malware that liesdormant, awaiting the command toopen a back door, or malware thatslowly, but unobtrusively, infiltratesvaluable and confidential customerdata over time.

While these two operation risksmay seem very different, they bothare high profile regulatory initiativesand both have “headline risk” andenforcement risk that senior execu-tives should manage.

James M. Deitch is chief executive officerand co-founder of Teraverde. He has suc-cessfully implemented residential lend-ing strategies in his banks, and served onthe Mortgage Bankers Association Boardof Governors for three terms representinga community bank lender in the MBA.He may be reached by phone at (855)374-TVMA.

Managing Two Key Operational Risksfor Mortgage Lenders

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www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com

WE BUILT OURTEAM TO MOVEYOUR BUSINESS

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AFR Wholesale is committed to improving the lender experience and building lasting relationships through exceptional service, which is why we made significant changes that provide you consistent service from a reliable and dedicated team.

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FROM THE GROUND UPWe restructured our production and support staffs to deliver more responsive file processing and quicker suspended item resolution. We strive to offer personalized service to each and every one of our lending partners.

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