Banking Northeast Issue 3, 2021

ISSUE 3, 2021

2021

THE BEST BANKS IN THE NORTHEAST ANNOUNCED

A P U B LI C ATI O N O F A M E R IC A N B U S IN ES S M ED IA

Ion Bank in Unionville, CT

Innovative solutions, personalized for your branch.

What makes us different? In-house capabilities to imagine, design, and deliver projects of all sizes. With 50 years of experience, we know the industry inside and out. We are invested in creating customized solutions that embrace the traditions of the industry while reflecting the quickly evolving demands of an increasingly digital reality.

by triad

Bank Design New England

New York

Architecture 508-339-6600

Project Management www.nes-group.com

ISSUE 3, 2021

2021

THE BEST BANKS IN THE NORTHEAST ANNOUNCED

A P U B LI C ATI O N O F A M E R IC A N B U S IN ES S M ED IA

Everything your banker needs to navigate what’s next in banking ■ ■ ■ ■

100+ free compliance courses for the entire bank News, analysis and data you can use—in real time 300+ staff experts in every area of banking Virtual working groups, schools, webinars and more

These benefits and more—all with your ABA membership.

See for yourself. aba.com/LookCloserBankNE

OUR MISSION Banking Northeast magazine is dedicated to providing quality informational/educational content that betters the mortgage process at every step. The content is oriented to help professionals progress their understanding of the residential mortgage banking business and develop their skills at improving the efficiency and profitability at all levels.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Vincent Valvo, CEO, vvalvo@ambizmedia.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Beverly Bolnick bbolnick@ambizmedia.com

EDITOR David Krechevsky davek@ambizmedia.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Christopher Wallace cwallace@ambizmedia.com

USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER Billy Valvo bvalvo@ambizmedia.com

STAFF WRITER Katie Jensen kjensen@ambizmedia.com

MARKETING MANAGER Michael Castro mcastro@ambizmedia.com

MARKETING & EVENTS ASSOCIATE Melissa Pianin mpianin@ambizmedia.com

ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTOR Navindra Persaud npersaud@ambizmedia.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN Stacy Murray smurray@ambizmedia.com

HEAD OF ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH Andrew Berman andrew@ambizmedia.com

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC GROWTH Alison Valvo avalvo@ambizmedia.com

ADVERTISING David Hoierman David@ambizmedia.com www.ambizmedia.com

© 2021 American Business Media LLC All rights reserved. Mortgage Banker magazine is a trademark of American Business Media LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Advertising, editorial and production inquiries should be directed to: American Business Media LLC 345 North Main St., Suite 313, West Hartford, CT 06117 Phone: (860) 719-1991 | info@ambizmedia.com

Issue 3, 2021 | BANKING NORTHEAST 3

ICS and CDARS have new names. ®

®

CDARS and ICS deposit solutions are now IntraFi® Network Deposits .

SM

And all of our funding products are called IntraFi Funding .

SM

IntraFi Network Deposits can help your institution manage its balance sheet and provide its customers with access to millions in FDIC insurance.

And, we still offer our full range of wholesale funding solutions. IntraFi Funding offers flexible funding solutions to help banks of all sizes meet planned or unexpected needs, regardless of their liquidity position.

Same great products.

New names.

IntraFi.com Use of IntraFi Network Deposits and IntraFi Funding are subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures set forth in the applicable program agreements, including the IntraFi Participating Institution Agreement. Network Deposits, IntraFi Funding, and the IntraFi hexagon are service marks, and IntraFi, ICS, and CDARS are registered service marks, of IntraFi Network LLC.

M AN AG EM EN T C H A L L EN G E

Why Short-Term Closing Fixes May Be Holding Lenders Back

D

By PAUL A N S E LM O, S PECIA L TO B A NK I NG N ORTH E AST uring the pandemic, the mortgage industry did its best to close loans on time under extremely difficult circumstances. As a result, 2020 became a record year for eClosing and eNote adoption—in fact, eNotes registered on the MERS eRegistry soared 261% between December 2019 and December 2020.

In their rush to close loans under social distancing requirements, however, the closing technologies many lenders chose were no more than bandages. They may have done the job, yet they were poor substitutes to a true electronic closing. As the post-pandemic

housing market heats up, it’s now time for lenders to rip off those bandages and start thinking about the bigger picture.

closing process, which doesn’t bode well for repeat business.

When it comes to eClosing technology providers, there are plenty of players — yet the vast CUMBERSOME AND majority only have partial soluFRAGMENTED tions that don’t integrate well This is not about whether the with other systems. During the typical eClosing technologies pandemic, many lenders relied work or not. It’s about how disPAUL ANSELMO on these one-trick-pony providers jointed they are, and how they fail for a short-term fix while inadto move the needle on creating a vertently fragmenting the entire better borrower experience — which is the closing process. single biggest competitive advantage a lender For example, lenders typically send borrowcan have. In fact, they often complicate the ers to one solution for eSigning disclosures.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Issue 3, 2021 | BANKING NORTHEAST 5

CREATING A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

When it’s time to close the loan, they send the borrower to another platform. If they are using an eNote and their current document provider doesn’t support it, the borrower may go to a separate signing room from another provider for the note. And if the borrower chooses a remote eNotary… well, you get the point.

During the pandemic, lenders didn’t have much time to think these things through. One might say they have little time now, with the summer housing market in full swing. But it is never a bad time to think strategically about technology, especially when it

involves the customer experience.

6 BANKING NORTHEAST | Issue 3, 2021

Whether lenders are aiming for a completely digital mortgage process or want to continue offering hybrid eClosing options to borrowers, there are certain capabilities that they absolutely need.

One is being able to let borrowers sign everything that needs to be signed—from disclosures to closing packages, eNotes, or any other document — in one seamless environment. If their goal is a true digital mortgage, they’ll need technology that incorporates the all-important online notarization piece, which has been the missing link for some time—but with today’s technology, it’s finally available.

They also need technology that supports the lender’s brand, not somebody else’s.

Currently, when lenders shift borrowers from one technology provider to another, the borrower may not see the lender’s logo but all these different technology logos that mean nothing to them, which creates a sense of confusion and disconnect.

Lenders need to take diligence, security, consistency, and connectivity into account as well. For this reason, they’ll need a platform capable of creating a SMART Doc for every loan document, structured or not.

Keep in mind that most providers just focus on the eNote being a SMART Doc, which means they are usually manually tagging PDF of other documents for signing.

Access to an entire SMART Doc library, on the other hand, gives lenders digital versions of every document in the loan file, which eliminates tagging

and allows faster, electronic due diligence reviews. Ultimately, this enables lenders to manufacture loans properly and securely, so if they hit a bump down the road, no one questions the validity of their documents.

Lenders should also look for providers with serious digital mortgage experience on staff.

When reviewing eClosing providers, it’s important to ask whether they have leaders with experience collaborating with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) on data standards for electronic transactions — or whether they are veterans of MERSCORP and understand the MERS eRegistry backwards and forwards. Very few providers do.

LENDERS NEED TO TAKE DILIGENCE, SECURITY, CONSISTENCY, AND CONNECTIVITY INTO ACCOUNT.

THE COST OF INACTION

Most lenders have no idea what the true costs of their technology investments are, especially when one factors in the cost of customer frustration. But while the borrower experience may be difficult to quantify, it definitely exists.

When borrowers have so many lenders to choose from, it’s often not rates but a lender’s reputation and record of customer service that truly matter.

With today’s technology, all the stars are aligned for lenders to achieve a true digital closing and a better borrower experience. All the tools, capabilities and expertise are out there for lenders to defragment their entire loan ecosystem and turn it into a well-oiled machine. All they need is a comprehensive strategy and the willingness to execute it.

Paul Anselmo is the CEO and founder of Evolve Mortgage Services

COVER STORY

A

The BEST Banks In The Northeast Our Annual Survey Shows What Customers Think The Top Banks Are

nnually, the prestigious Banking Choice use the same best-in-class approach used to build the CX Awards are presented by American Business programs for the world’s largest banks, now provided to Media, publishers of Banking Northeast, and community banks at a small fraction of the cost.

Rivel Banking Benchmarks.

“We strongly believe that customer loyalty is a bank’s Vincent M. Valvo, president and CEO primary asset. To improve that loyalty, you must measure of American Business Media, said, and track it. The Benchmarks therefore enable banks to “Customers can choose to bank wherever they want. The understand exactly what their customers and prospects think Banking Choice Awards determine which banks do it best.” of them, their people, their channels, and their products, so The Banking Choice Awards are based upon the results banks can make customer-centric decisions to grow their of the Rivel Banking Benchmarks, the largest and most business,” added Paul. comprehensive measure of banking customer experience Survey respondents are part of a statistically representative in the world. The benchmarks are sample of households and businesses conducted independent of any financial in each state. The total respondent institution biannually by Rivel pool is representative by geography, ‘We eliminate the (www.rivel.com), the marketing and gender, income, ethnicity, and age bias of internal bank investment community research firm profile of the state, based upon the most surveys in which happy and pioneer in the online measurement recent government census. Given the and tracking of customer experience for large sample size, the results are also customers are five banking institutions. representative of household penetration times more likely to Bruce Paul, Rivel’s managing director, and business penetration of each banking respond than unhappy said, “The Rivel Banking Benchmarks, institution within each state. or ambivalent ones, part of our CXLign division, help banks The survey is double blind: respondents increase revenue by giving them a clear, are not told the subject of the interview thus creating skewed objective view of what their customers beforehand, and we do not know which (and unrealistic) really think of them. We eliminate banks they use before initiating the results.’ the bias of internal bank surveys in interview. This approach minimizes bias which happy customers are five times and provides the most objective results more likely to respond than unhappy possible. or ambivalent ones, thus creating skewed (and unrealistic) The Customer Experience Benchmarks ask respondents results. We put your ratings in context, showing the banks to evaluate up to 53 different metrics about each institution exactly how their scores compare to those of their competitors they use for banking services. These include the following within their local trade area — not to an irrelevant basket of metrics used for the Banking Choice Awards: overall quality, similar-sized banks from other parts of the country.” customer service, tools & technology.

The Rivel Banking Benchmarks were developed by Paul, The Prospect Brand Benchmarks ask respondents about their one of the most respected experts in banking research who impressions of banks they do not yet use. These marketing developed the CX tracking and brand research programs for and brand metrics include community contribution, measured seven of the top 15 North American banks. The Benchmarks in the Banking Choice Awards.

8 BANKING NORTHEAST | Issue 3, 2021

2021 “CUSTOMER SERVICE” (Rated by their customers)

“TRUSTWORTHINESS OF BANK BRAND” (Non-customers opinion of bank branding) NY Carthage Savings Bank Fairport Savings Bank Champlain National Bank Canandaigua National Bank Cattaraugus County Bank

NY Canandaigua National Pioneer Bank NY Community Bank Community Bank Glens Falls National Bank

Ridgewood Savings Bank Trustco Bank Evans Bank NBT Bank Northwest Bank

PA First Citizens 1st Summit Bank Univest Bank Orrstown Bank Penn Community Bank

CNB Bank Somerset Trust Co Community Bank Peoples Security B&T Ephrata National Bank

MA South Shore Bank Florence Bank bankESB Needham Bank Cape Cod Five

Cornerstone Bank Lowell Five Country Bank PeoplesBank HarborOne Bank

NJ Republic Bank Kearny Bank Lakeland Bank Columbia Bank OceanFirst Bank

MA Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Abington Bank Cape Cod Five Greenfield Cooperative Bank Boston Private B&T

Mechanics Cooperative Bank Monson Savings Bank BayCoast Bank bankESB Hingham Institution for Savings

Provident Bank Fulton Bank Valley National Bank PNC Bank TD Bank

CT Chelsea Groton Bank Thomaston Savings Bank Newtown Savings Bank Ion Bank

NJ Sturdy Savings Bank Crest Savings Bank First Hope Bank Peapack-Gladstone Bank Capital One Bank

WSFS Bank Parke Bank Haven Savings Bank Bank of Princeton First National Bank of Elmer

Savings Bank of Danbury Union Savings Bank Liberty Bank Webster Bank

MD Sandy Spring Bank Fulton Bank Howard Bank PNC Bank

M&T Bank Truist Bank Capital One First National Bank

CT Litchfield Bancorp Newtown Savings Bank Thomaston Savings Bank Torrington Savings Bank Northwest Community Bank

Chelsea Groton Bank bankHometown Savings Bank of Danbury Fairfield County Bank Jewett City Savings Bank

MD Woodsboro Bank Farmers Bank of Willards Harford Bank Bank of Delmarva Severn Savings Bank

Middletown Valley Bank Rosedale Federal Savings Provident State Bank First Shore Bank Sandy Spring Bank

RI BankNewport Washington Trust Bank Rhode Island

Santander Bank Citizens Bank

NH Bank of New Hampshire People’s United Bank TD Bank

Citizens Bank Bar Harbor Bank

Tioga State Bank Adirondack Trust Co Ballston Spa National Bank Glens Falls National Bank Chemung Canal Trust Co

PA Bank of Bird-in-Hand First Federal Savings of Greene County Mercer County State Bank Northumberland National Bank Marquette Savings Bank

RI Washington Trust Centreville Bank Bank Rhode Island

Apollo Trust Co First Columbia B&T Somerset Trust Co Altoona First Savings Bank Mars Bank

Webster Bank BankNewport

NH Cambridge Trust Co Woodsville Guaranty Savings Meredith Village Savings Bank Bank Ledyard National Bank Savings Bank of Walpole

Issue 3, 2021 | BANKING NORTHEAST 9

2.00% 2.00%

Source: Black Knight, McDash

Source: Source: Black Black Knight, Knight, McDash McDash

10 BANKING NORTHEAST | Issue 3, 2021

0

0

Source: McDash Flash

Source:Flash McDash Flash Source: McDash

10,000

4/6/21

4/20/21

3/23/21 5/4/21

4/6/21 5/18/21

GSE Portfolio / PLS Portfolio / PLS

1,000,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

30,00010,000

20,000

4/6/21

8/24/21 10/5/21

8/10/21 9/21/21

10/19/21

10/5/21

9/21/21

9/7/21 9/21/21 10/5/21 10/19/21

9/7/21

9/21/21

10/5/21

10/19/21

7/27/21

7/13/21

6/29/21

6/15/21

6/1/21

5/18/21

5/4/21

4/20/21

8/24/21

40,000

8/10/21

60,000

8/24/21

Portfolio / PLS

7/27/21 9/7/21

NEW FORBEARANCE PLAN STARTS

BY INVESTOR NEW FORBEARANCE PLAN STARTS

BY INVESTOR

8/10/21

NEW FORBEARANCE PLAN STARTS BY INVESTOR

7/27/21

60,000

7/13/21

Source: McDash Flash

7/13/21 8/24/21

Source: Black Knight, McDash

6/29/21 8/10/21

6/29/21

6/15/21

6/1/21

5/18/21

Week Ending

6/15/21 7/27/21

6/1/21 7/13/21

5/18/21 6/29/21

5/4/21 6/15/21

3/9/21 3/23/21

Other Other

9/7/21 10/19/21

Week Ending Week Ending

5/4/21

3/23/21

3/9/21 4/20/21

2/23/21

2/9/21

1/26/21

1/12/21

12/29/20

12/15/20

12/1/20

11/17/20

11/3/20

10/20/20

ACTIVE ACTIVE FORBEARANCE FORBEARANCE PLANS PLANS Fannie/Freddie Fannie/Freddie

4/20/21 6/1/21

3/9/21

Week Ending

2/23/21 4/6/21

GSE

2/23/21

2/9/21

1/26/21

1/12/21

12/29/20

12/15/20

12/1/20

9/8/20 10/6/20

9/22/20

Removals

2/9/21 3/23/21

11/3/20

VA FHA / VA FHA /GSE

1/26/21 3/9/21

10,000

0

11/17/20

FHA / VA

1/12/21 2/23/21

3.91% 3.91% 8/25/20

FHA/VA FHA/VA

12/29/20 2/9/21

4.68% 4.68%20,000

20,000

12/15/20 1/26/21

8/11/20

Total Delinquent

12/1/20 1/12/21

5.00% 5.00%

10/20/20

30,000

10/20/20 12/1/20

500,000 7/28/20

Record Low

11/17/20 12/29/20

40,000 7/14/20

NATIONAL DELINQUENCY RATE – FIRST LIEN MORTGAGES

11/3/20 12/15/20

7.00% 7.00%

10/6/20

50,000

9/22/20

50,000

9/22/20 11/3/20

60,000

10/6/20 11/17/20

2,000,000

9/8/20

60Record to 90 Days DQ Low Record Low

8/25/20

NATIONALLOANS DELINQUENCY – DELINQUENT FIRST LIENSTATUS MORTGAGES ROLLING TO RATE A MORE

9/8/20 10/20/20

0

8/11/20

MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES BY SEVERITY

8/25/20 10/6/20

100,000

500,000

6/30/20

1,500,000

7/28/20

2,000,000

8/11/20 9/22/20

2,500,000

6/16/20

3,000,000

7/14/20

800,000

6/30/20

4,000,000

6/16/20

900,000

7/28/20 9/8/20

4,500,000

7/14/20 8/25/20

3 /33 /3 1/ 1/ 22 4 /24 /2 0 0 0/ 0/ 2 02 0 5 /85 /8 /2 /2 5 /25 /2 0 0 9/ 9/ 22 6 /16 /1 0 0 8/ 8/ 2 02 0 7 /97 /9 /2 /2 7 /27 /2 0 0 9/ 9/ 22 8 /18 /1 0 0 8/ 8/ 2 02 0 9 /89 /8 /2 /2 9 /29 /2 0 0 8/ 8/ 1 01 0 2 02 0 /1 /1 9/ 9/ 22 1 11 1 0 0 /6 /6 / / 1 11 1 2 02 0 /3 /3 0/ 0/ 1 21 2 2020 /1 /1 8/ 8/ 22 1 /11 /1 0 0 1/ 1/ 2 12 1 2 /12 /1 /2 /2 2 /22 /2 1 1 2/ 2/ 22 3 /13 /1 1 1 2/ 2/ 2 12 1 4 /14 /1 /2 /2 4 /24 /2 1 1 1/ 1/ 22 5 /15 /1 1 1 1/ 1/ 2 12 1 6 /16 /1 /2 /2 6 /26 /2 1 1 1/ 1/ 22 7 /17 /1 1 1 2/ 2/ 22 7 /27 /2 1 1 9/ 9/ 22 8 /18 /1 1 1 8/ 8/ 2 12 1 9 /89 /8 /2 /2 9 /29 /2 1 1 8/ 8/ 1 01 0 2 12 1 /1 /1 9/ 9/ 2121

3.91%

6/2/20

3.00%

6/30/20 8/11/20

1,000,000

5/19/20

4.68%

6/2/20

7.00%

5/19/20

8.00%

6/16/20 7/28/20

10.00%

6/2/20 7/14/20

10.00% 10.00%

6/2/20

2021-09

2021-03

2020-09

2020-03

2019-09

2019-03

2018-09

2018-03

2017-09

2017-03

2016-09

2016-03

11.00%

5/19/20 6/30/20

2021-09

3,500,000

6/16/20

8.00% 8.00%

5/19/20

2021-09

1,500,000

2021-09 2021-09

2021-03 2021-03

2020-09 2020-09

2021-08

2021-07

2021-06

2021-05

2021-04

2021-03

2021-02

2015-09

2015-03

4.00%

2021-08

2021-07

2021-06

2021-05

2021-04

2021-03

2021-02

2021-01

2020-12

2021-01

2014-09

2014-03

2013-09

2013-03

2012-09

2012-03

2011-09

2011-03

2010-09

5.00%

2020-03 2020-03

2019-09 2019-09

2019-03 2019-03

2018-09 2018-09

2018-03 2018-03

2017-09 2017-09

2017-03 2017-03

2016-09 2016-09

2016-03 2016-03

2020-11

30 to 60 Days DQ 2000-2005 Average 2000-2005 Average

2015-09 2015-09

2020-12

2020-11

2020-10

90+ Days DQ

2020-10

2020-09

2020-08

2020-07

2020-09

2020-08

2020-07

2010-03

2009-09

2009-03

2008-09

2008-03

2007-09

2007-03

2006-09

2006-03

2005-09

2005-03

2004-09

2004-03

2003-09

2003-03

2002-09

2002-03

2001-09

2000-2005 Average

2015-03 2015-03

2014-09 2014-09

2014-03 2014-03

2013-09 2013-09

2013-03 2013-03

2020-06

2020-05

2020-04

2020-03

2020-06

2020-05

60 Days DQ

2012-09 2012-09

2012-03 2012-03

2011-09 2011-09

Current to 30 Rate Days DQ Delinquency Delinquency Rate

2020-02

2020-01

2020-04

2020-03

2020-02

2020-01

2019-12

2019-11

2019-10

2019-09

2019-08

2019-07

Delinquency Rate

2011-03 2011-03

2010-09 2010-09

2019-12

2019-11

2019-10

2019-09

2019-08

2019-07

2019-06

2019-05

2019-04

2019-03

2019-02

30 Days DQ

2010-03 2010-03

2009-09 2009-09

2009-03 2009-03

2008-09 2008-09

2008-03 2008-03

2007-09 2007-09

2007-03 2007-03

2006-09 2006-09

2006-03 2006-03

2005-09 2005-09

2005-03 2005-03

3.00% 3.00%

2019-01

4.00% 4.00%

2004-09 2004-09

0

2004-03 2004-03

6.00% 6.00%

2003-09 2003-09

9.00% 9.00%

2003-03 2003-03

11.00% 11.00%

2002-09 2002-09

2002-03 2002-03

2001-09 2001-09

DATABANK

5,000,000 5,000,000

Total Total

9.00% 4,000,000 4,000,000

3,000,000 3,000,000

6.00% 2,000,000 2,000,000

1,000,000 1,000,000

0 0

2.00%

Source: McDash Flash Source: McDash Flash Data as of Oct. 19, 2021 Data as of Oct. 19, 2021

Source: Black Knight, McDash

FORBEARANCE PLAN EXTENSIONS & REMOVALS Extensions

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

TIMES CHANGE

OUR COMMITMENT STAYS THE SAME The world has changed a lot over the last century. But at Ridgewood Savings Bank, our mission, to Multiply the Good in the lives of our customers, has stayed the same for 100 years.

We have never wavered in our commitment to helping our neighbors make the most of the present and plan for a bright future – and we never will.

Join the Celebration | RSB100.com © 2021 Ridgewood Savings Bank | Member FDIC

Ion Bank in Unionville, CT

Innovative solutions, personalized for your branch.

What makes us different? In-house capabilities to imagine, design, and deliver projects of all sizes. With 50 years of experience, we know the industry inside and out. We are invested in creating customized solutions that embrace the traditions of the industry while reflecting the quickly evolving demands of an increasingly digital reality.

by triad

Bank Design New England

New York

Architecture 508-339-6600

Project Management www.nes-group.com