Mortgage Banker Magazine October 2022

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CONGRATULATIONS

SOUTHPOINT IS PROUD TO RECOGNIZE

president and CEO, Mindy Rothenberger for receiving the Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking Award.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Your passion, advocacy, and collaboration makes you an inspiration to women throughout the industry.

REGULATORY CORNER

TWO NEW ADDITIONS TO LOAN ADVISOR DASHBOARDS

The October 7, 2022, ECO release includes two Freddie Mac Loan Advisor dashboard additions that give greater insight into income rep and warranty relief and opportunities to originate loans without an appraisal.

Income Performance Dashboard: Direct Deposit

Freddie Mac added an offering type to the Income Performance dashboard called “Direct Deposit” to give greater insight into income representation and warranty relief.

Direct deposit – part of asset and income modeler (AIM) – is offered to provide a basis for potential relief from certain selling representations and warranties (R&W) related to the assessed income by using direct deposit data from a borrower’s depository information. By using a history of certain direct deposit income types from the asset verification report, the offering assesses a loan’s eligibility for income R&W relief.

Collateral Offerings: ACE+ PDR

Freddie Mac added a new offering to the Collateral Offerings dashboard for ACE+ PDR (automated collateral evaluation plus property data report) to help identify opportunities to take advantage of the addition.

The offering lets lenders originate cash-out and certain “no cash-out” refinance loans without an appraisal. With ACE+ PDR, additional property information is physically collected on-site by trained data collectors using the proprietary Freddie Mac PDR dataset, in lieu of an appraisal.

RENT PAYMENT REPORTING PROGRAM TO HELP RENTERS BUILD CREDIT

Fannie Mae announced the launch of its Multifamily Positive Rent Payment Reporting pilot program, aimed at helping renters build their credit history and improve their credit score. Beginning Sept. 27, 2022, eligible multifamily property owners can share timely rent payment data through a vendor network to the three major credit bureaus for incorporation in the renter’s credit profile. This pilot program is the latest solution among Fannie Mae’s ongoing efforts to bolster equitable access to credit and remove unnecessary obstacles in a consumer’s housing journey, whether they choose to rent or aspire to own a home.

On-time rent payments are rarely included in credit reports and therefore usually do not contribute to a consumer’s credit score, putting many renters at a disadvantage. Positive Rent Payment Reporting aims to accelerate the adoption of rent payment reporting by the multifamily industry, and it complements Fannie Mae’s existing practice of helping lenders incorporate positive rent payments in the single-family mortgage credit evaluation process via Desktop Underwriter. Incentivizing Fannie Mae Multifamily borrowers to adopt Positive Rent Payment Reporting will benefit renters who pay on time each month, including historically underserved groups who disproportionately have lower or no credit scores. Esusu Financial, Inc., Jetty Credit, and Rent Dynamics are approved vendors who will collect the rent payment data from multifamily property owners and format it for dissemination to the credit bureaus.

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Vincent M. Valvo CEO, PUBLISHER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Beverly Bolnick

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Christine Stuart

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR David Krechevsky EDITOR

Keith Griffin SENIOR EDITOR

Mike Savino HEAD OF MULTIMEDIA

Katie Jensen, Steven Goode, Douglas Page, Sarah Wolak STAFF WRITERS

Rob Chrisman, Nir Bashan, Thomas Wade, Curtis Wood, Joe Camerieri, Matthew Falloretta

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Alison Valvo

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC GROWTH Julie Carmichael PROJECT MANAGER

Meghan Hogan DESIGN MANAGER

Christopher Wallace, Stacy Murray GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS

Navindra Persaud DIRECTOR OF EVENTS

William Valvo UX DESIGN DIRECTOR

Andrew Berman HEAD OF CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT

Tigi Kuttamperoor, Matthew Mullins, Angelo Scalise MULTIMEDIA SPECIALISTS

Melissa Pianin MARKETING & EVENTS ASSOCIATE Kristie Woods-Lindig ONLINE ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Lydia Griffin

MARKETING INTERN Ben Slayton FOUNDING PUBLISHER

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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: Catch the Wave

M&A TENDS TO HEAT UP WHEN PROFITS DECLINE, SUCH AS 2022

By ROB CHRISMAN, COLUMNIST, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

Banks,credit unions, independent mortgage banks, brokers, vendors, and others in the residential lending business wonder if they will be around in 3-6 months. Has the company managed to cut costs as quickly as revenue and volume has dropped? How much capital might a company “burn through” before things “turn around,” whenever that is? Should we look at merging, acquiring, or being purchased?

M&A tends to heat up when profits decline, such as 2022. During the last few years we saw “IPO mania” as the owners of, and investors in, of those companies “took chips off the table” through public offerings. In 2022 that has changed, and few lenders or vendors are talking about issuing stock. Most lenders hope to break even in 2022, and the number of investors who desire to put capital to work in residential lending has declined. Some have moved from being mortgage bankers to brokering, thereby eliminating underwriters, secondary marketing, and other positions.

M&A talk has only increased this year. Potential buyers are viewing the market shift in terms of adding geographic scope to their originations. “We’re not licensed in Texas, but if we buy this company…” They are thinking in terms of adding market expertise. “Hey, that lender has a well-respected reverse mortgage group.” How long will the seller stay involved? How financially stressed is the seller? Economies of scale, talent acquisition, strategic opportunities, and growing in a

down market are often cited as reasons.

Potential sellers are asking, “We have limited capital; how much do we want to use up surviving?”

“What value do we bring to a potential buyer?” “What are the long-term prospects of our company in this environment?”

“Is my life going to be better?”

“What about my employees?”

“What is my time of life?”

Retirement, preservation of capital, and demands for additional technology are often cited as reasons to sell, and often potential sellers will do their best well advance of any future deals to add production staff to increase value.

The thinking of deal structuring has shifted from IPOs toward “asset sales” as a method of transferring ownership, with the buyer purchasing the entire company. Of course, partial acquisitions also work, with the buyer eventually owning 51% of a company, or some type of modified joint venture arrangement. Stock in the seller can be purchased, companies can be merged. What liabilities are being assumed? If it is treated as an asset purchase, does that include people? Agency approvals? Licensing is important.

Cultural fit between a buyer and seller is paramount in any deal. What difference do great numbers and geographic fit make if the two groups don’t mesh and half the originators quit? Even if the owners get

along, other members of the senior management team should be able to cooperate and have similar values, as should employees. Buyers will want a “no shop” provision for 30-60 days written in to the deal to avoid the seller continuing to look around.

As the deal proceeds, what will the employees be told? Information is important, especially as recruiters will swoop in. Transparency is critical in measured doses. Public announcements are becoming fewer, as those are generally viewed as doing nothing other than promoting the advisors behind the deal and may even have a negative impact on the two lenders or vendors involved in the merger or acquisition.

Buyers and sellers may talk on and off for years, and when a deal is initially agreed to the two parties may agree that “The timing was just right.” But it is not easy arriving at that point. Determining a value is very complicated. Perhaps it is a premium over book value, or an earnings multiple such as 3x or 4x of proforma earnings, not 2020 and 2021, which are unrepresentative, comparable sales, discounted cash flow, and the “build versus buy” discussion are common and all important.

As we head toward the holidays of 2022 and start thinking about 2023, few believe that the residential lending environment will improve. Owners and managers must constantly consider their business models and strategies, and what is best for the long term for the company and its employees. Acquiring, merging, or being acquired are certainly strategies that can be very beneficial if mapped out and executed well.

ACQUIRING, MERGING, OR BEING ACQUIRED ARE CERTAINLY STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE VERY BENEFICIAL IF MAPPED OUT AND EXECUTED WELL.

ROB CHRISMAN

How Not To BLOW UP The Housing Market

STRESS IN U.S. HOUSING MARKET IS CAUSED BY SUPPLY, NOT DEMAND

By THOMAS WADE, AMERICAN ACTION FORUM

Despitewelcome economic indicators that house prices and other key housing costs may be at least peaking, if not falling, the housing market remains a significant pain point for American consumers. Median house prices reached a new record high in June. The sale of new single-family homes has decreased 40% since January. The rental market is particularly hot, with asking rents increasing 23 percent nationwide as compared with 2019.

When considering the economic stresses the housing market presents, Congress, the White House, and the federal agencies will of course be tempted to use the powers they have (and some they do not) to try to give relief to American consumers. Regrettably, however, government

intervention in the housing market has historically done more harm than good. Housing finance was at the center of the 2008 financial crisis that visited substantial economic stress on Americans and spurred dramatic government intervention. Yet more than a decade later, the central actors in the crisis and response – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) – remain essentially unchanged.

Before Congress and the administration consider further intervention in the housing market, they must first seek to do no harm.

A NOTE ON THE FED

It is important to note that decreasing demand for housing is precisely what the Federal Reserve has set out to achieve in its

battle against inflation. High prices are the most effective way to achieve this. “Shelter,” or housing, is one of the components of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that tracks the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a “basket” of goods. The shelter component of the CPI represents one-third of the index and has exhibited an uninterrupted rise in inflation, from 1.6% in January 2021 to 5.7% in July, with no signs yet of peaking.

For the Fed to reduce overall inflation, decreasing the shelter component of the CPI is the single most effective measure to bring down prices across the whole economy, and the Fed has done this by raising the federal funds rate. This causes all other interest rates to rise, including mortgage rates. Higher mortgage rates mean higher house prices, which decrease demand. Decreased housing demand results in fewer people buying housing, or spending capital on housing-related costs, which slows the increase of the shelter component of the CPI.

Higher rates make debt more expensive, which has implications for home purchasing and home construction. Over time, however, house prices will fall in reaction

to decreased housing demand. With that in mind, Congress and the federal agencies would do well to consider what they might do (or, more appropriately, not do) to prevent an overstressed housing market from blowing up or undoing the efforts the Fed has undertaken to cool the economy.

INCREASING HOUSING DEMAND DEMAND-SIDE SUBSIDIES

At its core, the stress in the U.S. housing market is caused by supply, not demand. Housing supply is constrained by a dearth of new construction resulting from low labor availability, the high cost of materials, and restrictive local regulations. Existing homes are not returning to the market at typical rates as economic stresses, the low mortgage rate environment, and the unknowns of listing a home in the backdrop of a global pandemic caused homeowners to delay or cancel their plans to list. Housing inventory, while on track to rise, is at historic lows.

The total inventory of homes available for sale fell 26% in January 2021 year-overyear. At its lowest point, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated that there remained only three-and-a-half months of

total housing inventory – in other words, it would be only three and a half months without construction until there would be no homes available in the United States. Housing permits and starts, which have barely recovered from the 2007–2008 financial crisis,

There are very few policy levers that Congress can on to increase housing supply, and even fewer that will operate in a short timeframe. Demand-side subsidies, which in their immediacy continue to prove attractive to legislators, will only increase the population of potential homeowners chasing the same small number of available houses, further increasing prices.

EQUITY INITIATIVES

A classic example of demand-side subsidies includes the June announcement by the FHFA of new equitable housing plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That there is a clear need for racial equity in homeownership rates is not in question – the gap between Black and white homeownership rates is greater now than in the 1960s when it was legal to deny someone a home based on the color of their skin. But these new housing plans raise a number of difficult questions. When the vast majority of federal initiatives amount simply to demand-side subsidies, home prices will necessarily rise and housing will become even more unaffordable to exactly the communities the FHFA is seeking to serve.

Not only do these programs run the risk of being directly counterproductive, they raise uncomfortable questions about the FHFA itself. Why under the FHFA’s purview have homeownership rates declined, precisely, and why does the FHFA think the answer entails crafting new plans rather than reviewing the success of the overly complex constellation of existing programs seeking to address these issues? The federal government currently provides appropriated funding through more than 30 programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, tax credits and deductions for both corporations and individuals, housing programs for veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, rural housing programs through the Department of Agriculture, and mortgage insurance

BEFORE CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION CONSIDER FURTHER INTERVENTION IN THE HOUSING MARKET, THEY MUST FIRST SEEK TO DO NO HARM.

programs through the Federal Housing Administration and government corporation Ginnie Mae.

CHANGING THE FORMULA

Such a challenging time for the housing market would not represent the safest testing ground for Congress or the federal agencies to experiment with sweeping changes to how the market operates.

FORECLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

California, New York, and New Jersey all have active bills that would alter foreclosure rules in their states. While legislation that would discourage institutional or out-ofstate investors from purchasing foreclosed properties may help keep homes and commercial buildings in the hands of residents, the bills still represent economic protectionism. Investment that may revitalize communities will be directed elsewhere, driving up competition and prices where it is directed.

MEDICAL DEBT

The Office for Management and Budget (OMB) recently directed federal agencies to ignore existing medical debt to the fullest extent possible when making lending decisions. This of course will include the FHFA and is likely to apply to the GSEs at the very least by association (although not originators of loans themselves, the GSEs effectively set market standards for loan originators by determining which loans they will buy, with which characteristics, and under which circumstances). Reducing the amount of data available to lenders decreases the quality of lending decisions the agencies make and will not by itself improve consumer creditworthiness; in fact, it far more likely to do the opposite as it may cause Americans to end up even further in debt due to purposefully withheld information.

MODEL CHANGES

The FHFA is past due for a decision on its review of alternative credit scoring models. The vast majority of the industry (and federal agencies) has used the FICO Classic scoring model for the last 20 years. Any change to this approach would be costly to the GSEs and private lenders, and those costs would quickly be passed on to consumers.

INCREASING HOUSING RISK

The United States does not have a functioning

private secondary mortgage market and has a wildly distorted primary market because of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If Congress seeks a healthy and functioning housing market that benefits all participants, then it must continue its efforts to reform the GSEs. But the Biden Administration has reversed these gains, decreasing the amount of capital the GSEs are required to hold and once again allowing them to purchase the riskiest mortgages.

GSE reform is absolutely necessary for the long-term health of the housing market, but the process will be slow, costly, and likely involve a temporary increase in housing prices. Short of the reform the market needs, however, Congress and the FHFA must commit to not increasing the footprint of the GSEs in the housing market.

PILOTS

The FHFA has repeatedly and consistently engaged in mission creep via the mechanism of new pilot programs. These pilots expand the products offered and decrease underwriting standards at the GSEs. While this gets more people into houses, it does nothing to expand housing inventory, and thereby acts as another demand-side subsidy, increasing the costs of housing for everyone.

In July, 10 members of the House wrote to FHFA Director Sandra Thompson, noting “The Enterprises have a history of venturing into new activities and product offerings that go well beyond their congressionally approved roles in the secondary market. The FHFA must do more to ensure there is appropriate transparency regarding any new products or activities that the Enterprises undertake and that these activities do not displace private firms or crowd out private capital.”

The FHFA must undertake to finalize the long-overdue rulemaking on Prior Approval of Enterprise Products, a requirement of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that still has not been brought into law nearly 15 years later.

CAPITAL

Fourteen years after the GSEs were brought into conservatorship, they remain undercapitalized. The GSEs enjoy all the opportunities of both private entities and government agencies without the regulation or supervision of either. Former FHFA Director Mark Calabria took a series of extremely important steps along the path to

GSE reform, not least of which was halving the GSEs’ combined leverage ratio (down to a still mind-boggling 500-1). These efforts not been continued, and what’s more, this administration’s FHFA has made the baffling decision to return risk to the GSEs by allowing them to make more toxic loans and hold less capital against that risk.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has significantly expanded its role since the financial crisis and, with the GSEs, guarantees over $7 trillion in mortgagerelated debt to the borrowers least able to repay. The FHA’s book of mortgages is considered so toxic that even Ginnie Mae, the Government National Mortgage Association, has proposed a 250% risk weight on gross mortgage service rights (MSRs) that make up the majority of the FHA’s business. Former FHFA Director Calabria has warned that the FHA is setting the market up for failure with its poor underwriting standards, the risk of which could topple the housing market.

CONCLUSIONS

Even in the best of times it can be difficult to parse the wide variety of economic indicators. Depending on interpretation, the housing market is either boiling or has already collapsed. The economy writ large is either strong or in a recession. Against this backdrop, the Fed is attempting to engineer a “soft landing,” decreasing inflation without triggering significant economic collapse.

Part of this effort necessarily involves intentionally making the housing market more hostile for a time, as noted by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. While there is little Congress and the federal agencies can do to improve housing supply in the short term, they could do much in haste and good intentions that would further muddy the economic waters. At worst, further demand-side subsidies would undo the Fed’s efforts, increasing the pain of inflation, the risks of recession, and the length of economic recovery.

Thomas Wade is the direction of financial services policy at the American Action Forum. This article was originally published Sept. 8, 2022. You can read the original version here. https://www.americanactionforum.org/ insight/how-not-to-blow-up-the-housingmarket/

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MINDY ROTHENBERGER

career, but I was also an underwriting manager for a national lender for over a decade. Flipping from sales to operations when my husband and I relocated from Indiana to Georgia, gave me the opportunity to learn operations. I immediately accepted a processing position however within 30 days I was promoted to underwriting, then within a year I was the regional underwriting manager for national mortgage lender. It was another year or less, they asked me to run the operations center which at that time managed both sales and all operations functions. The time spent at the helm managing both teams provided me invaluable knowledge. It was important for me to take some time to sit with every department within my organization and get hands on experience. I felt I needed to fully understand each role so I could have a clear understanding how a change in department may affect another. How can you lead a team if you don’t have a full understanding of what each department’s challenges are? Through this process, I was able to pull my departmental team leads from both sales and ops together to develop best practices for the branch, with the goal of making the process easier on everyone. Since that time, I have maintained all my underwriting DE’s and maintained all my originators licenses. Having the in-depth knowledge of each position, gives me a perspective which few in leadership have. This firsthand knowledge and ability to perform each function of either sales or operations allows me to lead both groups such that they blend like a marriage. Our motto is you can’t be successful without the other. Sales needs ops, and ops needs sales to produce, we all succeed together, or we will all fail together.

Q: You now are the C.E.O. and President of Southpoint Financial. What has that transition been like?

Q: Take me back, how and where did you get started?

“I started as a loan processor for a big subprime lender back in a small town in Indiana. After learning the ropes, I wanted to make the income that all the salespeople were making and have their freedom and flexibility. So I converted to a loan officer and started to learn what all that entailed.

Q: When did you make that connection inside where you knew your passion was empowering women?

“A loan application back in 2003 from a single mother of 3. She was working 2 jobs, had put herself through school, and saved up $5000 to fulfill that American dream of home ownership. She had a few pitfalls in her credit and had been turned down by 2 of the local banks in town. We worked for 2 months together, and finally that day happened where she closed on her first house. As I watched her weep with pride, I knew right then that I can help make an impact on several women’s lives by showing them the path to home ownership.”

Q: Have you executed other roles in the mortgage industry other than origination and processing?

Oh Yes! I believe to be a good leader you must be willing to jump in at any position and know how to perform those functions. I have not only been a top producing loan officer most of my

It is very challenging, especially in this versatile and ever-changing market. We have large goals for not only production and growing employment opportunities in a contracting market, but we are enhancing our customer experience across the board by adding a lot of technology. Our goal is to make a very efficient process for our internal team and our team that works remotely. It is very important to me that we are all integrated regardless of where we physically work daily. Communication with clear expectations is key to success for us. Under promise your internal and external consumer but ensure you always over deliver. We have managed to build a reputation for providing a standard of excellence in our client experience. The core staff have been working together for over a decade now. For me, employee retention through investment in their growth, and keeping a fun environment are mandatory for a company to have longevity. Happy employees are the key to a company’s success.

Q: You’re known around the office as that type of leader that is here when they get here in the morning, and still here when they leave. Even working weekends at times. What drives you this hard?

I want to leave this industry better than I left it and empower as many people as possible along the way to fulfill their dreams, whether that be the dream of home ownership or the dream career opportunity. Every morning I get

up I am thinking of the people that depend on me to make a living that feeds their family, and the customers that are bettering their financial situation using the tools we provide at Southpoint Financial. I want to lead through actions not empty promises. It’s imperative those I work with respect and understand I am willing to do more than I ask of each of them. Leadership is also about servitude. I want staff to follow my lead not follow orders.

Q: What advice would you give women that don’t think they could cut it in an industry like yours?

First of all, anything is possible. I never thought coming from very humble beginnings, I would be where I am today. Without that D1 college degree, I simply do not fit in when you think of the elite. Learn to be ok with not fitting in, stars never do, they shine above the rest anyway. Others’ opinions can offer value feedback for personal growth, but don’t let it define your worth or set limitations on your life. Don’t be so quick to accept failure or defeat because your start was a little lower and my take a little more effort or a little longer than that D1 grad. A great attitude, willingness to engage in a process and learn and most importantly having a great work ethic will win every time. Don’t feel less than because of your gender, race, or social status and NEVER allow anyone to determine your value or limit your goals but you. Learn everything you can to become the expert, knowledge is the biggest gift so pay attention when you are being trained. Lastly when do reach leadership, understand what leadership truly means. Its not about the title, it’s not about the ability to bark orders or make big decisions. Leadership must come from within, you must truly care about others and want to see them achieve success. A leader will be a resource for development and leading the vision for those they lead. Lastly learn to speak less and listen more!!!

Mindy Rothenberger joined Southpoint Financial Services in Aug 2007 and rose through the ranks to her current role as President and CEO. Under Mindy’s leadership, loan volume has increased over 400%, expanded their area serviced to 18 states, and her omni-channel marketing strategy has brought a new dimension to the call center and the remote loan originators. Mindy continues to have her eye set on providing more opportunities in the workplace and customers wanting to improve their financial situation through home ownership. Regardless of working with a first-time home buyer, or coaching staff members, she does it with the intent to inspire personal growth for that individual.

We caught up with Mindy Rothenberger, President and C.E.O. of Southpoint Financial Services, a mortgage lender based in Alpharetta Georgia, for a quick chat about her journey and advice she would give someone coming up today.

Mindy is a 2022 Award Recipient of our 2022 Mortgage Star award.

Zillow Sued For Alleged Wiretapping

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINKIT INVOLVES CONSUMERS AND KEYSTROKES

By DAVID KRECHEVSKY, EDITOR, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

f your company maintains a website – whether offering financial products or just selling pet stairs – you now need to be familiar with state and federal wiretapping laws.

The term “wiretapping” probably brings to mind images of police detectives or FBI agents huddled in the back of a white panel van or in a dark room with headphones on, listening to and recording conversations among shady characters. What likely doesn’t come to mind are interactive business websites.

Yet a spate of recent class action lawsuits against a variety of business websites

– including cases filed separately in September in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Missouri against Zillow Group Inc., as well as those filed against hardware retailer Lowe’s and travel website Expedia, among others – all cite state wiretapping laws as the basis of their complaints about invading consumer privacy.

The flurry of filed suits followed a federal appellate court decision in August that resurrected an earlier, similar lawsuit in Pennsylvania. Yet that lawsuit, Popa vs. Harriet Carter Gifts, owes a debt to even earlier suits involving Facebook (now Meta) and mobile software company Carrier IQ.

Privacy experts say all of these wiretapping lawsuits have far reaching implications for any business that maintains a website and uses coding, software, or third-party vendors to analyze what clients or consumers do when they visit online.

Just about every company uses some form of data analytics to understand how website visitors interact with a site, but the lawsuits will likely determine where the line is drawn between analytics and compromising privacy.

“The problem for these companies is, the exact moment that technology is allowing this data collection comes at a time when courts and consumers are asking for greater privacy protection,” said David A. Straite, a partner in the New York law firm DiCello Levitt and a certified information privacy professional.

KEYSTROKE LOGGING & LOCATION TRACKING

To understand the issues in the lawsuits against Zillow and others, you have to go back to 2011, when lawsuits were filed nationwide against Carrier IQ and various mobile phone companies and services, including AT&T, Apple, Sprint (then Sprint Nextel) and T-Mobile.

The lawsuits followed the discovery by security researcher Trevor Eckhart that Carrier IQ’s software was being surreptitiously loaded onto cell phones. The lawsuits claimed the software logged keystrokes and illegally intercepted private communications, in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Carrier IQ and the companies that used its software on their phones, meanwhile, claimed it was intended only for network diagnostics.

The class action lawsuits were consolidated in 2012 and eventually settled in 2016, with Carrier IQ and its codefendants agreeing to pay $9 million.

without the user’s knowledge.

Most users, on the other hand, are familiar with “cookies,” the blocks of data that can be placed on devices by websites they visit. In 2012, a lawsuit accused Facebook of using cookies to track subscribers’ internet use even after they had logged off the company’s social media platform.

In February of this year, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) agreed to settle the case for $90 million — 10 times the Carrier IQ settlement.

It should have ended there, but Popa later discovered that NaviStone — a thirdparty digital marketing service hired by the retailer — had tracked all of her interactions with the shop’s website.

Believing her privacy had been compromised, and that NaviStone had “intercepted” her communications with the shop website in violation of Pennsylvania’s Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (WESCA), she sued both the shop and NaviStone.

David A. Straite

That case “established that if you’re recording keystrokes before someone actually presses ‘enter’ — before they choose to send it — that the average person does not expect those partial thoughts to be sent,” Straite said. “Now you’re seeing technology marching fast ahead. The more basic technology in the Carrier IQ case is now much more sophisticated.”

NOT JUST YOUR FINGERS

It’s not just keystrokes being tracked now, he noted, but possibly also cameras recording where your eyes look on the screen. And in many cases, you don’t have to hit the “enter” button for what you type to be tracked. Take, for example, when you start typing something into the Google search bar; you don’t have to hit enter to get suggestions, you get them starting with the first keystroke.

“Individual keys are being transmitted,” he said.

Such keystroke logging is possible on potentially any website you visit, often

Straite, who was co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the Facebook case, noted that even before the settlement, the case had created significant law in favor of consumers. In a 2020 opinion in the case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that unlawfully copying and then selling personal data creates “economic harm.” It also ruled that Facebook was not a party to the communication it intercepted from other websites for purposes of the Wiretap Act, meaning it needed each user’s consent before collecting the data. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case last year, letting the appellate court decision stand.

“This settlement not only repairs harm done to Facebook users, but sets a precedent for the future disposition of such matters,” Straite said.

POPA V. HARRIET CARTER GIFTS

Which brings us to those pet stairs. In 2018, Pennsylvania resident Ashley Popa used her smartphone to browse the website of Harriet Carter Gifts. She eventually found a set of pet stairs she liked and placed them in her digital cart, but never actually completed the purchase.

The District Court dismissed part of her claim regarding invasion of privacy, but granted summary judgment – deciding the case on its merits without a jury – in favor of the defendants on the claim of violating WESCA.

Popa appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in August that the lower court erred by granting summary judgment.

In a decision labeled “precedential” –meaning it potentially has implications for all website privacy disclosures and consent practices – the Third Circuit court ruled that Harriet Carter Gifts and NaviStone were not exempt from liability under Pennsylvania’s wiretapping law simply because NaviStone was intended to receive the communications from Popa’s phone and, therefore, had not “intercepted” them.

The appeals court ruled that the only statutory exception under Pennsylvania’s wiretap law is for law enforcement activity specified in a 2012 amendment to the law. The court also ruled that NaviStone’s alleged interception of Popa’s communications with the gift shop occurred at the point where Popa’s phone was located at the time (in Pennsylvania), and not where its servers received them (in Virginia).

The appellate court also said it was sending the case back to the district court because it had granted summary judgment

DAVID A. STRAITE

“THE PROBLEM FOR THESE COMPANIES IS, THE EXACT MOMENT THAT TECHNOLOGY IS ALLOWING THIS DATA COLLECTION COMES AT A TIME WHEN COURTS AND CONSUMERS ARE ASKING FOR GREATER PRIVACY PROTECTION.”

without addressing the issue of consent.

In a report on the ruling posted to Lexology.com by Kathryn Deal, a partner with the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Brockius in Philadelphia and a former federal prosecutor, she wrote that the appeals court ruling may spark “renewed interest in session replay and other websitetracking claims” under WESCA.

“To mitigate risk of liability and liquidated damages claims under Pennsylvania law, businesses and their digital marketers may want to review their disclosures and online practices to evaluate the strength of other defenses or exceptions to WECSA liability, including prior consent to any third-party data sharing,” Deal wrote.

SESSION REPLAY

She was right, of course, given the flood of lawsuits that followed the Third District Court’s ruling.

The lawsuits are all quite similar. Take, for example, the lawsuit filed Sept. 12 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle on behalf of two plaintiffs “and all others similarly situated.” The lawsuit names Seattle-based Zillow Group Inc. and Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. as defendants.

In this complaint, which mirrors the others, the plaintiffs claim Zillow employs Microsoft and other third-party vendors to “embed snippets” of computer code on Zillow’s website, “which then deploys on each website visitor’s internet browser for the purpose of intercepting and recording” their interactions with the site. This can include recording “mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, … URLs of web pages visited, and/or other electronic communications in real-time.”

According to the complaint, third-party vendors then use the data to recreate each website visitor’s “entire visit” to Zillow’s website, which is called a “session replay.”

“Microsoft and other Session Replay Providers create a video replay of the user’s behavior on the website and provide it to Zillow for analysis,” the complaint states, adding that this is the “electronic equivalent of ‘looking over the shoulder’ of each visitor to the Zillow website for the entire duration of their website interaction.”

The lawsuit claims this violates the Washington state wiretapping statute, and constitutes an invasion of the privacy rights of website visitors. Lawsuits in other states cite those states’ similar laws.

EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY

The Seattle complaint, like the others, makes the argument that website users have “a reasonable expectation of privacy in their interactions with websites.” It states that privacy polls and studies show that a majority of Americans consider “one of the most important privacy rights to be the need for an individual’s affirmative consent before a company collects and shares its customers’ data.”

The suit does note that the computer code used to recreate visitors’ interactions is “utilized by websites for some legitimate purposes,” but adds that “it goes well beyond normal website analytics when it comes to collecting the actual contents of communications between” visitors and the websites.

According to the Seattle complaint, the ZIllow website’s computer code allows the website to “capture and record,” among other things, “the visitor’s personal or private sensitive data, sometimes even

when the visitor does not intend to submit the data to the website operator, or has not finished submitting the data ….”

Straite noted that, while Zillow has posted a privacy policy on its website that states it will “collect a variety of information automatically,” the policy is “incredibly vague.”

“It includes things like search history, what you clicked on, the amount of time you spend looking at parts of the website,” he said. “It doesn’t say ‘mouse movements.’ ‘Session play providers’ doesn’t appear. None of the clear details about what is collected is disclosed.”

Because the policy is vague, Straite said, the typical visitor to Zillow’s website — even if they stop to read the privacy policy, which isn’t a given — likely would not fully understand the data it will collect about them.

“You would think this privacy policy protects your data,” when it doesn’t, he said. “This is a test of how vague a privacy policy can be. If this counts as fair disclosure, we’re in trouble.”

He said courts are increasingly receptive to the idea that “consent is not valid if the use is not explained. Tech companies always say they are collecting to improve their services, but they want more data to sell you more.”

‘NOTHING NEFARIOUS’

There are those, of course, who believe session replay is not a threat to consumers.

Philip Yannella is a partner and practice co-leader for the Privacy and Data Security Group at the law firm Ballard Spahr LLP in Philadelphia. He believes that a “dark cloud” has been cast over session replay

because it is misunderstood.

“It’s really nothing nefarious,” he said. “It is simply an analytical tool that’s widely used by pretty much every digital content manager in the country.”

Yannella said the goal of session replay is “to try to learn more about user behavior on the websites. Session replay, what it does is basically track users’ clicks, their navigation through the website, any kind of follow through, any links that they’re hitting on the website.”

It then aggregates all of that data, he said, to create, “for lack of better word, a recording of the user’s interaction with the website.”

Yannella cautioned that it does not actually record the user — as in recording his or her face — but everything the user does while on the website. “It can give the impression that somehow your laptop is videoing you while you’re sitting at your computer, but that’s not really what’s happening at all.”

While lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Zillow lawsuits claim that session replay constitutes an invasion of privacy, Yannella says Zillow and other companies will strongly disagree.

“What Zillow would say to the privacy claims is, the user typed in information on the website and they shared that with

the website operator, so there cannot be an expectation of privacy for information that someone voluntarily shares with a website. … The privacy claim may be a bit overstated.”

TRANSPARENCY & CONSENT

When asked about the lawsuits, a Zillow spokesperson said the company is aware of them, adding that it takes the privacy and security of users’ information “very seriously.”

“We are transparent with our users through our privacy policy, which explains to users the types of information we collect as they use our apps and websites,” the spokesperson said.

Yannella said consent is the biggest issue in the session replay lawsuits — including the Harriet Carter Gifts lawsuit.

“Most wiretap laws in the United States, including the Federal Wiretap Law, are one-party consent,” he said. “That means that only one party to the communication has to consent to the wiretapping.”

Pennsylvania, he noted, is one of 11 states that require two-party consent.

“Consent doesn’t have to be ‘express written consent,’” he said. “You don’t have to sign a document that says ‘I consent,’ you

don’t even have to click a box that says, ‘I consent.’ Most of these state laws will allow consent to be inferred.”

He said one defense that NaviStone used in the Harriet Carter Gifts case was that it disclosed what it does in its privacy policies, “and the plaintiff should reasonably have expected” to have their behavior on the website tracked, “because that occurs everywhere on the internet. So the plaintiff certainly must have known about this; indeed, they were told about this in (NaviStone’s) privacy policy.”

For Yannella, that is the bottom line. “Everyone does it,” he said. “Everyone is using website analytics, and everyone, pretty much, is working with companies like … NaviStone to enable targeted advertising. So the scope of these lawsuits is wide-ranging.”

FUNDAMENTAL FLAW

The lawsuits have a fundamental flaw, because “plaintiff’s lawyers are attempting to use laws from the 1960s that were developed 25 to 30 years before the commercial internet really came into its heyday, Yannella said. “They’re trying to, essentially, use these new technologies and cram them into these old laws, and these old laws were not meant at all to deal with targeted advertising or website analytics. These things didn’t even exist back then.”

Because of that, it is “difficult to try to make the analogy that targeted advertising is the same as tape-recording a conversation,” he said. “It’s just not”

If the plaintiffs win, he said, “it’s going to have a significant impact on most online retailers; really, on most online companies. Because it’s getting to the core of online commerce. Everyone is doing it this way.”

The end result if the plaintiffs win, Yannella said, is “you’ll see websites and targeted advertisers probably change their approach. If you’re a website operator, you’ll probably have to get (direct) consent and they’ll probably have to do that through some kind of just-in-time consent, like maybe a cookie banner,” which announces that cookies will be installed if the user continues and requires the user to click a button.

“That’s a pretty clear way to button up this issue,” he said, “and make sure you don’t get sued.”

“IT CAN GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT SOMEHOW YOUR LAPTOP IS VIDEOING YOU WHILE YOU’RE SITTING AT YOUR COMPUTER, BUT THAT’S NOT REALLY WHAT’S HAPPENING AT ALL.”

PHILIP YANNELLA

Philip Yannella

Work-Life Balance And You

IT’S A PROBLEM BEST SOLVED BY WHAT WORKS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

By NIR BASHAN, COLUMNIST, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

a ton of emails from around the world on different issues affecting people at work, and one of the most common is a question from folks wondering how to create the best work-life balance possible. It turns out that they come from all walks of professional life – from Fortune 500 companies all the way to independent contractors who run their own small business. It seems that everyone today is concerned with striking a balance.

Iget

But far too often, the focus of work-life balance is on the failures of a company or institution to implement a useful program to address work life balance. And the stories are strikingly similar across all companies, sizes and industries. Stories about companies that institute incorrect work-life balance measures such as unlimited PTO still have people missing out on personal life events such as birthdays and kids activities. Plus, people are still burning out despite the companies’ best efforts.

So, what can be done? I have a few tips in this area on how to creatively achieve that coveted work life balance:

1. SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS

I have noticed that all the successful people around me have one thing in common: they all work Saturdays and Sundays. Now you may be thinking that this is not a healthy approach especially in an article about work-life balance, that this is the recipe for burnout, and many other such things. But that misses the fundamental insight that creativity can bring when we look at this issue: It’s all about the individual.

Every approach to a work-life balance is individualized. There is no one size fits all approach. Its success rises or falls depending on the individual and their ability to determine their own work life balance.

Usually, when a rule is made by a company (or government) it is too late – the rule is there because someone already ruined it for the rest of us. And breaking the chains of a mandate intended to help is necessary.

It’s like the old adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” – and so here it is the same with a company mandated worklife balance. Instead, do what is right for you

– and control the work life balance on your own terms to emerge stronger in the long run.

2. YOU CAN’T GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

Everything in life involves a tradeoff of some sort – and it is no different here. We are blessed to live in a county where hard work equals results in the long run. And that amount of hard work is determined by us and us alone. You literally get what you give. Yet most work that must be done occurs outside that time frame we deem as traditional or normal working hours. And choosing to work those hours instead of keeping to the 9 to 5 is increasingly important.

NIR BASHAN

1890’s industrial revolution days that pre-date modernity in many ways. But this was an era of kids working in mines and people routinely dying on the job. It took many, many blood-soaked decades to get to where we are today. Take for example the Homestead Strike. One of many in that era.

In the 1890s hundreds of steel workers went on strike in Homestead, Penn., after receiving a slash in their pay. So, they walked out and were met with armed resistance trying to break up the strike. Many people died as steel workers and scabs fought a gun battle because of the lower wage demands of the plant owner, who happened to be Andrew Carnegie.

So, what can be done?

Well, you can’t really get something for nothing. Nothing really comes without affecting the balance of something else. If you work all week and you work the weekends, then you may get burnt out. Or you may not.

But the key here is the balance. So, if you find yourself working weekends consistently, try to balance and recalibrate your schedule to do less during the days you are not so busy. I found this works great for me and allows me to be flexible – therein making my own work-life balance.

Now I know you may be saying that you can’t do that! You work a 9 to 5 with strict hours, and you get calls or emails or texts outside those hours and your work-life balance is off. Well, you have the power to do several things to reinstate that balance. For instance, you can choose not to text back after hours. You can choose to turn off your phone after a certain time each evening (I do this– it costs me work sometimes but is better for my personal work-life balance) or you can choose not to attend each and every meeting on your calendar to help balance that work life approach. The choice is yours – and it will involve some compromise.

3. THE 1890S ARE CALLING Today’s work hours are anchored in the

Today stuff like that doesn’t really happen anymore in the U.S. Employment disputes are handled in a far more civilized way, and yet this Homestead Strike paved the way for the modern unions we have today. You see, we stand on the shoulders of giants. Great improvements thought history, some are really not that old like this one from 140 years ago – have paved the way to the work life we have today.

The point is not if unions are good or not – it’s that someone at some time in history has ushered us to the here and now where we can even debate issues such as work life balance. These workers in 1890 were fighting a very real life and death battle. Today our stakes are far lower.

We live in some of the best times humanity has ever seen on earth. Mobility, health, entrepreneurship, and many other conditions of humanity have never soared as high as they fly today. So, instead of looking to others to help solve the work-life issues you face, look within. Set limits on what works for you as an individual and you will find that your contributions will surprisingly improve your day-to-day bottom line.

Nir Bashan is an all-time Top 100 nonfiction book author and speaker. He helps folks become more creative at work.

NOV 8 2022

Texas’s top gathering for mortgage professionals returns to Houston on November 8, 2022. Don’t miss this exciting, informative event. NMP readers like you can attend for free by using the code NMPOCN.

TE XA S MORTGAGE ROUNDUP

www.txmortgageroundup.com

Complimentary registration available to NMLS-licensed active LOs and their support staff. Show producers reserve the right to determine final eligibility.

NMLS

Where The Housing Market Is Headed

SOFTENING ECONOMY POINTS TO SIGNIFICANT PRICE DECLINES

CliffordRossi is a veteran of the financial services industry who is now a business professor at the University of Maryland. He shared his views on where the U.S. housing market is headed in the coming months.

Q: Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the U.S. housing market will probably go through a ”correction” after a period of ”red hot” price increases. What is your perception of his remarks? Are we headed for a correction?

The first thing to note is that while the housing market is weakening, conditions are very different from those in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis which was precipitated by a meltdown in the US housing market. Home prices in many markets have been driven up by a number of factors, including an abnormally low level of housing inventory as well as some migration from large urban areas to smaller cities and locations during the pandemic. Home prices in many markets according to my housing market model have been driven well beyond market fundamentals, indicating that with the economy softening we should expect a corresponding decline generally speaking of home prices over time. I believe a ”correction” might be too harsh a term to use in this case, but a number of areas that have seen double digit increases year-over-year may see some significant price declines over the next year.

Q: Is a correction necessarily a bad thing? What impact do you see it having on mortgage origination numbers in 2023?

Housing markets are cyclical and like other financial markets there can be periodic pullbacks. Such a reversion to the mean can be beneficial to the extent that it brings home prices back to equilibrium consistent with market demand and supply

drivers. The Fed’s catch-up strategy of boosting interest rates has already had a chilling effect on the mortgage market where demand has fallen off as mortgage rates have risen sharply. I would expect continued weakening of demand over the next 6-12 months as the Fed continues its path toward a more restrictive monetary policy which also includes unwinding its large MBS portfolio.

Q: Are there misconceptions about the U.S. housing market? Is it all bad news ahead?

At this point there isn’t much of a silver lining in the housing market that I see quite yet. A big unknown is the trajectory of the overall economy. If the Fed is unable to engineer a so-called soft landing, I think the housing market could suffer further deterioration in the short-term if unemployment were to rise sharply. If inflationary pressures persist in the economy, the real potential longterm is for a long period of slow growth and higher than normal inflation (stagflation) to take root. Prospective homebuyers, particularly first-time homebuyers and lowand moderate-income households will be challenged by housing affordability issues brought on by higher construction costs and wages that are unable to keep pace with inflation.

Q: What other factors are driving the housing market? You said in July, for example, that bank stress tests could lead to the reduced availability of credit to prospective homeowners.

Some of the effects of the pandemic are still with us. Supply chains that unraveled during the pandemic are starting to come back but slowly and this coupled with rising costs of key commodities and goods for building, remodeling and furnishing homes leads to higher prices. With wages not keeping up with inflation, that reduces borrower purchasing power and when coupled with

MORTGAGE PRODUCT CREATIVITY CAN BE BENEFICIAL AT TIMES, BUT ALSO WIND UP CAUSING SIGNIFICANT PAIN IF NOT CAREFULLY DEVELOPED.

the double whammy of higher mortgage rates dampens housing demand. All of these factors are contributing to abnormal housing market conditions that were already affected by low housing inventory levels.

Q: You might have a good perspective on this from your experience in senior risk management positions at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Does anything need to be done with the GSEs to improve the mortgage marketplace?

Would reforms hurt or help the industry and consumers? The one thing the GSEs and government agencies such as FHA should not do is significantly relax credit underwriting guidelines in an effort to spur market demand. I’ve seen this movie before and it never ends well. Prior to 2008, efforts to provide products such as option ARMs were heralded as affordability products that should never have been provided at scale to the general public. Mortgage product

creativity can be beneficial at times, but also wind up causing significant pain if not carefully developed. These agencies need to assess their appetite for mortgage credit risk and maintain that level while providing access to credit during this period.

Q: What can be done to improve the rental market in the United States? Does anything need to be done? Is it beyond government intervention?

The rental market is a reflection of the state of housing generally and as such presents a real problem in the market today. Unfortunately, I think in the shortterm rental market conditions will remain painfully elevated. The combination of high home prices, low rental housing inventory and a large presence of institutional investors in the housing market have helped distort rental prices over the last several years. Unfortunately, a period of historically low interest rates and excessively and unnecessarily stimulative

fiscal policy contributed to the formation of significant increases in asset prices in many markets over the last few years including equities, fixed-income, real estate and commodities. High inflation and the corresponding low response by the Federal Reserve are forcing a day of reckoning on these markets. The Fed’s course toward stamping out inflation is an unfortunate but necessary path though toward long-term economic and housing market stability.

Clifford Rossi, professor of the practice and executive-in-residence for University of Maryland’s Smith’s Center for Financial Policy, has held senior executive roles in risk management at several of the largest financial services companies. His most recent position was managing director and chief risk officer for Citigroup’s Consumer Lending Group, where he oversaw a global portfolio of mortgage, home equity, student loans and auto loans worth over $300 billion.

Web3 Is The Future of Mobile Mortgages

AI AND BLOCKCHAIN COMBINE PROCESSING, DECISION MAKING

By CURTIS WOOD, CONTRIBUTOR, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

Working together, artificial intelligence and smart contracts are revolutionizing mortgages for customers and lenders alike.

It is inevitable that AI and blockchain will eat the world. Nowhere is that truer than the world of mortgage lending.

The one-two punch of AI’s processing power and blockchain’s decisioning capabilities are automating loan origination in a powerful way.

This new technology is not just digitization. Web3 is repaving the entire street, revolutionizing the world of mortgages—for customers and lenders.

A TIPPING POINT IS COMING SOON

An Uber-like mortgage experience is on the horizon, bringing home lending into the 21st century alongside other apps in wide use today.

For the customer experience, the benefits will be shockingly positive, streaming mortgages directly to their phones—something previously unthinkable without a loan officer. It will also improve affordability, simplicity, and convenience.

Web3 will eliminate the need for a loan officer to process a 1003. If a human is no longer needed to process data, that LOS can power a mobile mortgage where the borrower interfaces with an app instead and can be pre-approved on their own time, not the lenders.

Web3 also has potential to transform processingE with automated conditions clearing by receiving document requests directly from the underwriter via an app instead of a processor phone call or email. Uploaded documents are then processed with OCR programs running on AI

IT IS INEVITABLE THAT AI AND BLOCKCHAIN WILL EAT THE WORLD. NOWHERE IS THAT TRUER THAN THE WORLD OF MORTGAGE LENDING.

and smart contracts before alerting the underwriter.

Now, Web3 has eliminated the third largest cost to originate a loan, the processor.

FOR LENDERS, IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL

Until now, mortgage technology companies have been worried about lender pain points instead of the customers. The fact that the customer experience and complaints haven’t changed much in 20 years is evidence of mortgage technology being focused in the wrong place.

Lenders should be more concerned with delighting their customers with an ideal mobile experience. Steve Jobs said it best when he said that new customer experiences change markets—that’s why he helmed the most valuable company in the world; one that sold a complex product so easy to use it didn’t come with a user manual.

In view of rising mortgage rates, lenders need two things to win the future: an Uber-like customer experience and low rates. Mobile is the only enabler of a new mortgage experience, and Web3 automation drives the ability to lower acquisition costs and offer lower rates. And considering where rates are headed, buyers will be ultra-rate conscious for the foreseeable future.

With this in mind, it’s clear that we’re at an inflection point—some will fail while others scale, and those who leverage Web3 mobile will have staying power for decades–unlike most “digital” lenders today. After all, digital doesn’t equal a mobile mortgage experience.

Looking ahead, advanced LOS automation enhanced with Web3 is already speeding up these processes–and

with startling accuracy. It’s as if AI is the brain of a very smart robot, and a smart contract is the decision-making mechanism–the second key component for solid, reliable loan approvals.

THE WRONG KIND OF DIGITAL MORTGAGE

And so, you may ask, why isn’t the AI/ blockchain combo everywhere?

So far, the problem has been this: Attempting to redesign and repurpose the latest mortgage tech for today’s mobile consumer is a lot like turning the Titanic or trying to turn a battleship into a speedboat. It’s easier to start from scratch by rethinking the entire thing.

For the past 20 years, some technology companies have been trying to figure out how to automate loan origination, but the one thing they’ve never moved away from is the trust component placed on that human loan officer, along with the process dependency on the processor. It’s a point of contention with many banks.

The fear is that a lack of human review will increase the inherent risk one engages in when lending—i.e., if you disposition a file incorrectly or render an inaccurate decision of credit, there’s liability. Nobody wants to get stuck in an agreement that they don’t actually agree with, not to mention the monetary aspect of some mistakes.

Ironically, the surest way you can actually lower that risk is to employ a smart contract at precise moments in the lifecycle of data that handle critical qualifying information that impact pricing. Blockchain has no human biases, no data misreads, and is fully encrypted before it’s ever executed. In fact, the blockchain itself doesn’t know what it’s

looking at, as it’s buried in the strictest banklevel encryption.

Despite all the checks a file goes through prior to closing, human error is still the #1 cause of defects, cures, buybacks, and lender liability. This is where blockchain is different: you can trust it. Humans make mistakes, but in code we trust.

Silicon Valley has a lot of smart software engineers with a lot of funding, but the question has to be asked, why hasn’t the industry been impacted with an Uber-like moment yet?

The reason is two-fold: 1) Lender resistance to major change, which impacts the second reason, 2) Mortgage technology companies making software they can sell. This software is not innovative, which is what the industry and borrowers desperately need. This is also why the industry hasn’t been truly disrupted by mobile.

These brilliant engineers operate with the fear that they can’t be too different or else the lenders won’t use them. Even worse, they don’t intimately understand either the mortgage process or the borrower. They have no vision for changing the industry—they just want to alleviate aspects of the journey in order to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible for their VC backers.

UNIFIED TECH STACK

The mortgage app of the future is a single, unified tech stack oriented around the underwriter, not the loan officer and processor. No more independent point-ofsale and LOS. Each data touch point will be optimized around Web3 capabilities to automate data faster and better than a loan officer or a processor.

With a Web3 enhanced LOS, cycle times

are reduced, acquisition costs are lowered, and the most important person in the process—the underwriter—is given central status.

THE HARD PART

Mortgage professionals have been resistant to the very change that would cannibalize the industry, and who can blame them?

As with all advances in automation, there will be impacts to the industry as an estimated 70-80% of mortgage jobs get eliminated, much like robotics replaced the assembly line worker.

The digital mortgage designs that are constructed with a loan officer and processor in mind are doomed for failure. In fact, the key to automating the origination process is to eliminate the historic dependency on the loan officer and the processor.

Very soon, the only two people needed to originate a mortgage will be an underwriter and a closer.

Lenders using a loan officer and a processor will almost always be abandoned for the lower rate mobile option, the same way customers gravitate to Uber, Robinhood, Carvana, and many other apps.

It’s a bittersweet loss because the current customer experience has been a bad tangle in many ways. Banks and lenders info dump with a barrage of emails and documents, creating confusing, stressful, and complex hassles for new buyers. Yes, there are good and bad loan officers. And yes, the good ones know how to manage your expectations and get your deal done—they also know the pitfalls and landmines and how to handle them.

The trouble is—when it comes to loan officers you may not get a good one, and if you get a bad one, then what? You’re stuck.

Web3 is already here, and the more that lenders use it, the smarter these LOS’s will get—a rapid acceleration that will ultimately render the old model obsolete.

It’s important to remember that 5 out of the top 10 lenders in America today were not around 10 years ago. Lenders ignoring this advanced LOS design with Web3 and a new mobile customer experience are the walking dead. They just don’t know it yet.

Curtis Wood, CEO + Founder, Beemortgageapp. com

CURTIS WOOD

CONTINUED

MortgageBanker

Pennymac TPO Introduces POWER+, The Next Generation In Broker Technology

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. announced the launch of POWER+ by Pennymac TPO, its next generation broker technology platform. Brokers will now have more speed and control over the mortgage process to deliver an exceptional experience to their customers and referral partners.

POWER+ offers an enhanced guided workflow that is intuitive and significantly speeds up mortgage processing time at every step. This allows brokers to complete loan setup, lock and disclose in a matter of minutes. Additionally, it reduces processing time from loan creation to credit submission by as much as 40%. The platform’s robust contextual validation capabilities ensure Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) accuracy before submission. As a result, the loan process is more efficient, precise, manageable and convenient.

Pennymac’s unique, custom fee screen enables brokers to accept, add and edit fees directly onto a screen that looks exactly like a loan estimate. Brokers will have more control with the option to self-serve using Pennymac’s default fees or selecting the platform’s dynamic search feature to pull in fees from over 25,000 settlement service providers across the country. These combined features allow brokers to deliver fee accuracy to their borrowers.

POWER+ also offers the ability to manage and monitor third-party activities. The platform’s settlement agent fee collaboration tool allows brokers, settlement agents and Pennymac to balance the final closing disclosure in a traceable system. Real-time communication with all parties in the balancing process improves transparency, eliminates back-and-forth emails and speeds up the closing process.

TECHNOLOGY ROUNDUP

title companies to lenders in connection with mortgage payoffs. These scams involve fraudsters impersonating the mortgage lender as part of a real estate closing, in hopes of having the payoff wire transfer redirected to the fraudster’s bank account.

“We’ve helped recover nearly $50 million in loan payoff fraud, and now we have the solution to prevent it,” said Tyler Adams, CEO of CertifID. “For large sum loans such as mortgages, payoff wiring instructions verification has remained a laborious and vulnerable process. Thanks to PayoffProtect, the days of mortgage payoff fraud are finally over.”

”We’ve been able to leverage the platform to create business for our loan officers that may have otherwise been missed. This solution allows us to gain insights on borrowers in a way that we would never be able to achieve organically. Not only does it help us determine that our customers may have a mortgage need, but it seamlessly sets them on a journey, putting our loan officers front of mind,” said Jelaire Grillo, brand ambassador at Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC. “In the last two weeks alone, Customer Intelligence uncovered 1,200 opportunities we may have never known about and resurfaced customers that many of our loan officers haven’t had contact with in years. We have definitely found the formula to deliver value to our loan officers and empower them to grow their business.”

CertifID Launches Wire Fraud Protection Solution

CertifID, a leader in wire fraud protection, launched another technology solution breakthrough with the unveiling of PayoffProtect, which gives title, escrow and settlement companies peace of mind by preventing property loan payoffs from being sent to fraudsters.

The new PayoffProtect solution combines CertifID’s expert knowledge and suite of intellectual property. The latter includes machine learning capabilities that are now being leveraged to automate and standardize the mortgage payoff demand letter verification process. In more than 95% of cases, the company’s validation engine software authenticates loan payoff wiring instructions.

Developed as a result of CertifID’s intrapreneurial culture, PayoffProtect is designed in response to customer feedback about an unaddressed area of vulnerability for real estate wire transfers. PayoffProtect addresses the sharp increase in fraud surrounding wire transfers made from

Snapdocs Integrates With Byte To Deliver More Efficient Closings

Snapdocs, a digital closing platform, has announced an integration with Byte Software.

The integration will enable lenders to use Snapdocs within Byte’s loan origination system (LOS) to streamline and automate the closing process for cost reduction and an improved borrower experience, the companies said.

Snapdocs’ open platform and partnerships with all major real estate technology providers enable lenders to leverage AI to automate time-intensive, error-prone tasks, connect with the largest settlement network, and get to full digital closing adoption with Snapdocs, it said.

“We believe lenders should be able to work out of their preferred platforms while automating closing tasks and delivering a seamless borrower experience,” said Todd Maki, vice president of business development & partnerships at Snapdocs.

“We’re excited to enable Byte lenders to use Snapdocs within Byte’s LOS to digitize their closing process.”

Advisors Mortgage Group Releases

‘Lighthouse,’ A Proprietary App, POS Software Advisors Mortgage Group, based in Ocean Township, New Jersey, announces the release of its new proprietary mobile app and point of sale software called “Lighthouse.” The conception and development of this launch were led by Wayne Steagall, technology director at Advisors.

“Our goal was to build an online application that is completely user friendly and guides the borrower through the process to ensure a stress-free experience on the consumer side,” stated Steagall. “After building a few of these systems before, I was able to leverage that experience in order to develop and deploy Lighthouse for our loan officers in the span of 12 months.”

Sean Clark, vice president of Advisors, said, “We thought the name Lighthouse would perfectly capture the essence of guiding someone into homeownership. Coincidentally, lighthouses have a special meaning to the Meyer/Clark families, so the name is all that more special to us. Bringing this technology in-house and integrating it with our proprietary CRM, AVA, that sits on the Salesforce platform will elevate our customer service to a new level because we don’t have to depend on a third party to solve any issues or questions that may arise.”

Total Expert’s Customer Intelligence Wins Innovation Challenge

Total Expert, the only CRM and customer engagement platform purpose-built for modern financial institutions, has been named the winner of the Innovation Challenge, sponsored by LendingTree, at the 2022 Digital Mortgage conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Total Expert launched Customer Intelligence earlier this year to provide lenders with the intent and behavior data they need to connect with consumers at key moments of opportunity. Customer Intelligence allows lenders such as Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC to identify and close more loans based on customer insights.

The release of the mobile app will allow borrowers to upload documents, check their loan status, and receive push notifications from their loan officer, among other great features. Advisors’ loan officers will be able to issue pre-qualifications from the app which is extremely beneficial to both borrowers, realtors, and the loan officers.

Study Outlines One Way Employers Can Head Off ‘Quiet Quitting’

Arecent

study from North Carolina State University finds that companies can address “quiet quitting” among employees by ensuring employees spend time with other people who identify with the company. The findings can inform everything from office layouts to assigning mentors to new employees.

“We’re not fans of the term ‘quiet quitting,’ since it seems dismissive of employees who are fulfilling their roles in a company,” says Erin Powell, co-author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of entrepreneurship in NC State’s Poole College of Management. “That said, it is clear that companies can benefit significantly when employees go above and beyond what’s required of them. And our study offers insights into what gives employees that sense of purpose and drive that can benefit their employers.”

“Fundamentally, we wanted to know how one’s relationships with co-workers affect the extent to which one identifies with an employer and, by extension, the extent to which one is helpful at work,” says Tom Zagenczyk, co-author of the paper and a professor of management in NC State’s Poole College of Management. “Historically, attempts to explore ‘organizational identification’ – or the extent to which your organization is part of your identity – have focused on how employees perceive the organization’s reputation and how they view

the way they’re treated at work. We really wanted to explore possible social influences.”

To that end, the researchers conducted an in-depth social network study of 91 employees at a company that employs a total of 97 people. Study participants were given a survey designed to capture the role of each employee, how they related to the company, and how they interacted with other employees. For example, questions assessed the extent to which each employee identified with the company; how they viewed their treatment by the employer; how helpful co-workers were; and how they fit into the structure of the organization.

The researchers then used statistical tools to account for potentially confounding variables and to identify factors that affected organizational identification and helpfulness at work.

“One key finding was that a given employee’s organizational identification was similar to the organizational identification of the people who give that employee advice in the workplace,” Zagenczyk says. “In other words, it appears that the people an employee turns to for help at work have a significant influence on how the employee feels about the company.”

“That’s important because it is wellestablished that the more a person identifies with their company, the more likely they are to go beyond the call of duty at work,” Powell says. “And that helps the employer’s bottom line.

“This finding has practical applications, since employers have myriad ways of influencing how employees interact with each other. For example, employers decide where people’s desks or offices are located, they can determine who is assigned to mentor new hires, and so on.”

The researchers also found that, when people occupy similar places in their employer’s social network, they exhibit similar levels of helpful behavior. That was true regardless of how closely the individuals identified with the employer.

“We think this demonstrates that workplace behavior can also be influenced by observing the behavior of peers, regardless of whether they interact directly with those peers,” Zagenczyk says. “This highlights the importance of establishing those positive social interactions we mentioned earlier – the effects can extend beyond the people directly involved in the interaction.

“One reason companies are freaking out about quiet quitting is that many workplaces have moved away from clearly defined job descriptions to adopt team-based, decentralized organizational structures,” Zagenczyk says. “In that sort of environment – in which many tasks don’t fall within any employee’s defined job description – a lack of ‘organizational citizenship’ in employees can really hurt the company. Employers can address this challenge by better understanding the informal social networks that influence the way people feel about their employers. Studies like this one will help managers do that.”

The paper, “Social Networks and Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Organizational Identification,” is published open access in the journal Human Resource Management.

ERIN POWELL

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1002/hrm.22144

EMPLOYEES NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH OTHERS INVESTED IN THE COMPANY

‘WE’RE NOT FANS OF THE TERM QUIET QUITTING, SINCE IT SEEMS DISMISSIVE OF EMPLOYEES WHO ARE FULFILLING THEIR ROLES IN A COMPANY.’

Scaled US Non-Bank Mortgage Lenders To Weather Housing Market Fallout DROP IN MORTGAGE ORIGINATIONS IN 2022 CONTINUES TO SURPASS FITCH RATING’S EXPECTATIONS

TheU.S. housing market appreciation and the rapid increase in mortgage rates have reduced housing affordability and accelerated the plunge of mortgage origination volumes. These trends have exacerbated industry overcapacity, further pressuring nonbank mortgage lenders’ financial results and leading to operating losses, testing even the bestpositioned lenders, Fitch Ratings says.

Issuers with leading market positions within their respective lending channels should be able to withstand current market conditions and potentially gain share aided by scalable technology platforms, diversification from servicing cash flows, balance sheet strength and access to liquidity that affords them the flexibility to mitigate operating losses. Industry consolidation and the exit of weaker, sub-scale players lacking capital and liquidity to absorb operating losses is expected to continue.

Home price appreciation of around 40% from median 2019 levels according to Black Knight was partly due to the transition to remote work, which drove 15 percentage points of national housing price growth during this time, according to the San Francisco Fed. Median U.S. home prices, while still up 12.1% YoY, fell 0.98% sequentially in August, after falling 1.05% in July, the largest monthly declines since July 2009, according to Black Knight. Housing inventory is also rising due to lack of affordability and waning consumer confidence. A significant portion of the housing market is locked into historically low mortgage rates, with transaction volumes expected to remain low over the medium term.

The drop in U.S. mortgage originations in 2022 continues to surpass Fitch’s expectations, and is likely to fall beneath published industry estimates, as application volume has declined 69% from the January 2021 peak, according to Mortgage Bankers Association. Declining revenue from lower origination volumes is outpacing expense cuts. Weakening gain on sale margins from intense competition, has led to outsized pressure in the wholesale channel, with margins also pressured by higher repurchase charges.

MORTGAGE ORIGINATIONS, GOS MARGINS CONTINUE TO FALL

Layoffs, channel exits and asset sales have accelerated, even with better capitalized players. Citi, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are reducing staff and operations, while Santander exited the U.S. mortgage market in February and partnered with Rocket to issue mortgages for its customers. Smaller players such as real-estate tech startup Reali and Sprout Mortgage have shuttered, while First Guaranty Mortgage Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. LoanDepot exited the wholesale channel, with plans to sell its $1 billion pipeline and to refocus on consumer/retail channels.

Consolidated leverage ratios remain below rating downgrade triggers for the rated universe, supported by smaller origination pipelines and reduced warehouse borrowings. Corporate non-funding leverage is increasing for some issuers as mortgage servicing rights (MSR) balances grow and operating losses erode tangible equity, which could further pressure smaller, sub-scale players lacking capital.

NONBANK MORTGAGE CO. UNSECURED FUNDING, LEVERAGE

Rising rates and lower prepayment speeds increase the value of MSRs, and have

resulted in incremental liquidity support for mortgage companies as they can sell MSRs or borrow against them using secured facilities. However, this could be tested if operating losses continue for an extended period.

Market risk exposure has risen in 2022 for rated mortgage companies with servicing operations, as MSRs now represent more than 100% of tangible equity on average. Valuation volatility in the MSR portfolio has a direct effect on leverage as fair value changes flow directly into the issuer’s equity base. There are limited positive potential adjustments to MSRs given prepayment assumptions are at historic lows of 6% - 8%, but any reversal would quickly inflate issuer leverage. Some mortgage companies partially or fully hedge those risks with derivatives while others utilize natural hedges with the origination platform, but leverage sensitivity varies widely across the sector.

Non-bank mortgage funding and liquidity profiles and heavy reliance on secured funding and non-committed credit facilities remain rating constraints. An inability to extend or refinance maturing debt facilities or to maintain sufficient liquidity to fund operational and contingent needs would be viewed negatively, as would higher levels of secured funding. Positively, near-term unsecured debt maturities are limited for the sector.

In this issue, Mortgage Banker Magazine highlights the women who are making an impact. We recognize and honor the Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking — it’s important for women to see women leaders within the industry, especially in areas where they may not expect to see them in great numbers, such as technology, finance and the c-suite.

See the women who are moving the needle by setting an example, holding the door open for their peers and the next generation of powerful women in mortgage banking. Meet the powerful women who have blazed the path and left their mark on the industry for years to come.

CHERYL MESSNER

EVP of Customer Success and Experience Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

The mortgage banking industry is on the precipice of achieving gender equality as more lenders take action to expand diversity internally and among their borrowers. However, there is more work to do. The biggest issues holding our industry back are leaders who fail to offer equal opportunity to women and the women opting not to push for advancement opportunities to avoid “rocking the boat.” We must rock this boat if we hope to make gender distinctions obsolete.

Fortunately, there are many outstanding women who are striving to make the mortgage industry more welcoming. By collaborating, supporting, and uplifting one another, I believe we can close the gender gap in the mortgage industry in our lifetimes.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

To achieve career stability, both women and men in the mortgage industry should make an effort to keep learning new things. Even if you have been a mortgage professional for many years, changes in the market and technological innovations make it so there is always something new to discover. Taking continuing education classes and attending industry conferences are effective ways to stay sharp. Plus, women-focused industry associations and events give lenders and technologists an opportunity to gain insight from people who value women’s perspectives.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

One of the biggest obstacles is making it up the first step of the corporate ladder. At the same time, many women leaders made significant efforts to support their own families as well as their employees and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic but have not been recognized for their efforts. In my role overseeing Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach’s customer success and experience teams, one of my top priorities is ensuring our team members know they are supported and appreciated. This approach has allowed us to become a more cohesive team that values each individual’s contributions.

CRISTINA GILLIAM

Chief Compliance Officer

Strong Home Mortgage, LLC

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

The same advice I give to myself today – make bold choices, don’t judge yourself in comparison to others and never compromise when it comes to respect. Every choice I’ve made, right or wrong, success or failure has led me to where I am today and the person I have become.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

Over the past 25 years, I have seen more women enter senior leadership roles, yet women still account for only a small percentage of executive C-level positions. A business is always best served by treating its employees as individuals and not preassigning or assuming certain job roles based on gender. We must recognize the value in raising the profile of women. Having more diverse perspectives to weigh in on key decisions leads to a wider variety of value creation strategies, increased innovation and openness to change and growth.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

When opportunities present themselves, take them. Be willing to learn and take on new challenges outside your comfort zone. I embraced every learning opportunity given to me by working in multiple facets of the mortgage industry which ultimately led to finding my passion in regulatory compliance. It is through those prior experiences and studying other leaders that helped me build a stronger understanding of the industry which paved the path to my current role. Be observant. Some of the best lessons come from observing others work through complex and difficult situations. Be assertive and find your passion. Be willing to work hard, ask questions, persevere through tough times and don’t be fearful of taking some risks.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

I foster an environment that supports one’s successes by coaching and investing in their development. I enjoy guiding and empowering others to drive their advancement by encouraging further education, training and professional growth.

CRISTY WARD Chief Strategy Officer

Mortgage Connect LP

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

My advice would be to stop second-guessing yourself. I see high-achieving women constantly doubting their abilities and finding it difficult to accept their accomplishments or accolades. Sadly, it sometimes takes age and experience to say to yourself, “I really deserve a seat at this table, because I am the best at what I do.” So, I would tell my younger self to be bold and know your value. Have confidence in your talents and what you can bring to an organization.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

We have a major issue with female entrepreneurship. I see very few women at the CEO or ownership level within the top 30 mortgage banking firms. There are two factors at play. One, it’s not only getting to that C-Level position, but also having true autonomy to run the business. Too many times I have seen women get the title but not the authority – that’s a problem unique to women. Secondly, we need to help

create and educate about pathways to entrepreneurship in this industry. I founded a nonprofit called Women Empowering Women two years ago with that vision in mind. Ten percent of our women have advanced into entrepreneurship, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s a movement that needs to get started industry wide.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would like to see more women taking risks and believing in themselves. Whether it’s believing in themselves to push a little harder to get the promotion they deserve, taking a risk by speaking up when they know they should, or by betting on their own talent and starting a business. Maybe this article is read by just one woman who is sitting on the fence and asking herself the question, “Should I do it?” Yes, you should; let this be your sign. Believe in yourself, take no prisoners, and never look back.

Cristina Gilliam

ERIKA DE LA MORA Deputy Director

Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible? I could tell young people that the sky is the limit and never stop dreaming and attracting good energies from the people they meet. Always focus on your work and show what you are capable of.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I think that today there is no longer a distinction, and I would dare to say that women have more job opportunities in this industry.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Continue preparing for what you are most passionate about. Understands that life is one and that you have to enjoy it intensely. That’s why it is essential always follow what you like because if you do it. It will be the best career ever.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

It was indeed balancing work time, being mothers and wives. But the pandemic taught us a good lesson, which was the opportunity to work from home and show that we can continue to be successful and spend more time with the family.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

As a change, I would like to see more women in executive positions demonstrate that we are capable of maintaining a stable industry despite inflation and interest and not forgetting what the pandemic taught us with the family theme.

GENA SCHAUBLIN Mortgage Professional V.I.P. Mortgage

Gena was nominated for her award by Jennifer Lyn R Adarna, vice president - tech assessment & advisory services, at Wells Fargo. She said, “Gena has always been a trailblazer in the mortgage industry. She has over 26 years of experience in the credit, finance, and mortgage realm. She specializes in helping clients get the highest credit score to secure the best rate and is with her clients before, during, and after the home buying transaction. Her motto is … ‘Your mortgage banker for life’.”

Jennifer added, “She is especially supportive of first-time home buyers by helping them build their personal real estate portfolio. She’s served thousands of clients throughout the years in California and Arizona but she also is well-networked nationwide. “Knowing the need to educate the people she wrote the book ‘The Other “F” Word: Understanding your FICO score will save you from “F’ing” yourself financially’ which was published in March 2021. This breaks down what a bank expects from you if you want a loan and how to decipher the FICO credit system, in a fun and playful way. By the time you’ve flipped to the last page, you’ll start to feel financially fit and on your way to a solid credit score and homeownership!”

Jennifer outlined many things that make Gena stand out as a significant contributor to the mortgage banking industry. She said, “She is not your average mortgage loan officer, she values the relationship she builds with her clients and will meet you in person or virtually. Her enthusiasm and love for business is very obvious when you meet her and in her social media footprint. She is active on all social media platforms, where she educates her following.

“Another huge accomplishment was when the market collapsed in 2008, she opened a mortgage company in Arizona and California during a time where home values plummeted and the mortgage industry was virtually restructured. If this doesn’t showcase how big her heart is, in 2018 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and although she endured several surgeries she was still servicing her clients while fighting for her life.”

GINGER BELL Founder, CEO Edumarketing

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I have always been blessed to surround myself with those who do not see gender as a distinction, and I think there are a majority in our industry who think the same. I think our bigger focus should be on the disparity in housing and how we are going to address that concern. We have a lot of work to do in that front.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Steps that anyone can take for career stability is to be adaptable. Our industry is constantly changing, and you have to look ahead to what is coming. We are constantly looking at the next trends to help our clients stand out and those who adapt quickly are the winners.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

I belong to and host several women mentoring groups where we focus on developing skills to stand out. The bigger problem is how are we supporting the next generation. What are we doing to develop mentoring programs for them. How are we going to pass on homeownership to the next generation? I have a few groups that we are mentoring new LO’s on how to create videos and use social media. We have scripts we’ve created to help new LO’s easily do video without having to know a lot, but it’s more than LO’s. There are marketing, underwriting, and processing. So many positions that we will be replacing as our industry ages into retirement. That is a bigger problem our industry is facing.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I’d like to see more women speaking at events. So many times, I am the one woman out of 10 men speaking on stage. We need to help women find a voice on stage and we need industry events focused on inviting women to speak.

JACQUELINE ELEZAJ Operations Manager

Black Mountain Capital

Jacqueline is a fierce woman who knows her stuff. She sets expectations and delivers on them. Her responsibilities ensure that every client is treated with a level of professionalism and attention that promote lasting relationships. Jacqueline’s theory is simple: Maximum Performance creates Maximum Results.

Jacqueline Elezaj has earned the nickname “Jackie of all trades” in her versatile role at Black Mountain Capital, according to a feature in the Commercial Observer.

It said Jacqueline handles files from start to finish on Black Mountain’s commercial real estate transactions, starting with the preliminary underwriting process. She helps finalize offers and works through appraisal disputes when they arise.

“If needed, I go through and ensure insurance, title and legal are completed without issues, and the coordination of the closing,” Jacqueline said. “I interject when any hiccups arise with any thirdparty items so loans get to the table as quickly as possible.”

Below, Jacqueline shares some thoughts with Mortgage Banker. What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Maximum Performance creates Maximum Results! Be persistant and don’t be afraid to go after what you want or fail.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I don’t think this industry is any different from any other industry as far as gender. The workforce was usually predominantly male, and over the years that has changed, as it still is now. I think what sets aside many women from their male counterparts, is that many women are afraid to be assertive.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Persistence! Use any resources available to you. Ask questions. Put in the hours, but make time for yourself.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Again - I think many women are afraid to be assertive in this industry. Its cutthroat.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I’d like to see more women in the industry overall, in more senior roles vs supporting roles.

JANNA VALENCIA CEO Fairhaven Mortgage LLC

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Never lose consciousness of your passion. There will be many experiences that can take you on the wrong path and lead you to a pace that will cause your experiences to be hard lessons.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I believe that we have made strides in our industry with regard to gender. Women are now taking a larger percentage of the positions in sales and management which is following the trends in the workforce mid and upper-level positions. We are not there yet but headed in that direction.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

I believe that career stability is simply ones dedication to the career they are dedicated to. If I were to define steps for this, they would be;

Determine the outcome you desire

Decide why you must achieve it

Plan the action

Determine what you will need to get there

Find and associate with those who have achieved what you desire

Overcome the obstacles before they present themselves

Take massive action

Do not allow fear or doubt to stop you

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Women in our industry are hungry and desire support and encouragement to achieve the level of success they desire. My business model has built in coaching for everyone, not just high achievers. It also includes dedicated support team to allow them to dedicate on what they do best, creative and nurture the relationships that lead to more business for them and our business.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

2023 will bring with it much opportunity. I would like to see women preparing now to take full advantage of the year to come. Change does not come with big differences but small, precise action that leads to significant change.

JENNIFER LOPEZ KOUCHIS SVP, Real Estate Lending VyStar Credit Union

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

I would scream to my younger self: never second guess your ability, challenge the status quo, and push for meaningful change. Although my path was difficult at times, it taught me a great lesson in resilience. There were those that didn’t always respect me for my differences, but over time, they supported my vision. I now recognize that feeling confident in myself and my abilities were significant in advancing my career to the next level.

What steps can women take for better career stability? Raise your hand for opportunities without hesitation. Get comfortable with putting yourself in more demanding situations, that is where others will see your real potential! Build your network and leverage your connections, they can advocate with you and for you. Ask for feedback and learn to accept criticism. Lastly, be authentic, your uniqueness could be what others respect in you! Authentic leaders promote openness amongst teams, collaboration, and equity, which in-turn promotes trust and results in increased team performance.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Women having an equal “seat at the table” to voice their unique perspective and expand their reach has been a challenge within our industry. As a Hispanic American, I recognize the importance and have made a personal commitment to promoting inclusivity in the workplace. I have a passion for being a voice for women by advocating for change, promoting opportunities and being authentic with my thoughts and views to create productive conversations for change. I have been involved with several organizations and boards that promote an environment in which women are valued, promoted and able to achieve their full potential.

I participate in leadership development, knowledge sharing, mentorship, and succession planning to support empowering women to have a voice. Lastly, I have worked to provide opportunities for internal and external speakers to talk about overcoming adversity, being a female leader and career or industry-related topics.

JENNIFER STRACENSKY COO

CrossCountry Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

The one piece of advice is to remember to “always be true to yourself”. You need to take account of what your background and authentic self-bring to the table. We must learn to accept our differences and recognize them as our strongest assets. Behaving according to your beliefs and doing what you think is right will always lead you in the right direction whether it’s in relationships, school, work, and throughout your life.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

One of the best steps that women can take for career stability is to be invaluable. Continued professional development is critical for not only your professional development but also for strengthening your position within your organization. I am continuously developing and reimagining our operations programs to stay current with new technology and trends within the industry. If you are knowledgeable in the skills needed for your position, you will always be an essential part of the team.

It is also extremely beneficial to attend

conferences and seminars. Not only is this an additional way to expand your skillset but it’s a great place to network.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

I want women to know that it is possible to grow within the mortgage industry into the place where I am today, but the first step is to learn the basics. To address this challenge, I have made it a focus of my career to assist individuals’ professional development.

At CCM I have implemented an operations training program for aspiring young professionals who have entry-level work experience and are ready to advance their career. The training program is a way to explore what area of the industry is the best fit to set them up for success throughout their career path. It provides them with a fun and entrepreneurial environment where young professionals are empowered to do their best work.

KAREN CHIU

Business Development Manager

American Funding

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

I would tell myself to not get discouraged by the big and small obstacles that will attempt to deter your road to success. As a first-generation minority woman immigrant, I have always had to work harder to earn respect. I came to this country with just my desire to succeed, and due to my determination to continuously push forward, I have been able to achieve and inspire others. It was definitely not an easy task, so I would like to remind my younger self to stay strong and positive.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

We have made significant progress in recent years with an increased number of women as top mortgage banking executives and originators. Earlier in my career when I was working for a major bank, I remember obtaining an opportunity of a pitch meeting with a builder, yet I was told that I have to go with three male colleagues to increase our chances of landing the account. This paradigm is extinct due to the women pioneers of our business and their continued success. The industry recognizes

women as equally capable. As more women step up to assume leadership positions, there will be a distinction.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them? In many instances, women were viewed as the support staff of male colleagues. As in ice skating, Nathan Chen said Michelle Kwan is the Asian representation that inspired him to pursue Olympic gold. In Mortgage Banking, I believe top women originators would be the representation that can inspire other women to step up and break the glass ceiling. I have been part of speaking panels to encourage other women that you can have it all - family and career. I share habits, tools and techniques that would provide long-term sustaining results.

KATHERINE GARDNER EVP, Chief Production Officer Arc Home LLC

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

I would strongly encourage her to stop interrupting and instead take a breath and listen more closely. I would suggest that she find a friendly colleague who is a strong extrovert and recommend she partner with them at industry networking occasions. My younger and notso-young self still prefers 1:1 conversation over group events. In my 20s and 30s, I needed a good reminder that your boss is not your therapist or your best friend. When you need to vent or need real mental support seek it from your dearest friends or a great therapist and save the precious time with your boss for driving the betterment of the organization.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

If leaders of all gender would take time to role play self-advocacy and compensation conversations with the next generation we could create a sea-change in young female leaders. So many women struggle to communicate the value of their contributions. We are often uncomfortable stating the facts about our stellar results! This carries over into clearly and

effectively communicating our compensation expectations. If you want to have a positive impact on someone today, open the door with them to role play communicating their top success in the last quarter or offer to let them practice discussing a compensation increase with you. They will thank you for years to come.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Pay inequality exists in our industry. Resolution starts with asking the tough questions. Our c-suite engages in open conversations and we have created an environment that allows for tough conversations. We recognize that equal-opportunity is an everyone issue not just a human resource issue.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

Fintech is shaping our industry in a significant way. Creating awareness and education for women in this segment of our industry would create tremendous opportunity for the next generation of mortgage leaders.

KATY PARSONS Mortgage Advisor Advantage Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

If I could give my younger self advice, it would be to dive in deeper to hobbies earlier in my career. Having a common hobby is a fantastic way to find like-minded individuals that you actually enjoy doing business with. Diving into photography has opened up a client pool that I adore and has been such a great way to consistently produce original content that sparks conversations with non-photographers. This could be true for any hobby. Bottom line don’t put your passions aside for too long when you’re building a career. Work them in as part of your routine and embrace the relationships that come as a result.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I think we are close. For me personally, I have never seen gender as a hurdle in the industry. I have always been true to myself, and that has served me incredibly well as a loan officer. Maybe I have been lucky to work with the people I have worked with, but from day one I feel like I have always been on equal footing with any of the other producers I have been around.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

In an industry where there is so much turnover during market shifts I think it is important to always add value, and never assume someone else will feed you. I quickly learned that if I depended on my employer to feed me leads, then if I ever changed companies, then I would suddenly lose my income stream. That level of dependence is a vulnerability that scares me.

Maintaining my own database and fostering my own relationships ensures a level of independence ensures stability regardless of what the market does or who you work for. And while I am fiercely independent, I also think it is really important to give back and help communities grow within the industry. Always add value and be someone who lifts others up.

LAIRD NOSSULI CEO iEmergent

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I believe the mortgage industry is close to gender equality, but it will need an extra push to make it there. Whether that push comes in the form of hiring policy changes, diversity training initiatives or scholarship programs for women studying finance, each individual organization must do its part to expand gender equality.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

The number one tip I would offer to women striving to make a stable career in housing finance is to always think several steps ahead. Achieving a successful mortgage banking career is like playing chess in that the moves you make do not always pay off right away. While it is important to consider the current market context, mortgage professionals are much more likely to succeed with a forward-thinking strategy than by making hasty decisions. Think about where you want to be in one, five, even 10 years — then build a logical foundation to reach those goals. Aside from that, asking for advice when you need it and learning from your mistakes is a great way to learn and show dedication to your role.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

A big problem in mortgage banking today is the all-too-common belief that the primary cause of the gendered employment gap is simply that fewer women want to get involved. In fact, the main reason women are underrepresented is that they feel opportunities for advancement are too limited in this historically male-dominated field.

By offering lenders a solution that helps them identify opportunities to expand homeownership for the most underserved homebuyer markets, primarily Black women, my team and I are fostering a more inclusive industry that extends more wealth-building opportunities to all minority borrowers. As a female CEO of a company founded on principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, I get the opportunity to lead by example and, hopefully, empower more women to join the mortgage and fintech industries.

LAURA MARTELL EVP

Mountain West Financial, Inc.

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible? Keep focusing on the things you love, and don’t forget to use your voice. Don’t be afraid to build relationships with the people you spend your days with and reach beyond your four walls – there is a huge group of aligned, supportive, and passionate people. As an industry we stand taller together.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I think, as an industry, we are getting closer to a point where gender does not create any additional barriers. I see more opportunities being made available for women to get involved within advocacy groups and trade organizations.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

As women in general, we do not advocate for ourselves as much of our counterparts do. To achieve better career stability don’t be afraid to state your intentions, desires for growth, and overall plans. And most importantly, don’t forget that your voice matters in day-to-day decisions and operations as well as in the future direction for your organization.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

There is still the perception that certain tasks are better suited for women. An example is taking notes in meetings. To help remedy the small and large perceptions it’s ideal to bring it up in the moment. Another method is being open and available for others to ask questions or talk about situations. Sometimes it is helpful to have an outside opinion and sounding board.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

2022 and 2023 are going to be periods of change. I think women need to be involved in this evolution to be able to bring a deeper side of empathy and new perspectives as companies are redefining, reinventing and building new organizations. This includes having women involved in all levels from newly entering the industry, middle management, and all the way to key decision makers and founders.

LAUREN MAXWELL EVP

CrossCountry Mortgage

Lauren was nominated by Liz Cashman, a customer concierge manager at CrossCountry mortgage. She had this to say: “Lauren Maxwell has 35 years of lending experience. She is the leader of the Maxwell Mortgage Team of CrossCountry Mortgage. She is the Number 1 Female Loan Original in the State of Florida for both 2020 & 2021. Overall, she was ranked Number 4 in the State in 2021.

“Lauren leads by example. She often invites team members in her office so they can observe how she prequalifies someone. She rewards people who show a willingness to learn by giving them advancement opportunities. She loves watching people learn & grow within her team.”

Liz had this to add about Lauren. She said, “Lauren goes the extra mile for her customers. If their credit score is too low, she will provide them with a “what if’’ simulation that shows what must be done in order to boost their score. She is known as the one who can make a deal happen when others have said no. She has worked with some clients for a couple of years in order to get them qualified. She never gives up on a client.

The following is from our sister publication, Mortgage Women Magazine:

Lauren Maxwell is simply the best at what she does. She has 35 years of mortgage industry experience and is consistently recognized as a top producer. And 2021 was Lauren’s most successful year to date, she closed 1,012 loans for more than $329 million in business.

Lauren Maxwell is an expert in her field and willingly shares her knowledge with others. Through the years, she has built an impressive record of success that is fueled by her sincere passion for what she does, the clientele she works with, and her staff that is there to support her. The Maxwell Team has more than 50 members consisting of openers, processors, loan officer assistants and loan officers. She rewards people who have a strong work ethic and display a willingness to learn.

Applied Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Discover the strengths in your experience and use those to guide you and support you as you move forward. When I started in the mortgage business, I often felt like I had to prove my worth. I was 16 when I entered the business and 21 years old when I was first licensed as a loan officer. As a young woman, I questioned my own ability, especially when speaking with older, seemingly more stablished clients and referral sources. Have the courage to routinely seek conversations with those who are successful in the business. You can learn from them. And remember, technology does not replace relationships, it just enhances them.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

I see mortgage banking as a stable career. So, I’d tend to ask what women can do to improve their earnings potential. As a new mother of two children under 2 years old, I am experiencing first-hand how both the extreme joy and also the burden of childbearing/raising falls on the mother, especially when that mother is the primary bread winner. Sales positions like a Loan Originator or Branch Manager in Mortgage Banking were historically designed by men.

Family leave was not originally part of the policies in place. This is one of the reasons that many young women are not attracted to the loan origination sales positions. In addition, these positions are typically commission based, making it risky to start a career when you’re also starting a family. However, with more risk comes more reward and more financial independence. These positions can also often be constructed to accommodate more flexible schedules and work from home opportunities.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would love to see younger people including young women in the leadership roles, around the board tables, and also in the loan originator sales position. This is one of the few careers that can create financial independence and open a world of opportunity for young women.

LORI BREWER EVP and General Manager SimpleNexus

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Trust your gut and not hesitate when you see a problem that you can solve. As a mortgage software developer and operations director, I had first-hand experience with lender challenges like disorganized data, redundant processes and the opportunity loss associated with failure to invest in high-return yielding technology. I possessed the technical skills and industry knowledge to build a solution for these problems, but I waited over a decade before embarking on my entrepreneurial journey with LBA Ware. My past self and countless women in fintech today should feel confident in their abilities and act on their ideas for innovation when an opportunity presents itself. Your solution could be the thing that puts you on the map!

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Women should not be afraid to speak up, ask questions and offer their perspectives. It is important to show your unique value and how you intend to help your organization grow. It also helps to surround yourself with peers and mentors with whom you can collaborate, ask questions and mutually support each other’s careers.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or r esolve them?

The home financing and financial technology industries are largely male dominated. Many women find it difficult to be taken seriously by their male peers and supervisors, which makes advancing one’s career as a woman more difficult. Too often, women’s achievements go unrecognized or credit for their excellent work is passed on to someone else. While not all workplaces have this sort of environment, it is still an enduring problem for many women in mortgage banking.

One of the biggest benefits of the powerful business intelligence I created, Nexus Vision, is that it allows lenders to track and analyze team member performance with data –– and data does not lie. I’m proud to have created a solution that helps lenders eliminate any misogynistic bias in the workplace and ensures the success of topperforming woman LOs does not go overlooked.

LINDSAY BARRON LABONTE Branch Manager

MARGIE AMBROSIO

SVP Information Systems Manager

George Mason Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Stay true to who you are. Don’t listen to the people who say you are too forceful or your standards are too high. You are simply getting the tough things done. Choose wisely who you trust and then go all in on that trust. You signed up for the mortgage industry and it’s a roller coaster. Wear your seatbelt.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

The right leadership makes all the difference and may be more important than you realize in building a stable career. Find strong leaders and mentors to work with and trust them. A good mentor will guide you before you even realize it is happening. And a great mentor’s impact is something you will carry with you your whole career. Thank you Rob for being one of the great ones.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Work life balance and child rearing are challenging in the mortgage banking industry. I have chosen to work for leaders who understand that my role as a wife and mother remains my priority and that supporting me in that will not hamper my contributions to my work, but will in fact enhance them. I negotiated paid maternity leave early in my career and I believe that it is possible in today’s climate to be successful both at home and in business.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

My sincere hope is that everyone who has been displaced by the current volatility in our industry is as employed next year as they wish to be and that and no one has to take a diminished role in her next position simply because she is a woman.

Women’s networking groups such as NEXT are already growing and I hope we continue as an industry to support them and benefit from their work.

MARIANNE MAINARDI SVP of Correspondent Lending Newrez LLC

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible? Do not be afraid to make your opinion heard. If you have something new to add to the conversation, don’t do yourself, your colleagues, and your industry a disservice by stifling your unique perspectives. There are never right or wrong answers in a business conversation and all opinions add a new element of thought to the discussion. The best solution to a problem is often found by combining multiple differing positions.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Women today are faced with the challenge of navigating this postpandemic era to determine what the working from home, office or hybrid model will mean to them, their families and their teams. Their working environments have likely changed many times over the past two and a half years, and they have needed to be resilient in making the necessary changes to balance work and home. In many ways, it has become more difficult to find that balance. I have tried to be as flexible as possible with in-office requirements and provide plenty of lead time when making changes to schedules, as well as to provide a longer-term vision on our future environment.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would like to see continued advancement for women in the industry with more women in leadership roles and a return to strong mentorship programs. A good mentor should be in a role that you aspire to be in someday, so that you can begin to map out a path for upward mobility. For this to happen, leaders need to take time away from their other priorities and spend quality time developing a mentorship relationship that is unique to the individual mentee. As women who have been in their shoes, it is essential that we share the knowledge and experiences that we’ve gained along the way if we want to continue to see progress for women in this industry.

MERCED COHEN EVP, Operations

CIVIC Financial Services

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

Work will always be there. So, take more vacations as new environments stimulate the brain and feeds one’s spirit. Recharging is a priority and is a step to being the best version of yourself.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Being a woman is recognizing and being unapologetic about our power and leaning into where we feel uncomfortable–even if it means dealing with conflict; knowing that sharing honesty with others is the ultimate gift. We not only bear a responsibility to elevate women, but we equally bear the responsibility to elevate men to elevate women.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

As women we wear many hats, and by nature we are the familial rocks. The sheer understanding of the level of flexibility needed for women is critical in all industries, but especially in mortgage banking. Ultimately, the lack of access to flexible and/or remote work is a big problem. COVID really highlighted this at CIVIC, not just for women, but for all working parents, and we listened. After holding roundtable discussions, CIVIC implemented “CIVIC Anywhere” – allowing for hybrid or remote work schedules to alleviate the stress and pressure that we as women carry when choosing to pursue a career. There are so many responsibilities that come with family – so whether you are raising children or caring for elder parents, you should never be faced with the notion that prioritizing your family’s wellbeing will jeopardize your job.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would like to see a true focus on inclusion. This time is not about being elitist, rather it is about women honoring other women, men honoring women, and women honoring the men who see through the lens of inclusivity. I think we are getting closer and closer to achieving this, but there is still so much work yet to be done.

MINDY ROTHENBERGER President and CEO

Southpoint Financial Services, Inc

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

On the road to success, slow down and enjoy the journey! We are in a hurry to advance our career or prove our abilities. Proving our worth leads to tunnel vision, resulting in missing or not enjoying some of life’s blessings or special moments. The definition of success is personal to each, however falling victim to the need to prove our worth is common.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Additional responsibilities outside of work are still problems for many women today. Women continue to be the primary care givers to children, adding an additional layer of responsibilities. Often a woman doesn’t have the support at home to stay at the office late to take on additional duties. She is often the parent caring for the home and the children. After a long day at the office, most women don’t go home to a cooked meal for her, but rather she is the one rushing home to prepare the meal for the family. For a career woman who’s a Mom, finding a balance is still one of women’s biggest challenges.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would like to see more of an effort to bridge the gap between the demands of a career and the demands of a mother and wife. With the technology today, there should be an opportunity to help parents find more time to support their children and families by adding abilities to do some hours remote. Working a standard 9-hour day, 8 hours plus an hour lunch, add in commuting time to and from the office, Americans spend the majority of our lives away from the family unit. Women are afraid to call in to care for a sick child often sending them to school or day care sick. We need more of an effort finding alternatives to support family life.

NANCY CARTER

Vice President of National Sales LoanNEX

Why do you think this woman should be named one of 2022’s Powerful Woman of Mortgage?

Nancy Carter’s time, dedication, and passion for the mortgage industry make her an ideal candidate for this award. Her industry expertise, her care of customers, and her partnerships she has cultivated over the last 30 years make her on the most Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking.

Please tell us why this woman stands out as a significant contributor to the Mortgage Banking industry. What differentiates her? How is she impacting the industry or the people around her?

Nancy is an accomplished leader in the mortgage industry with over 30 years of experience from her early days with Texas Commerce Bank to her most recent position as vice president of national sales with LoanNEX.  Her experience includes wholesale and correspondent production, sales & marketing, MBS trading, retail lending management, loss mitigation and REO.  The last couple of years Nancy has used her considerable skill and knowledge in the non-agency sector of mortgage.  At LoanNEX she has been an integral part in leading the company’s sales post COVID-19, helping grow volume on the platform 15-fold.  From Nancy’s perspective …

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

We still have a long way to go. Only 24% of mortgage bankers are women. When you include all women in finance that number drops to 10.3% and the gender pay gap is higher than any other industry. Most senior positions are still held by men. Female roles tend to be support positions.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Peer acceptance especially at senior levels. Breaking through the glass ceiling. An over-used term that still applies. By mentoring young women entering the industry.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

An overall recognition of leadership skills possessed by women and raises all around.

PATTY ARVIELO Co-Founder & President New American Funding

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

It’s important to support and uplift those around you. I also think it’s important to show intellectual curiosity and be willing to learn as much about the mortgage business as possible. When I joined the mortgage business, I learned every part of the business and it helped me grow and progress to the point where I was able start my own mortgage company. But don’t forget to bring others along on your journey. Be the example so they can see you as the example. But that’s only part of the equation. They need to see you as something to aspire to, but beyond that, they need to see you as someone they can rely on and learn from. You need to be willing to share your knowledge and experience.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

I think it’s critically important for women to own their confidence and own their power. Far too often, women are scared of being called too loud, too bossy, too demanding, too aggressive, or worse. Don’t ever let anyone tell you who you are or how you should act. It may sound cliché, but I truly believe it is imperative that you believe in yourself.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

The narrative should be focused on empowering us, instead of trying to get us to look at what we’re doing as a choice or a negative thing. It needs to be about empowering us to be the leaders and not about using society’s pressure to make us feel like we made the wrong choice. I don’t ever seem to find any men who run around with guilt, but I know plenty of women who carry a lot of guilt. Women get shamed for saying they want to make money or want to be successful. I’d like to see that narrative change. I think that power comes from building each other up and acknowledging people for making the choices they’re making instead of thinking it should just be one way.

PEGGY VELEZ

Mortgage Banker Omega Financial Services

In her nomination, Peggy pointed to her status as the highest production loan officer in the state of New Jersey serving the Spanish community in Hudson and Bergen counties. She is known for her very detailed communications with clients, as well as helping clients to become first-time home buyers through FHA loans and convention programs.

She also helps a lot of business people who are self-employed understand mortgage requirement guidelines. Peggy also enjoys helping clients increase their FICO scores to reach lower interestrate and mortgage payments. She also gives a lot of advice for the Spanish community first time home buyer. Peggy does $3 million monthly even during the time of high interest-rate due to public trust in her decisions and she delivers what she promises.

PRIYA SEENATH

SVP - Operational Excellence

Freedom Mortgage

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

Although I am quite pleased with the apparent effort to resolve these discrepancies, I believe we are not quite there yet. This is not just in mortgage banking, but throughout the workplace across all industries, there are still gender differences.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

I believe the more seasoned women ought to mentor the younger ones. At the same time, the younger generation should constantly seek out mentors and work with many to gain additional insights. I believe, every woman should seek out a mentor who will encourage her, hold her responsible, impart knowledge, facilitate introductions, encourage networking, and serve as a trusted ally. Do not underestimate the value of relationship management and networking. Always learn a new skill, do not be complacent and never think you are irreplaceable.

Additionally, I offer this advice, if you have a partner or spouse, discuss very early on in your relationship the support you require from them so you can further develop your career. Some necessary household chores such as cleaning can be outsourced or delegated to your spouse/partner.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

The two that come to mind are closing the gender wage gap and the low percentage of women in senior leadership roles. I am a huge advocate of the younger women that are up and coming in our industry. I do my part to ensure that they understand how important it is to find their desired place within an organization early in their career. This includes negotiating their salaries and speaking up for a desired position or promotion. I didn’t have any support system when I was starting my career. It is very important to me that I support and be a resource to women in my industry. Lastly, I would like to see more women in technology, as well as other traditionally male-dominated positions.

SERENE VERNON President LoanStream Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible? Make sure to create yourself an environment where you have a decent work/life balance. It may not seem like it now, but your mental and physical wellbeing will make you more efficient and productive at the workplace than just being the first one in and last one out.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Create stability in your resume/profile. Everyone knows the mortgage banking business is cyclical. When times are good, they are great and when times go bad many lose their jobs. I see far too many women jump around when enticed with the next salary/ benefit package, rather than speak with their current employer about their needs. I always tell each employee leaving for this reason, that the salary sounds great, but what if you only get it for a couple of months then get laid off? I have seen far too many women with these stories. The last hired are going to be the first laid off. When employers choose who to hire, its likely going to be the resumes that showed past dedication and tenure. Be that long term, company employee and your employer will return the same respect. When it comes time for layoffs, you will still be employed.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Women still tend to make up a large portion of the operational/ support roles. With business contracting due to interest rates and inflation, more and more layoffs are happening in these roles. The market is being flooded with women all looking for the same jobs. I am doing everything I can to create jobs and where we don’t have one that fits, to try and promote women looking for work to good recruiters and other companies that may have jobs. I take the time to review each resume sent to me and give feedback on what may help attract more return calls.

SHELLEY LEONARD President Xactus

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible? Know your worth. As a woman in an industry that, historically, has been predominantly male, it is natural to accept what you are being offered – whether it’s a pay rate, a bonus or a job title. But it’s important that you always know what your capabilities are and what they are worth. That way, you can be confident in bringing up your contributions and discussing your overall value relative to what you earn and your position. When it comes to your career, you are your own best advocate.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

While we’re getting closer, we’re not all the way there yet. I personally have seen a lot of intentional advancement of women – especially in the last five years – much more so than I saw in the previous 20 years. But we must be vigilant and actively aware of women’s capabilities and contributions. Often it takes women promoting women and earning a seat at the table to achieve gender equity. But just getting there isn’t enough – it needs continual fostering for real staying power or else all we’ve accomplished will fade away.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

When women are assertive or strong, we are often called bossy, controlling or a micromanager. Conversely, if a male acts in a similar way, those terms are never used. As women, we must accept being perceived this way. The trick is, you have to be comfortable with your voice – even when others are not comfortable with it. Otherwise, you’ll end up being uncomfortable with your authentic self and retreating. When I see women stand up for themselves in the workplace, I always support and reinforce with them that it’s important to use their voice. It sets an example for other women in the workplace too. As women, we need to support and build each other up.

TAMMY RICHARDS CEO LendArch

From the nomination for Tammy Richards:

Why do you think she should be named one of 2021’s Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking?

Possessing a rare blend of expertise in both operations and technology, Tammy Richards is a mortgage industry visionary who has achieved extraordinary success over her 40-year career.

In fact, Tammy wrote code for one of the industry’s first loan origination systems and served as Operations Head for three of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders. Today, she is creating the future of mortgage lending at LendArch, which provides clients— including several top and growing lenders—with consulting services and products built on microservices technology, enabling them to fully digitize loan production and significantly improve the borrower experience.

Tammy has also built a reputation for doing the right thing at all times and speaking truth to power, regardless of the personal cost. Tammy has bravely called out fraudulent and misogynistic behavior within the industry, which has made her a powerful example to other women and earned her widespread admiration and support. This was a key reason why Karthik Kumar, a 25-year mortgage banking executive with deep technology expertise, joined LendArch earlier this year as EVP and COO. “You rarely come across someone with such strong values,” Karthik says. “As a leader, her commitment to honesty, integrity, and service is unmatched.”

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

We still have some work to do in this area. There are still too few women around the table and in the C-Suite. It our responsibility and privilege to mentor the next generation.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Continue to reinvent yourself to stay current. Identify a coach/ mentor to help you achieve your goals. Strive to be the best at what you do. Become a specialist. Have a great attitude.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

More C Suite seats for women. More women owned and lead mortgage companies.

TAMMY WITTREN Branch Manager

NFM Lending

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

I would tell myself to do the WORK. Relationships take time to develop. Serve your clients and your Realtors. Add value and don’t do things for the paycheck or referral. Do things knowing if you help enough people get what they need in life, you will have more than enough of what you want. I think that was a quote by Zig Ziglar from years ago. “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.”

What steps can women take for better career stability?

I would like women to become clear and direct communicators. Use your emotions well, but don’t let people penalize you for them. Provide evidence of your value in whatever position you are in. Push yourself to grow and learn. Knowledge is the one thing people can’t take from you! Serve your teams, supervisors, and management, and add value without being asked. Make sure to keep track and communicate clearly when you need or want something. Production is a tremendous equalizer, but if you’re on the support side of the industry, being able to clearly articulate your value not only in your position but in reference to the bottom line is how you become noticed.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Fair and equitable pay and the negative connotation around emotion in the workplace. In my generation, women weren’t conditioned to ask for what we want, and we certainly weren’t taught to negotiate. Men negotiate; it’s natural for them to ask for more because society allowed them to do so. For many of us women, we’re perceived as ungrateful if we don’t like what is being offered. In my past, I believed that others cared about my financial success, but in truth that was a contradiction. I’m an asset to my company as long as I am producing and profitable. My job is to know my value and negotiate without any negative feelings.

TAWN KELLEY President Taylor Morrison Home Funding

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I don’t know if we will ever be at a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking. I prefer to believe that we bring our own qualities and unique aspects to our roles. By embracing who we are, what we are and all that we can bring to our customers, industry, and businesses we can achieve equality and define success. As a woman in mortgage banking for over 30 years, I accept that we can overcome shut doors by embracing challenges with determination and collaboration using our work, ethics, and results to break through any obstacle. Our industry provides so much opportunity and finding your lane and conquering goals is immensely satisfying. Especially when your goals also benefit so many others.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Treating every person equally regardless of gender is critical. Managing through equitable merit based qualifications for growth and opportunity haven’t always been applied in our industry. Staying true to fairness and work with all leaders to apply these disciplines to everyone is how to overcome those problems. Also, our culture of family, and positive and solution minded approach to our work makes the work environment a place where others can thrive. When we have an issue of fairness or bias, we address and work to rectify quickly so negative actions don’t impact the group. What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I do hope that women continue to see and consider mortgage careers for their future as I believe they will find the industry is rewarding and sustainable provided the person is willing to always be purpose driven, fun to work with and share the goals of the organizations. Women encouraging women in our industry has made great strides in women choosing mortgage as a career.

TESS LEIGHTON Market Leader Movement Mortgage

What advice would you give to a younger you if possible?

I think learning to take the high road in all situations, no matter how difficult, is hard for younger professionals to do. Being the person who will always speak positively about their competition and those around them resonates with people in a way that not much else does. Supporting the success of others, especially the competition, only helps to raise the caliber of the business you’re in, and will ultimately benefit all involved.

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

As the business evolves and changes, we are starting to see a huge increase in female leadership and producers. When I started, almost every female in the business was in a support role, but one of the best things about the company I am with now, is that a huge portion of our top producers and those in leadership are women.

What steps can women take for better career stability? Within the workplace, it is important to not only advocate for yourself, but to be a champion for other women’s growth and success. Competitive and equal pay are driving factors of course, along with having the ability for open communication and growth. Having meaningful work empowers women to reach their full potential within the organization.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

One of the biggest things I see is the assumption that women will act on emotion more than men. I do my best to emphasize the strength in this, having a higher emotional awareness only lends itself to being more empathetic to the needs of the people around us.

What significant changes would you like to see in 2023 for women in the mortgage industry?

I would love to see more women in leadership roles, and in sales especially. Empowering women to get into sales, or to grow their careers in a significant way is extremely important to me.

TWYLA HANKINS EVP Operations American Financial Network

How close are we to a place where gender is not a distinction in mortgage banking?

I was often the only woman at the table in executive meetings in decades past. Over the course of my career, I have happily seen more women join my peer group. Honestly, I don’t believe the industry should be considered “male-dominated” at this juncture. Many women are in executive positions in all aspects of the business. From JP Morgan Chase down to the local mortgage lender down the street, you will find successful women effectively managing companies in prominent leadership roles.

What steps can women take for better career stability?

Everyone in this industry should consider “broadening their horizons.” It is known within the industry that most mortgage lenders practice “at will” employment and that layoffs come swiftly when business slows down. It helps to be flexible and versatile. Ask to be cross trained to support another department. That is not to say spread yourself thin— definitely be the best you can be in your primary role—but once you have mastered

that craft, stand up and ask if there is another department in which you can be trained to assist in the event there is a bottleneck or sudden influx of work that affects the pipeline flow.

What are the main problems that women in the industry are facing today and what have you done to address or resolve them?

Women’s main challenges remain work/life balance, significantly when raising a family. I have a vivid memory of an incident a couple of decades ago when I really wanted to attend a Mother’s Day event at my son’s kindergarten and had cleared it with the President in advance. A little past the time I should have left the office, the President walked in my office and turned off my monitor, telling me it was time to leave and take care of my family. That flexibility has stuck with me throughout my career, and I always do what I can to promote that work/life balance that everyone needs.

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Leaning In To Grow Through a Downturn

THERE IS BUSINESS TO BE FOUND IN TODAY’S MARKET, JUST LOOK IN NEW PLACES

By JOE CAMERIERI, CONTRIBUTOR, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

To those looking at our industry from the outside, it must look rather frightening. With more stories about big company layoffs and mortgage lenders declaring bankruptcy or exiting the business in the face of rapidly falling loan volumes and tightening margins. To someone who doesn’t understand the cyclical nature of our business, it must look like the beginning of a crash.

To those who recently entered the mortgage business, it may look very much like a crash, but industry veterans have been watching it happen since at least early February when industry data clearly showed volumes were falling. By April, sources were saying that refinance volume had all but dried up.

By late spring, most lenders had begun executing their pivots to the purchase money market. Any lender who wasn’t thinking about moving away from refi workflows by June was probably already too late.

But for those who were taking action, this is turning out to be just another industry downturn. In fact, if the Mortgage Bankers Association’s forecast is realized and the industry originates nearly $2.5 trillion in new loans this year, it will be one of the best years in the history of the business.

That may be a hard point to focus on while the industry watches volume tumble from its $4+ trillion peak in 2021. Leaders know that the way you succeed through a downturn is by leaning in.

UNDERSTANDING THE CYCLE

The mortgage business is cyclical and while the traditional cycle has been warped almost beyond recognition over the past 20 years thanks to the subprime mortgage meltdown, the resulting foreclosure crisis and near constant government financial management efforts, this business still operates basically the same way it always has.

Traditionally, the cycle lasted about a year. Winter would be slow, the spring home buying season would be wild, consumers would continue to buy through the summer and when their children returned to school in the fall the market would cool.

Extremely low interest rates, a global pandemic that let workers live wherever they wanted and consumer-facing technology that made it easier than ever for consumers to apply for a new loan online have created a market that is hot all year long. At least it has been for the last few years.

But the cycle always turns.

Today, high inflation has prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, which has made homes less affordable and homeowners less eager to sell in anticipation of falling home values, leading to an inventory crisis and a cooling real estate market.

WHAT LENDERS NEED TO DO NOW TO THRIVE

Many lenders are taking advantage of the cooling market to streamline their operations for more efficient mortgage lending. They are not

pulling back, but instead taking actions they think will allow them to build stronger companies through the downturn.

Some, like Truist, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, are doubling down on their efforts to recruit and retain the best staff by raising their minimum wage.

Others are looking at streamlining their bloated tech stacks with next generation loan origination software that can reduce the cost of every loan they originate and make it easy to close more with fewer people.

Many lenders feel that this is their year to get their systems and efficiencies in place, so that they can pick up more business.

In a word, they are leaning in and making the changes and investments required to succeed in the new market. One thing this is allowing them to do is seek out mortgage production in new places and through new channels.

WHERE LENDERS ARE FINDING VOLUME NOW

Many lenders are finding great success in their pivot to purchase. Streamlined workflows aimed at financing new home buyers supported by next generation technology is proving to be a perfect prescription for many lenders.

But leading lenders are looking beyond purchase money mortgages to other lines of business. Homeowners have plenty of equity now and so home equity loans and lines are coming back. With inventory still low, home improvement loans are a viable source of new business. And despite rising rates, there are still many seniors who can benefit from a reverse mortgage.

And there is an entire world of loan products in the Jumbo and Non-QM space for lenders who are ready to expand beyond the industry’s largest investors.

Leaders are also looking at new ways to source new business. Internet trigger leads are available, but a better source of new business may be hiding in the lenders own past customer databases. New technology allows them to monitor these databases, sending new leads directly to the loan officer’s cell phone.

While everyone is reaching out to real estate agents for new purchase money loans, smart lenders are also having conversations with other business referral partners.

Wealth management professionals, for instance, are having some interesting conversations with their clients right now, some of whom are calling upon mortgage lenders for additional information. Even with rising rates, mortgage money is some of the cheapest capital available. It turns out that some advisors are suggesting that wealthy homeowners leverage the equity in their homes to make investments where they can get a higher return.

There is business to be found in today’s market, lenders just have to look in new places.

Whether it’s building stronger teams by picking up experienced professionals competitors let go, building stronger, more versatile tech stacks for originating any type of loan through any channel, or outsourcing their fulfillment and focusing on sales, leaders see the opportunity in the current market. They’re not going to let it go without capitalizing on it.

It’s this bias for action that has always set the leaders in the industry apart from the rest. These leaders should have every confidence that they will weather this downturn thanks to the efforts they are making now to lean in and take action.

Joe Camerieri is executive vice president and client account management executive at Accenture Mortgage Cadence.

WHILE EVERYONE IS REACHING OUT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS FOR NEW PURCHASE MONEY LOANS, SMART LENDERS ARE ALSO HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER BUSINESS REFERRAL PARTNERS.

LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATORS

Multiple steps are mandated before becoming licensed in the U.S.

By MATTHEW FALLORETTA, CONTRIBUTOR, MORTGAGE BANKER MAGAZINE

Nomatter where you live and intend to do business in the U.S., becoming a mortgage loan originator will require you to complete multiple steps, including completing a pre-licensure course, registering with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and meeting other conditions required for licensure. Mortgage loan originators in every state are required to pass a test and get licensed. Among other conditions of licensure, you will need to secure a surety bond to demonstrate your financial stability and your ability and willingness to comply with the law. Here is some information about what is required for you to become a mortgage loan originator and the steps you need to complete.

Professional Experience Requirements

Mortgage loan originators must be at least 18 years old. While there are no professional experience requirements, many prospective mortgage loan originators find it beneficial to have a bachelor’s degree in business or finance and some experience working within the mortgage, sales, or finance industry.

Education and Testing Requirements

The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) was passed in 2008 and became effective on Aug. 1, 2009. This law mandates certain requirements for people who want to become mortgage loan originators. Under the law, prospective MLOs must register with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and provide fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background check. They must also complete 20 hours of education in an NMLS-approved prelicensure course that includes at least the following minimum requirements:

• Three hours of education on federal law and regulations

• Three hours of ethics education about fraud, fair lending practices, and consumer protection

• Two hours of education about the standards on lending for non-traditional mortgages

They must also provide authorization to the NMLS for a credit check.

Once the pre-licensure course has been completed, prospective MLOs must take and pass a national test created by the NMLS. A passing score on the test is 75%.

The test covers the following topics:

• State laws and regulations

• Federal laws and regulations

• Ethics

• Federal laws and regulations about fraud, fair lending, non-traditional mortgages, and consumer protection

Some states also have state-specific tests that MLOs must pass before they can become licensed. The NMLS has a uniform state test that replaces the state laws and regulations section on the national test for the states that have adopted the uniform state test. Applicants in states that haven’t adopted the uniform state test might have to take and pass separate state tests.

Once you have taken the pre-licensure course and have passed the national and/ or state tests, you will need to meet the other licensing requirements before you can obtain your license. After you receive your license, you will need to input your license information into the NMLS database and complete eight hours of continuing education courses each year.

Insurance and Bonding Requirements

Before you can become licensed as an MLO, you must also meet your state’s licensing requirements. Under the SAFE Act, you must meet the following criteria before you can obtain a license to operate your mortgage loan originating business:

• Have not had a past MLO license revoked

• Have not been convicted of any felony offenses within the past seven years

• Have never been convicted of a felony involving fraud, money laundering, breach of fiduciary duty, or dishonesty

• Demonstrate general fitness and financial responsibility

To demonstrate your general fitness and financial responsibility, most states require you to obtain insurance and a mortgage broker bond. The amount of your bond will depend on the state in which you plan to operate your business.

A mortgage broker bond is a type of surety bond, which is a contract in which the following three parties are involved:

• Principal - The mortgage loan originator who must secure a bond for licensing purposes

• Obligee - The state licensing authority that requires the bond as a licensing condition

• Surety - The surety company that

guarantees the mortgage loan originator will comply with the law by issuing the bond

When you apply for a mortgage broker bond, your application will be sent through an underwriting process so that the surety can determine whether you pose too much risk or if you instead pose a low risk of potential claims. The company will be evaluating your application based on multiple factors, including your credit, experience, reputation, character, and others.

If the surety determines that you pose little risk and have excellent credit, you might anticipate receiving a quote for a low premium rate of as little as 1% of the bond’s face value. By contrast, if you have marks on your credit or other issues that demonstrate risk, your application might be denied. The surety company might agree to issue a bond to an applicant with a spotty record or minimal experience but charge a higher bond premium of up to 10% or more.

If you accept the quote, you will need to pay the bond premium upfront for your bond. For example, if you are required to purchase a $20,000 bond as a license condition, you will need to pay $200 upfront if your bond premium quote is 1%. If your bond premium quote is 10%, you will instead need to pay $2,000 to secure the same bond.

If you are approved, you will also need to sign an indemnity agreement with the surety. This agreement means that you will hold the surety harmless for any claims that might be filed against your bond. If you violate the law or the terms of your bond and license, a claim can be filed. While the surety will pay a valid claim, your indemnity agreement will mean that you will have to fully reimburse the surety or face legal action.

Once you get your bond, the surety will provide you with a form to submit to your state’s licensing body. You can then apply for your license and then update your account on the NMLS database with your license information. You will need to keep up with your continuing education requirements and maintain your bond to keep your license active and valid.

Matthew Falloretta is outreach manager for J.W. Surety Bonds.

MORTGAGE BANKING LAWYERS

These attorneys are universally recognized by their peers as setting the highest standard for the legal profession, excelling in all fields — knowledge, analytical ability, judgment, communication, and ethics.

Scott L. Luna Partner sluna@ravdocs.com 469-730-4607

Scott Luna’s practice is focused on real estate law with an emphasis on mortgage document preparation and land title issues. Scott managed a successful multistate highvolume title and document preparation business for over 20 years before joining RAV and is recognized throughout the real estate legal community for his expertise. As a past President of the Oklahoma Land Title Association, Scott’s ongoing involvement in the industry adds to his wealth of title-related knowledge. Scott received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1991 after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University. Scott is currently licensed in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kentucky.

Mitchel H. Kider Managing Partner

kider@thewbkfirm.com 202-557-3511

Mitch Kider is the Chairman and Managing Partner of Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, a national law firm specializing in the representation of financial institutions, residential homebuilders, and real estate settlement service providers. Mitch represents banks, mortgage companies, homebuilders, credit card issuers, and other financial service companies in a broad range of litigation and regulatory and compliance matters. He defends clients in investigations and enforcement actions before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Trade Commission, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and various state and local regulatory authorities and Attorneys General offices. In addition, Mitch acts as outside general counsel to smaller companies and special regulatory and litigation counsel to Fortune 500 companies.

Gregory S. Graham Co-Managing Partner

ggraham@bmandg.com 972-353-4174

Black, Mann & Graham CoManaging Partner Gregory S. Graham has practiced in the areas of real estate, litigation, and bankruptcy law since 1989, and is currently licensed in Texas and admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas. Mr. Graham is also currently licensed to practice law in Georgia and has been since 2017. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1989 after receiving a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from UT Dallas.

Mr. Graham’s affiliations include the Dallas MBA, where he previously served as a Director & Chairperson of the Legislative Committee; DFW Mortgage Brokers Association, where he previously served as Legal Counsel; MBA; NAMB; Texas AMB prior to its closure; and Texas MBA.

James W. Brody, Esq. Mortgage Banking Practice Group Chair

jbrody@johnstonthomas.com 415-246-3995

James Brody actively manages all the complex mortgage banking litigation, mitigation, and compliance matters for Johnston Thomas. Mr. Brody’s experience centers on those legal issues that arise during loan originations, loan purchase sales, loan securitizations, foreclosures, bankruptcy, and repurchase & indemnification claims. He received his B.A. in International Relations from Drake University and received his J.D., with a certified concentration in Advocacy, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He was a recipient of the American Jurisprudence BancroftWhitney Award. He is licensed to practice law in California and has been admitted to practice in front of the United States District Courts for the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California.

In addition, Mr. Brody has served as lead litigation counsel for numerous mortgage banking and commercial related disputes venued in both state and federal courts, in a direct capacity or on a pro hac vice basis, in AZ, CA, FL, MD, MI, MN, MO, OR, NJ, NY, PA, TN, and TX.

Marty Green Attorney marty.green@ mortgagelaw.com 214-691-4488 ext 203

Marty Green leads the Dallas office of Polunsky Beitel Green, one of the country's top residential mortgage law firms. Mr. Green is an accomplished attorney with more than 20 years of experience in the legal, banking and financial services industries. He is the former Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Dallas’ CTX Mortgage Co. and previously worked with the Baker Botts law firm in Dallas as Special Counsel. In his role as leader of the firm’s Dallas office, Mr. Green advises clients on the latest rules and regulations covering residential lending, in addition to building on Polunsky Beitel Green’s long tradition of delivering loan closing documents with speed and accuracy. Mr. Green is admitted to practice before all Texas state and federal district courts in addition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. An honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, he earned his undergraduate degree at Southern Utah University. Texas Monthly has selected him as a Super Lawyer multiple years.

MortgageBanker

NON-QM LENDER RESOURCE GUIDE

Arc Home LLC Mount Laurel, NJ

Multi-channel mortgage leader with exceptional service and comprehensive mortgage solutions.

When it comes to choosing your lending partner, there are many things to consider. Our products set the standard in the industry for innovation. Since that innovation is in our DNA, we will always be on the cutting edge of what matters most to you and your borrowers. At Arc Home, our priority is to provide the best customer experience from registration to closing, and we continue to invest in that philosophy every day.

business.archomellc.com (844) 851-3600 sales@archomeloans.com

LICENSED IN: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

PRIVATE LENDER RESOURCE GUIDE

Alpha Tech Lending West Hempstead, NY

DSCR Rental NO DOC Loans

Alpha Tech Lending is a trusted direct lender, with over a combined 30 years of experience in the private lending sector. We offer a variety of loan programs for non-owneroccupied residences that are customizable to suit your real estate investment needs. From fix and flips, long term rental, new construction, commercial bridge, and more. We lend to both new and experienced real estate professionals throughout the country. We value long term relationships built on trust. Our brokers are protected.

alphatechlending.com (888) 276-6565 info@alphatechlending.com

LICENSED IN: CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA

Stratton Equities Pine Brook, NJ

Stratton Equities is the leading Nationwide Direct Hard Money & NON-QM Lender that specializes in fast and flexible lending processes. Our Hard Money and Direct Private Money loan programs support the following investment projects:

• Fix and Flip

• Soft Money Loans

• Cash Out — Refinance

• Fixed Commercial Loans

• Commercial Bridge Loans

• Bridge Loans

• Stated Income/ No-Income Verification Loans

• Rental Loans

• Foreclosure Bailout Loan

• NO-DOC

• Blanket Loans

• Fixed Rental Programs

• Multi-Family Loan

No Upfront fees! No Junk Fees! No Tax Returns!

strattonequities.com (800) 962-6613 info@strattonequities.com

LICENSED IN: All States except for: AK, ND, NV, SD, UT

WAREHOUSE LENDING RESOURCE GUIDE

NON-QM RESOURCE GUIDE

FirstFunding, Inc. Dallas, TX

Offers warehouse lines to correspondent lenders, community banks, credit unions, and secondary-market investors.

*Ease of use (Support staff, technology an other tools to support mortgage bankers) FirstFunding’s FlexClose Funding program allows our clients to fund outside the Fed wire restrictions. Same day and afterhours funding. Browser-based proprietary platform, customized reporting tools, and a dedicated customer service team.

Conventional Conforming, Jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, Non-QM

(214) 8217800

firstfundingusa.com

LICENSED IN: CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA

Carrington Wholesale Dallas, TX

The Carrington Advantage Series is a full suite of Non-QM Loan solutions that “Delivers More” for you and your borrowers. Ideal for borrowers, like the self-employed, that don’t fit Agency or Government Qualified Mortgage standards based on credit quality, property type, documentation type, income documentation, or other borrower situations.

• FICOs 550+

• Primary wage earners FICO

• DTIs up to 50%

• Bank Statements (personal or business) accepted

• We don’t require disputed tradelines to be removed

With the Carrington Investor Advantage (DCR)

• DCR down to .75

• First-time investors are ok

• Only 48 months seasoning for major credit events

• 1x30x12 mortgage history ok (866) 453-2400 carringtonwholesale.com

LICENSED IN: 47 States (excluding NH, MA & ND.)

APPRAISER & AMC RESOURCE GUIDE

Clear Capital Reno, NV

Clear Capital is a national real estate valuation technology company with a simple purpose: build confidence in real estate decisions to strengthen communities and improve lives. Our commitment to excellence is embodied by nearly 800 team members and has remained steadfast since our first order in 2001.

clearcapital.com

LICENSED IN: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

TECH DIRECTORY

DIRECTORY

Know-how that wastes you forward. no time moving

Our commercial banking team can help you map the cash moving in, through and out of your business with next-level know-how. So, no matter which way it moves, you can be sure it’s moving you forward.

find a way.