Speaking Engagements

On Friday May 6, 2022 Liza Warner was a presenter on the Fair and Responsible Lending and Fair Servicing Panel for the Chicagoland Compliance Association. This was a hybrid event with both in-person and virtual access. Fair lending encompasses the entire lending cycle including servicing. Liza discussed servicing activities that financial entities should be addressing within their fair lending compliance management program.

On April 7, 2022, Heidi Wier spoke at the Fourth Annual WMBA Mortgage Bootcamp. She gave an overview of the mortgage regulations you need to know as a mortgage lender and the regulator impact on the lending environment.

On March 24th, 2022 Daniel Johnson participated in a California MBA Mortgage Quality and Compliance Committee fair lending webinar. The webinar covered pricing exceptions, underwriting exceptions, and marketing. Along with Daniel, the speakers also included Marty Allred, Chief Compliance Officer, American Pacific Mortgage, and Paula Leber, VP of Compliance and Licensing, CMG Financial. The three panelists had an interactive discussion which provided practical guidance on these important topics. The recorded webinar is available on the California MBA’s YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbBaPon-Hk

The Illinois Bankers Association (IBA) held its Bank Counsel Conference on December 3, 2021 in Chicago. Monika McCarthy and Justin C. Steffen, Esq., Partner, Barack Ferrazzano Financial Institutions Group co-presented a session entitled The Future of Digital Mortgages. They addressed how to choose the right partners with the right contractual provisions, balancing considerations such as data security, reputational risks, industry and compliance expertise, integration, and adaptability.

On November 30th, 2021 Heidi Wier participated with Joseph T. Lynyak III, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, in the Bank Counsel Roundtable webinar – Fair Lending Under the Biden Administration: A Reboot or Something Different? The speakers reviewed important components of a fair lending program, including recommended approaches to review an institution’s fair lending policies and procedures, aw well as recent legal developments.

The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association (TMBA) held its 4th Annual Mortgage Symposium on November 8th and 9th at the Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West hotel. This year, the focus was on redefining company culture, including employee engagement and motivation, communicating change, training, and diversity & inclusion. Debbi Roberts was a facilitator for a discussion on Mentorship with Impact, moderated by Kristin Clardy Martin.

On October 26th, 2021 Tracey Levandoski presented a webinar for the Suncoast Bankers Compliance Association (SBCA). The topic of this webinar was Avoiding UDAAP Pitfalls: Recognizing Risk in Marketing and Advertising. Attendees learned the UDAAP considerations related to the target audience, qualifying conditions, support for claims, testimonials, language and disclosures. This webinar also covered marketing’s impact on compliance management and the risk of using third-party service providers. The webinar was open to members of SBCA.

The Utah Bankers Association hosted its Fall Compliance Conference – Unmasked from October 19-21 in Park City, Utah. This was a hybrid event. Participants chose whether to attend either in person or via Zoom. On Tuesday October 19th, Tracey Levandoski presented one session on UDAAP and one on Fair Lending for Commercial Loans.

The American Bankers Association approved the conference for 2.5 CAFP, CERP, 14 CRCM credit. As compliance expectations continue to soar, keeping up with the latest regulatory changes and compliance issues can be more than a full-time job. The Annual UBA Fall Compliance Conference offered compliance professionals in-depth, content-rich discussions that address critically important topics. This year’s conference featured a wide variety of general and breakout sessions—led by industry experts and regulators—designed to help compliance professionals stay current with and function confidently in the rapidly changing regulatory environment.

October 20 to October 22, the Georgia Bankers Association hosted its annual Compliance Conference at the King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort in St. Simons, GA. On October 21, Jim Treacy presented Online Account Opening Compliance. This event covered the full spectrum of compliance topics and provided participants the opportunity to network, share best practices and learn from nationally known experts.

On September 29, 2021 Bradley Teplin and Liza Warner presented a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA) – Best Practices for Monitoring Servicing Performance. This webinar helped participants be better prepared to address common regulatory and investor concerns, improve consumer complaint management, and differentiate between the unique roles of quality assurance and quality control in managing loan servicing. The recorded webinar is available on the ABA’s website.

On September 23, 2021 as part of the American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Monika McCarthy participated on a panel – Fair Servicing Spotlight and CARES Act Challenges. This panel discussed best practices to avoid fair servicing risks, predictions for fair servicing supervision and enforcement activity, and priorities of consumer advocates in the fair servicing space. The other panelists included Kevin McQuail, Ocwen Financial Corporation, Chetna Vora, Citadel Servicing Corporation, and Tori Shinohara, Mayer Brown.

On Tuesday September 14th, 2021 Monika McCarthy participated on a panel at the MBA’s Regulatory Compliance Conference. The panel’s topic was Working with Your Vendors to Solve Common Compliance Challenges. Attendees learned best practices for engaging with vendors to solve common compliance challenges based on scenarios presented by industry practitioners.

On August 25th, 2021 Jocali Nakao, CRCM and CAMS, and Tracey Levandoski, CRCM, presented a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA). The topic of the webinar was Compliance Management for First-Line Operations. Called the first line of defense, the bank’s frontline and back-office operations together own compliance risk for the products it sells and services. The first line should maintain an effective system to identify, assess, and mitigate the bank’s compliance risk while making sure customers receive fair and responsible products and services. Attendees learned best practices for integrating the first line into an institution’s overall compliance framework and gained a deeper understanding of how to: document controls, assess risk, develop monitoring templates, and track issues through resolution within the first line. CERP, CRCM and CPE credits are available. Registration continues to be available to the recorded webinar on the ABA’s website.

On August 19, 2021 Liza Warner presented a webinar on Fair Lending Risks in Originations, Servicing and Small Business for the Chicagoland Compliance Association (CCA). The current administration and the CFPB are both focused on equity and inclusion which extends to lending activities. Banks have always been expected to provide lending related services in a fair and responsible manner and the expectations are receiving even more heightened attention in today’s environment. This webinar touched on the fair lending risks that a bank needs to be aware of and needs to monitor to meet its fair lending policy and mandate and to ensure it understands its performance and can explain it to regulators and other interested parties. Liza reviewed risks and potential solutions within loan origination and servicing activities including consideration of the consumer protections extended as a result of COVID-19. She also reviewed fair lending strategies related to small business lending.

On Friday July 16, 2021 at the NICA July meeting, Tracey Levandoski presented – Developing a Fintech Compliance Roadmap. This presentation focused on the factors bank management should consider in selecting a fintech lending partner, and then after making the selection, how the bank can help their fintech strategic partners develop a compliance roadmap and compliance infrastructure that meets the regulator’s requirements as well as the bank’s expectations under its third-party risk management program.

Liza Warner participated on three panels at the American Bankers Association’s Regulatory Compliance Conference which was held June 22-24. These panels are: 1) Fair and Responsible Lending Risks for Mortgages Part 1: Product Design, Marketing and Originations, 2) Fair and Responsible Lending Risks for Mortgages Part 2: Fair Servicing and Debt Collections, and 3) Small Business Lending: Addressing Needs Today and Tomorrow. The panel recordings are available on demand for those who registered for the conference.

At the June 17th, 2021 meeting of the Central Florida Compliance Association (CFCA), Heidi Wier presented a webinar entitled, HMDA: Keys to Successful Data Integrity.

On June 10, 2021 Tracey Levandoski presented a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA) entitled Avoiding UDAAP Pitfalls: Recognizing and Addressing Risk in Marketing and Advertising. Enforcement actions for UDAAP violations are likely to increase, and UDAAP risk should be on the minds of every bank’s marketing manager. Supervisory highlights from the CFPB include references to misleading advertisements of bonus offers on deposit accounts, misleading representation about the ability to apply for a loan online, and false representations that no credit check will be conducted on loan applicants. When examiners review the bank’s UDAAP risk as part of compliance examinations, you will need to explain to examiners, with supporting documentation, how UDAAP risk has been mitigated.  Now is the time to review the bank’s marketing and advertising plans, including policies and procedures, with an eye to potential UDAAP pitfalls. If you missed it the first time, the recording of this webinar is available for purchase on the ABA’s website.

On June 9, 2021  Tracey Levandoski presented a webinar for the Chicagoland Compliance Association (CCA). Her presentation focused on the factors bank management should consider in selecting a fintech lending partner, and then after making the selection, how the bank can help their fintech strategic partners develop a compliance roadmap and compliance infrastructure that meets the regulator’s requirements as well as the bank’s expectations under its third-party risk management program. Tracey described the areas of caution, potential detours, roadwork ahead and speed bumps to reinforce the concepts that the development of a compliance roadmap is a journey that needs to be mapped out and at times adjusted for changes in conditions and unforeseen events.

On May 20, 2021, Heidi Wier and Jim Treacy presented The Compliance/Audit Partnership webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA). During this webinar, The Compliance-Audit Partnership, participants learned how auditors can collaborate with compliance officers to fully understand the bank’s compliance risk and develop an audit plan to best address that risk while maintaining independence as the third line of defense. CERP 1.25, CRCM 1.25 was available. The recording of this webinar can be purchased through the ABA.