Speaking Engagements

On February 13, 2020, MBA Education and CrossCheck Compliance held part two of the Internal Audit webinar series. Building on themes in part one, we discussed how effective internal audit programs evolve over time. What does it mean to have an effective internal audit function? What is the best structure for your internal audit function? Where does the function report in the organization? How should the risk assessment process work and how does it impact the audit plan? These are just some of the common questions facing mortgage bankers. Participants learned about practical, sustainable internal audit programs from experts who possess industry recognized internal audit credentials and a lender faced with these same questions.

On January 30, 2020 MBA Education and CrossCheck Compliance held part one of the Internal Audit webinar series. MBA webinars are complimentary to MBA members. The continuing regulatory focus by the CFPB, the GSEs, and other investors has driven the need for mortgage companies to enhance their corporate governance structures by implementing effective internal audit functions. This function should not be confused with pre-funding and post-closing quality control reviews. It is a separate function and substantially more expansive, including all aspects of your organization. Meeting regulatory expectations is not the only reason to implement an internal audit function; there are other benefits of making this investment including a better understanding of your operational and compliance risks, improvement of the control environment, opportunities for operational enhancements, and the potential for increased efficiencies and/or reduction of risks which could result in cost savings. This webinar explored the best practices for structuring an internal audit function as well as how to develop and implement an internal audit plan.

On December 6th, 2019 the Chicagoland Compliance Association (CCA) held an event at Northern Trust. The event included Legislative and HMDA Updates and a discussion of Complaint Management How-To’s. Karen Cullen presented How to Prepare Your HMDA Submission. Liza Warner, along with Donald Piattoni, Business Analytics Lead, PNC Bank, spoke about classifying complaints and key metrics of a Complaint Management System. Ms. Warner had previously authored an article for ABA Bank Compliance on the same topic.

November 12-13, 2019 WMBA held its Second Annual Mortgage Bootcamp. Designed for those who work in the mortgage industry, this highly recommended one-and-a half day seminar walked attendees through the mortgage loan cycle and everything they needed to know to be a stronger mortgage professional. On Day Two, Heidi Wier, managing director in CrossCheck’s Regulatory Compliance and Internal Audit practices, presented Mortgage Lending Compliance.  Her presentation was an overview of the top mortgage lending regulations the attendees need to know as a mortgage lender.

On November 7th, 2019 Jim Shankle presented a webinar entitled – Avoiding Surprises in Mortgage Servicing. As banks face competitive challenges and increased regulatory and investor scrutiny, establishing internal monitoring systems to provide ongoing feedback on critical servicing components should be an integral part of the management structure for all loan servicers. Preventing surprises that can result in significant operational, regulatory, reputational, and financial burdens, if not detected on a timely basis is just as critical. In this webinar, attendees learned about the challenges servicers have had managing and implementing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules, especially related to servicing transfers. While the business reasons for transferring servicing are justified, the responsibility for compliance with servicing rules cannot be delegated if servicing activities are out-sourced to a third party. In addition to implementing the rules, regulatory and investor quality control requirements for the ongoing monitoring of servicing activities were addressed.

On November 6, 2019 Karen Cullen presented a fair lending webinar for the MBA entitled: Checking the Effectiveness of Your Fair Lending Program. As of October 1, MBA webinars are complimentary to MBA members. History has taught us that the regulatory landscape is ever evolving, and strong compliance programs are able to adjust to changes when necessary. Yet the path to ensuring fair lending compliance is not always an easy one. In this webinar, Karen addressed the principles and program elements of an effective and sustainable fair lending program and the roles each line of defense (business line, compliance management, and internal audit) plays in identifying and mitigating fair lending risk.

November 5-6, 2019 RegList held their Fall 2019 Compliance event in Huntington Beach, CA. The two full days of content included presentations on timely and impactful topics, as well as opportunities to work alongside fellow RegListers to share knowledge and network. On Day Two, Monika McCarthy presented with Rich Horn, Managing Member, Garris Horn, on CFPB’s Focus on Fair Lending.

On October 30, 2019 Heidi Wier and Karen Cullen presented a webinar for the MBA entitled: What Your HMDA Data Says About Your Fair Lending Performance. As of October 1, MBA webinars are complimentary to MBA members. In this webinar, Heidi and Karen addressed how to implement an ongoing monitoring process to ensure the integrity of your HMDA data, and then how to analyze the data to determine your fair lending performance before a regulator walks in the door. They compared alternative data integrity options, explained the different types of performance analytic tools you can use to determine fair lending risk, and offered suggestions on how you can most effectively communicate the results of the analysis to your board.

The 2019 annual UBA Fall Compliance Conference, named Compliance Superhero Conference, taking place in Park City, Utah October 23-25, offered compliance professionals in-depth, content-rich discussions that addressed critically important topics. Tracey Levandoski, director in CrossCheck’s Regulatory Compliance and Internal Audit practices, was one of the featured speakers. Tracey presented: CMS Auditors: Superheros or Your Bank Nemesis? Her presentation focused on how to make the most of your bank’s CMS Audits.

On October 25th, 2019, the IMBA held its Mortgage Market Update event at the Wintrust Mortgage office in Rosemont, IL. Topics included an economic forecast, updates from Fannie Mae, a non-QM product discussion, and the impact of MI risk-based pricing on secondary and origination. Chris Ortigara moderated the non-QM panel.

On Monday, October 21, 2019 Heidi Wier was a co-presenter with Allen Denson, Partner of Hudson Cook, LLP, at the FISCA Money Trends Conference in Miami, FL. Their topic was entitled: The CFPB Examination Process and Critical Compliance Issues. This workshop provided attendees with the fundamentals of compliance management systems, examination preparations, and post-examination processes.

On October 15th, 2019 in Rosemont, IL, Chris Ortigara  participated in the Arch MI Executive Roundtable. At this complimentary panel luncheon for Chicago-area mortgage executives, Chris addressed new regulatory requirements facing lenders. Other panelists included Bernard Nossuli, iEmergent Chief Operating Officer, Brett O’Daniell, HomeTraq Co-Founder and Laura Kay Sheely, Arch MI Account Manager. Sheely co-hosted the event with Account Manager, Faith Henderson.

On October 1st, 2019 Jim Shankle and Chris Ortigara presented a webinar entitled Monitoring Mortgage Servicing and Avoiding Surprises. As mortgage servicers face competitive challenges and increased regulatory and investor scrutiny, management must rely on internal systems to provide ongoing feedback on critical servicing components. Establishing internal monitoring systems should be an integral part of the management structure for all mortgage servicers. Preventing surprises that can result in significant operational, regulatory, reputational, and financial burdens, if not detected on a timely basis is just as critical.

On September 26th, 2019 Karen Cullen, director in CrossCheck’s Regulatory Compliance and Fair & Responsible Lending practices, presented at the CFCA’s annual meeting, held in Orlando, FL. Karen’s presentation covered how to perform a Health Check of Your Fair Lending Program – Connecting Risk Assessment and Performance Analysis.

On Tuesday August 27th, 2019 at the WBA conference in Huntington Beach, CA, Jim Shankle, managing director, Regulatory Compliance and Internal Audit, spoke on the topic: Avoiding Surprises in Mortgage Servicing. His presentation included the challenges that mortgage servicers have had regarding compliance with CFPB servicing rules, servicing transfers, regulatory and investor quality control requirements, and monitoring of servicing.

On Wednesday, August 7th, 2019,  Monika McCarthy participated in the American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) webcast/telephone seminar on Enterprise Risk Management for Attorneys: A How-To on Mitigating Risk. Participants learned how they can have a positive impact on their client’s risk management practices. This practical webcast benefited business attorneys, corporate counsel, in-house counsel, insurance attorneys, as well as general practitioners and business professionals.

On July 31, 2019 Karen Cullen, director in the Regulatory Compliance and Fair & Responsible Lending practices, presented a webinar entitled, Health Check of Your Fair Lending Program: Connecting Risk Assessment and Performance Analysis for the Western Bankers Association. In this webinar, participants discovered how risk assessment drives the priority of performance analysis and, in turn, how performance analysis should factor in determining control effectiveness and overall residual risk. Effectively connecting these two components enable the institution to successfully navigate the challenging environment of fair lending compliance.

On July 26, 2019 Karen Cullen, director in the Regulatory Compliance and Fair & Responsible Lending practices, spoke about what’s next in fair lending. Her presentation covered AI and the fair lending risk associated with using models; even when one thinks there is no discretion in decision.

On July 19, 2019 fair lending expert, Karen Cullen spoke at NICA’s July meeting. Her presentation, Health Check: Fair Lending, addressed how to understand your fair lending risk and right size your compliance.

On July 10th, 2019 Jim Treacy presented a webinar entitled, Overdraft Programs, Compliance Best Practices. Jim is a CPA and a Certified BSA Officer with over 20 years of operational, financial and compliance experience in the financial services industry.