»
VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM
FIVE MINUTES WITH
GET TO KNOW INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES BEYOND THE BOARDROOM
Corrine M. Burger
SVP AND CHIEF CONTROL OFFICER FOR THE MORTGAGE
BANKING DIVISION OF JPMORGAN CHASE
Cynics examining the recovery look at the positive economic
indicators and wonder aloud, If it's real, could it actually be
sustainable? Well, one executive says it is—and she would
know. Corrine Burger is in the trenches leading her staff on
matters of control and compliance within JPMorgan Chase.
Before her ascension to SVP and chief control officer at the
bank, she served in various roles at Deloitte & Touche and
Chase. Now, she's on a mission to make sure Chase is doing
its part to help its customers be successful homeowners.
In your opinion, how has the regulatory environment changed
over the last five years? Compliance is particularly critical for
financial firms like JPMorgan Chase. And, in order for us to meet
the new and existing regulatory standards, we have to ensure that
our various businesses are meeting those standards. While the
government has passed those new regulations that we and the other
banks have to comply with, it really hasn't impacted the way we
do business because we have always had very strict policies and
procedures to make sure that we are treating consumers fairly and
to ensure that we have a strong control environment and a strong
compliance environment.
Chase recently acquired a servicing portfolio from MetLife.
Does Chase plan to purchase other servicing portfolios? We're
going to continue to invest in our mortgage banking business. The
MetLife portfolio that we just acquired is a high-quality portfolio; most
of it is GSE and FHA insured loans that were originated since 2008.
And, the benefit those customers will now be eligible for being part of
the Chase family is that they're going to have an opportunity to see a
full range of services that Chase is able to offer, including refinancing.
Chase is a very strong player in the HARP market and they'll have
opportunities to refinance to lower interest rates. We're not planning
on purchasing distressed assets; we're more looking at the core
performing servicing portfolio.
What is your team's role in the settlement activities from
the national mortgage settlement? We expect to fulfill all of our
commitments within the first year of the program, or shortly thereafter.
We've fulfilled our refinance commitment under the settlement in
September of last year. As of December 31, 2012 we've provided
mortgage relief to more than 87,000 homeowners through $7.9
billion in relief in just the first nine months of the national mortgage
settlement. Our efforts under the settlement supplement our existing
loan modification programs and our other foreclosure alternative
programs, and provide additional opportunities to give relief to families
who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.
Is the housing market recovering? If so, what does this mean
for the control environment? Have credit standards tightened
too much? We're seeing very strong signs that the housing market
is recovering. Median home prices have increased in 25 states. We're
seeing 1.6 million homeowners out of negative equity. Industry-wide
foreclosure filings hit a 68-month low in December, down 10 percent
from the previous month and 21 percent from a year ago. The hardest
hit states like Florida, Nevada, and Arizona are still leading in foreclosure
activity, but we're seeing much less of it so it's beginning to abate.
25
