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41 Journal Innovation and adapting new technologies were topics of the panel as more and more in the servicing space are utilizing AI-powered solutions to assist borrowers through their forbearance plans. In turn, government agencies too are adapting these tech solutions as evidence by Ginnie Mae's recent announcement that their Office of Enterprise Risk (OER) has launched a series of machine learning and AI model pilots. One AI algorithm being deployed by Ginnie Mae will reduce the probability of false negatives and false positives when identifying issuers that may pose enhanced risk but may slip through the cracks of traditional methods of risk identification. "We are currently moving our entire platform to the cloud," Pordzik said. "By doing so, it will open up a lot of doors for Ginnie Mae in terms of being very agile and quick to modernize our platform." e Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President last March in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic has impacted the servicing industry. e Government Forum featured the "Caring for Homeowners" panel which took a deeper dive into just how this far-reaching legislation affected servicers. Let by Steve Meyer, AVP, High Risk and Investor Compliance for Safeguard Properties, those on the panel included Marissa M. Yaker, Managing Attorney of Foreclosure for the Padgett Law Group; Kristin Wong, Financial Analyst for the CFPB; and Jack V. Konyk, Executive Director of Government Affairs for Weiner Brodsky Kider, PC. "e industry has done a great job of identifying people who are seriously delinquent and getting them into forbearance," Wong said. "Of the borrowers who became seriously delinquent due to COVID-19, just 2% of them have not taken advantage of forbearance. Ideally, that number should be 0%, but a real effort has been made by the industry to reach out and assist these struggling borrowers." And as the GSEs prepare for what has been determined as their "ultimate exits from conservatorship," the "Charting the Future of the GSEs" session discussed the challenges that still exist to this plan, and if the events of the past year have slowed the GSEs' momentum. Moderator Tim Rood, Head of Industry Relations for SitusAMC, led the GSE discussion that featured panelists Marcel Bryar, Founder and Managing Director for Mortgage Policy Advisors, LLC; Ron Haynie, SVP Mortgage Finance Policy for Independent Community Bankers of America; and Edward J. Pinto, Resident Fellow/Director for the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center. Fannie Mae SVP and Chief Economist Doug Duncan followed the GSE discussion offering his expert views on housing finance, the mortgage industry, and the broader U.S. economy, providing insight into buyer and seller attitudes about homeownership in his presentation "Where Housing is Headed." "Our expectations for economic activity in 2021 is that we will see a continued decline in unemployment, down to something in the 5% range," Duncan said. "At the same time, we will see economic growth continue to accelerate and over the full year, grow to somewhere around 6.8%, which will be the strongest annual growth rate we will have seen since the very early 1980s." Closing out the Government Forum was the "Eye on the Horizon" session where industry leaders discussed key takeaways from the day and presented their outlook for what lies ahead for the housing market. Michael Waldron, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer with Community Loan Servicing, LLC led the discussion, featuring panelists John Bell III, Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Maria Fernandez, Senior Associate Director, Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy for the FHFA; and Brian D. Montgomery, Chairman and Founding Partner of Gate House Strategies, LLC and former Deputy Secretary at HUD (2019-2021). "During the pandemic, web-based and mobile technologies really helped keep borrowers connected and engaged," Fernandez said. "Quite frankly, it also helped keep mortgage credit flowing." And while the pandemic impacted every pocket of the nation, Montgomery noted the industry had preparation for such a widespread crisis on a smaller scale when battling through events such as hurricanes and other natural disasters. "We had all had warmups for COVID-19, and we didn't know it at the time, but we would have regional natural disasters, sometimes in large urban areas like Hurricane Harvey, but never had anything with the reach of COVID-19 where every city was impacted by it," Montgomery said. "Collaboration among the governmental agencies was very important, we were talking almost every day, in particular with the FHFA. We didn't want the enterprises going in one direction. We looked at the situation from the perspective of homebuyers and what would be the best situation to stay in their homes. Communication was important not only with the government agencies, but in getting back to the public." e Five Star Institute would like to thank those companies that supported the 2021 Government Forum as sponsors, including Host Sponsor Auction.com; Co-Host Sponsor Altisource; and Partner Sponsors Insight One Solutions, Mortgage Contracting Services, Padgett Law Group, and Safeguard Properties. "This crisis is born not from subprime lending or irresponsible credit, but more from the long-term and lasting effects of a prolonged forbearance plan." —Ed Delgado, AMP, Managing Director, Mortgage Policy Advisors; Chairman, Five Star Global

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