October 2023 » thefivestar.com
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October 2023
F E A T U R E S T O R Y
Q:
You were active in the
industry during the financial
and mortgage crisis a decade ago.
What lessons learned from that
era can be carried over in today's
environment?
Though I wish I could, I will never
forget the atrocious mortgage crisis of
2008–2009. Two lessons stand out to me:
1. Document, document, docu-
ment—if not documented, it did
not occur.
2. Silence does not protect or defend.
The whole financial services in-
dustry "stood down" under the intense
regulatory and political pressures that
were hunting for villains and attacking
our industry, as all were focused on
limiting reputational risk and harm. The
industry's silence did not limit or lessen
reputational risk or harm. Though, in the
end, we emerged with some benefi-
cial changes that will better serve our
customers and our industry, we suffered
unnecessary and unfair collateral dam-
age and harm by not speaking out.
Q:
What would you consider
some of the pain points
currently faced by the industry?
What is Fairway doing to overcome
these issues?
Companies are still struggling for
position and profitability as the whole
origination industry has contracted as a
result of the economic and rate environ-
ment. Servicers may soon face increased
defaults and workload demands when and
if the predicted recession hits. Fairway has
a bold leadership team and has proactive-
