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MortgagePoint ยป Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 42 2 0 2 4 F I V E S T A R C O N F E R E N C E & E X P O MTECH FORUM MTECH FORUM TALKS AI, TECH ADVANCEMENTS IN THE INDUSTRY By D E M E T R I A C . L E S T E R D avid Wharton, Editor-in-Chief at Five Star, gave the opening remarks to kick off this year's inaugural MTech Forum at this year's Five Star Conference & Expo. Numerous technology and subject matter experts go deeply into how technology is advancing the industry while also posing risks that need to be recognized and taken into consideration going forward. Panelists took a deep dive into subjects including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and technological advancements in mortgage servicing from speakers and panel experts. Leah Price, Senior Financial Tech- nology and Innovation Specialist for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) gave the keynote address, sharing insights into FHFA's approach to Re- sponsible Innovation, what the Office of Financial Technology is working on, the new Chief AI Office, and takeaways from FHFA's first Tech Sprint (See image #2 to the right). Following the keynote, MTech transi- tioned into its first panel, "Guarding the Gates: The Critical Role of Cybersecuri- ty." Safeguarding confidential financial information and making sure regulations are followed are critical in a time when digital revolution is changing the busi- ness landscape. Panelists included mod- erator Angel Hernandez, Chief Strategy Officer at Stavvy; Heather L. Beach, VP of Enterprise Risk & Compliance at Xome; David Callahan, EVP and CIO of Loan- Care; and James Vinci, Chief Technology Officer for Selene Finance. After an initial overview of the current regulatory landscape, David Callahan discussed the role of data governance in security, including the risks of unstructured data. James Vinci then led a discussion of vendor man- agement, compliance, and oversight, including challenges organizations face when pushing down cybersecurity requirements to third-party vendors and the impact on cost to service loans that comes from enhanced security needs. The vendor-focused discussion continued as Heather Beach from Xome discussed vendor optimization and data minimization strategies, including the biggest challenges service providers face in navigating cybersecurity requirements, particularly when clients have varying mandates. She also discussed how orga- nizations can adopt data minimization practices while still meeting regulatory and operational needs. The full panel then covered other topics including cultural shifts that may be necessary within organizations to enhance cybersecurity practices, how organizations can effectively educate employees against social engineering attacks, and future trends. The second group of panelists took the stage to discuss how new technol- ogies are transforming the way that mortgage servicing is done in the "Get- ting Ahead of Tomorrow: Innovations in Mortgage Servicing Technology" panel (see images #1 and 5). Kevin Hamilton, CEO of Bron, moderated a panel that in- cluded Cyril Arokiadoss, SVP of Digital Engineering at LoanCare; James Curl, CTO of Xome; and Rida Sharaf, Chief Strategy Officer for USRES/RES.NET. The initial discussion delved into how digital platforms are being leveraged within borrower communication, how to deliver customer experience capa- bilities quickly by utilizing proprietary digital channels, and personalization and digital tools. As the panel progressed, the discussion also included technologies and integrations for transparent asset management, data integration for better decision-making, automation in loan modification and foreclosure processes, and the impact of technologies such as AI, cloud real-time sharing, and others. The topic of AI carried over into the final panel of the Forum, entitled "The Genie Unbottled: Implementing AI Solutions in Servicing" (See images #3 and 4). Rodney Cadwell, CEO of Quandis, Inc., moderated a panel lineup that included