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» FiveMinutes VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM with Christopher C. Haspel Senior Advisor on Servicing and Securitization for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Christopher Haspel serves as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) senior expert on residential mortgage servicing and securitization. He oversees policy and research initiatives designed to evaluate how housing finance mechanisms work and how to improve secondary market operations and servicing for residential mortgages from the viewpoint of consumer protection. Prior to joining the CFPB, Haspel was the director of asset management and servicer monitoring at Ginnie Mae, where he was responsible for the monitoring and surveillance of Ginnie Mae's servicers as well as the management of defaulted issuer portfolios. Earlier in his career, Haspel was a senior director at Capital One, where he was responsible for the held-for-investment whole loan mortgage portfolio. Prior to that, he held senior positions in structured finance, servicing, and capital markets at Fannie Mae, BlackRock, GE Capital, and National Cooperative Bank. He has more than 20 years' experience in the mortgage industry. How have your past experiences led you to your current position with the CFPB? Prior to joining CFPB, I was at Ginnie Mae, and while I was there, we received a lot of calls from borrowers looking for help. In many cases, their loans were not in Ginnie Mae pools—they were looking for help from anyone who would pick up the phone. Those conversations helped me understand the scope of problems that borrowers were dealing with. In my past experience, I have had the chance to work with many servicers of all sizes, and I hope to bring that experience to bear as I work with my talented colleagues at the CFPB to make meaningful and needed changes to the servicing industry. Broadly speaking, what do you hope to accomplish in your role at the CFPB? As it relates to servicing, the CFPB hopes to accomplish three things: 1) consumers should be able to know what they owe and how it's calculated as well as what their options are; 2) there should be a level playing field and clear rules of the road for mortgage servicers; and 3) there should be strong, effective enforcement, which is essential to ensuring all institutions follow the rules. How would you respond to those who say the government is too involved in the housing market? We need a sensible private-label securities market that works for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole. What is your reaction to the recent $25 billion settlement between the five largest servicers and state and federal government officials? How do you think the settlement will impact the market? I agree with what CFPB's director Rich Cordray said about the settlement—that it will help many struggling homeowners across the country stay in their homes. Under the terms of the agreement, the largest five servicers must adhere to new consumer protections and provide customers with options for avoiding the pain of foreclosure. What is the most integral component to market recovery? We need to learn the lessons of the recent past and put in place safeguards to ensure mistakes are not repeated. 000 31

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