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ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FIVE MINUTES WITH GET TO KNOW INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES BEYOND THE BOARDROOM Jason Nadeau PRESIDENT AND CEO OF STEWART LENDER SERVICES Named to his current position in October 2008, Jason Nadeau is responsible for leading and developing Stewart's national mortgage services and title production strategy. He also manages Stewart's real estate technology division, PropertyInfo Corporation; its centralized title production, including regional production centers; and the company's land recordation and registry business lines. Prior to joining Stewart, he held executivelevel positions with First American, RealEC Technologies, Norwest Mortgage, and RELS (Real Estate Lending Services). Early last month, you announced a deal in which Stewart acquired the technology, personnel, and Denver facility of Allonhill. How is that integration progressing? Integration of companies is always a challenge, but this transaction is progressing well. The deal was helped by the fact that we had similar cultures and by the strong, experienced management team that came to us with the deal. All indications are that we will easily meet our deadline of completing the integration by the end of the year. For our clients, this deal means an expanded set of services and expertise that we have available to them. Stewart's existing operations bring scale, automation, capital, and a geographic footprint, and the team in Denver brings deep experience and specialized technology, which makes for a great union. What do you see as the industry's biggest compliance challenge, and what major adjustments are in store for lenders, servicers, and their industry partners? Everything about compliance is an everchanging challenge these days. But based upon the past few months' conversations and activity, I would say the new items from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are the largest areas of concern, specifically, the new servicing rules and QM/QRM guidance. The biggest adjustment I anticipate is one we have been seeing for the past few years, which is that compliance becomes the highest overriding priority. With this approach, some organizations become paralyzed by the analysis and risk aversion nature of compliance, and that limits their ability to move at the speed necessary to compete. Drawing from your strong tech background, what role do you see technology playing in the new, compliant-minded world of default servicing? I am a bit biased, but technology is going to be at the root of all compliance. Without an automated, repeatable, and measurable process, compliance is virtually impossible. We learned from the past few years that the rules of default servicing are too complex and the risks too high to allow the process to be dependent upon individuals. The only way to accomplish compliance in default servicing is to build a strong technology platform around rules and automation that provide guiderails for your staff and oversight and process management for your compliance team. How would you describe the housing market's recovery thus far? So far, so good. The market is recovering for sure, but how long it lasts and how fast is anyone's guess. The recent government shutdown is definitely working against us, and confidence in the market recovery could be shaken. I hope not, but politics and logic are often mutually exclusive. 27