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Worried about compliance requirements? Experiencing fluctuating workflow volume? Audit & Compliance Consulting Business Process OutSOURCE Business Process OutSOURCE • Docket Monitoring Audit & Compliance Consulting • Training Flexible Workforce Staffing • Business Process Improvement Email us at htropp@firmsolutions.us Call us at 813.397.1463 | www.firmsolutions.us TREASURY ADDS NEW COMPLIANCE METRICS TO MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE The servicer assessment component of the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program has been enhanced with new compliance metrics and benchmarks. Individual servicer assessments were first published by the administration in April 2011 and are conducted quarterly to assess how well the largest program participants are doing in providing distressed homeowners with mortgage relief under the terms of the federal program. Treasury says these evaluations allow officials to better gauge individual servicers' performance, identify specific areas of noncompliance, drive improvements in servicer execution, and provide the public with greater 26 In the third quarter of 2013, three servicers were found to need only minor improvements (Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and OneWest); three servicers were found to need transparency of mortgage moderate improvement (Ocwen, Select Portfolio assistance efforts. The new Servicing, and Wells Fargo); and one servicer compliance metrics and (CitiMortgage) was found to need substantial benchmarks introduced with improvement. the third-quarter assessments While Treasury has withheld incentives from are expected to provide certain servicers in the past until they corrected greater insight into the impact problems identified by the servicer assessments, of servicer performance on the borrower's experience and the Department said after considering all allow for trending analysis of relevant factors, it determined that withholding servicer incentives was not warranted for this all compliance metrics. quarter. Officials warned, though, that servicer Three new compliance metrics have been incentives will be withheld from CitiMortgage added to the performance reviews related to the timeliness of single point of contact in future quarters if the company's performance assignments, communicating reasons for non- does not improve. approval to borrowers who are rejected from "Although this quarter's results indicate the program, and processing and reporting one servicer needs substantial improvement, defaulted loans that have been restructured on average, servicer performance has improved through the Home Affordable Modification since the inception of the servicer assessment Program (HAMP). In addition, three existing compliance metrics reports. This is evidenced by an average income calculation error rate of 0.8 percent for this were removed from the program checklist. quarter," Treasury said in its report, adding, "All They included servicers' internal controls servicers will need to continue to demonstrate for: identifying and contacting homeowners, borrower evaluations, and program management progress in areas identified during program and reporting. reviews."