DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/329085
37 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FIVE MINUTES WITH Get to Know Industry Executives Beyond the Boardroom Ray Brousseau joined Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, in 2011 as EVP of its mortgage lending division, responsible for overseeing all aspects of that division from origination through fulfillment, as well as operations, which is Carrington's fastest- growing enterprise. Previously, he was EVP of Citi's CitiFinancial servicing business, capping off a 20-year tenure at CitiGroup. Brousseau shares his insight on the future of default servicing. With more than two decades in the business, where do you see the industry heading next? I've been in the business for over 20 years, but it was predominantly in the consumer finance base. I ran the consumer finance group at Citigroup for about 24 years. Consumer finance was a fancy way of saying "somewhat subprime." Then I ran the CitiFinancial unit, which basically made personal loans and home equity loans to middle America, so I spent most of my career in that business. So it's somewhat ironic that when I look at the mortgage business in particular, to some degree, it's going back to where we were yesterday. Over the last decade, there's been a movement away from taking care of middle-income America. There's been a perceived flight toward conservatism and low risk. I think where the business is headed is back in the other direction to a more commonsense approach to lending. Given the state of the industry, why is this a good time to buy or refinance now? Although there's been some volatility in the market, interest rates continue to be very low and programs are not likely to get much better than they are today, so the only direction it can possibly go and the most we conclude is up. Now is a very good time to compete, go out, and look for a refinance—not just from a rate perspective but, candidly, volumes are down across the board and folks are fighting hard to get that business. So it creates the best opportunity from a cost perspective—rates are still low and folks are getting more aggressive in their underwriting. It's likely one of the best times to get yourself a well- priced loan with relatively low costs and get it approved rather quickly, as folks are struggling to keep production where it needs to be. What's the biggest challenge in the business today and how do you overcome it? I guess most of us would answer the question the same way: keeping up with the regulatory environment and keeping in step with our regulators. There is no easy way to do that. Compliance can't be a part-time job, it can't be something done when you've got a few extra minutes. You've got to have a seat at the table just like the SVP of production and the VP of marketing right there with everybody else. It's a long-winded way of saying the biggest challenge is regulatory and you've got to spend the money to manage it properly. EVP OF CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC, MORTGAGE LENDING DIVISION Ray Brousseau