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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 39 JK Huey is the SVP of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Asset Management and Preservation, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. In her role, Huey is directly responsible for managing all REO and property preservation activities for the servicing channel. Although she joined Wells Fargo only in 2009, she is a 30-year veteran of the housing industry. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she was the servicing manager at IndyMac Bank and held senior management positions with Washington Mutual and HomeSide Lending. She is also the recipient of the 2014 Five Star Lifetime Achievement Award. e award is an annual tradition honoring the accomplishments and illustrious careers of professionals who have left an indelible and invaluable mark on the housing finance and mortgage servicing landscape. Presented each September at the Five Star Conference and Expo, recipients are nominated by a panel of their peers, and awarded the distinction based on their outstanding track records in service of the industry. Foreclosure is a catastrophic occurrence for many homeowners. What does the public need to understand about the process itself and the people who go through it? A number of obligations accompany homeownership: making mortgage payments, paying property taxes, maintaining insurance, and repairing and preserving the home. We strive to make meet- ing these responsibilities as easy and convenient as possible to help our customers manage and protect their homes. e vast majority of our servicing customers make all of their mortgage payments on time. For customers who en- counter financial difficulties and fall behind on payments, our goal is to help them keep their homes whenever possible. is support is a key factor in the recognition we receive for our top-tier servicing practices from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD, as well as from private investors and rating agencies. Our efforts are driven by the understanding that all constitu- ents in the lending cycle benefit when home- ownership is preserved. As you know, foreclosure inventory is down when compared to last year. Are happy days here again? Or should we worry about the market taking back some of the gains we've seen in the past year? Most states have largely cleared bloated foreclosure inventories that resulted from the financial crisis, but there are still some problematic states that are lagging the rest of the country. However, barring unfore- seen events, such as a spike in unemployment, we should continue to see some improvement in foreclosure inventories. I'm proud that Wells Fargo has been a leader in preventing foreclo- sures where possible. We work hard to help our customers having financial difficulty remain in their homes and view foreclosure as a last resort. For homeowners facing financial hard- ships we provide one-on-one help via call-in centers and face-to-face assistance through our Home Preservation Workshops for Wells Fargo mortgage customers as well as Home Preserva- tion Centers. What are the biggest compliance challenges you see developing for your business line in this regulatory climate? A challenge our busi- ness faces is working through many new and complex property preservation rules and laws (federal, state, and municipal) while also adher- ing to investor guidelines. is becomes more difficult when these rules and local statutes are so different in communities in the same state. We are addressing these challenges by reaching out to our stakeholders like elected officials, community leaders, and advocacy groups, and educating them so they can better understand the roles and responsibilities of the mortgage servicer, the investor, the trustee and property owner, and mortgagor. Even with the chal- lenges, we never lose sight of our vision at Wells Fargo—satisfying all of our customer's financial needs and helping them to succeed financially. Major banks have taken a large public relations hit stemming from the blame they received from the events leading up to the financial crisis. But Wells Fargo and others are also quite active in their communities. How important is community involvement to the culture of your organization? Connecting with our communities is very im- portant to our culture, whether it's through our investments in community non-profit organiza- tions or through the 1.69 million hours that our team members dedicated to volunteer activities last year. We have invested in programs to change the way we educate and communicate with customers to improve customers' understanding about their product choices and the responsibilities of home ownership. For example, our Neighborhood LIFT program is a collaborative program of Wells Fargo Bank, Wells Fargo Foundation, and NeighborWorks America, an independent nonprofit organization that is designed to provide sustainable homeownership initiatives in cities affected by the housing crisis. Created in February 2012, LIFT programs have helped create over 7,162 homeowners in cities where the programs have been introduced. What do you wish someone had told you when you first started in the industry? When I began my career in home lending 30 years ago, there were very few women in management. But with personal drive and hard work, I soon became a team leader and then a supervisor. However, it would have been great to have a little bird whisper in my ear about the importance of teamwork, collaboration and relationship building. Back then, managers appeared to drive for personal satisfaction and individual reward. What I know now, is that it takes a solid team and strong relationships to be successful. It would have been great to know earlier, that I did not have to go it alone, that I could leverage my strengths with the strengths of others to deliver, collectively, a valuable result. FIVE MINUTES WITH Get to Know Industry Executives Beyond the Boardroom

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