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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 For years, we've built our business around serving underserved borrowers–those with credit scores or life's events that make it dif- ficult for them to get a mortgage or refinance loan," said Ray Brousseau, President of Carrington Mortgage Services. "Because we manually underwrite each loan, we're able to analyze an individual's personal history, recog- nize their needs and responsibly lend to them. Our clients, Realtor, and broker partners bring us their challenging loans because they know that we know how to work with these borrow- ers to help them get their loans and keep them in their homes." Payment history is one of the most impor- tant factors affecting a person's credit score and their ability to get a mortgage or refinance a loan. Experian reports that one in four adults do not always pay their bills on time. A missed payment is the single biggest indicator of credit risk and has the greatest impact on an indi- vidual's credit and ability to secure a loan. "at's where we come in," Brousseau added. "Not all mortgage companies have the ability to offer loan products in a responsible way to those who don't fit into the traditional lending environment, and we don't want to see a return to the kind of careless lending prac- tices that led to the foreclosure crisis back in 2008. Carrington is an expert in underwriting and servicing challenging loans. We are one of the very few lenders nationally that can truly assist borrowers with low FICO scores and keep their loans performing at a high level." Carrington's new non-agency loan products is an ideal solution for consumers with lower credit scores, high debt-to-income ratios, who are self-employed, or who have had a recent credit event–such as foreclosure, bankruptcy, missed credit card, or late mortgage payment– and may not be eligible for conventional or government loan products. Carrington also recently lowered its minimum FICO score requirement to 500 for FHA and VA loans to provide the wid- est possible range of opportunities to help underserved borrowers more easily become homeowners. "We'd like to be the lender of choice for otherwise qualified borrowers who have less than perfect credit scores, and for the real estate agents and mortgage brokers who work with them," Brousseau continues. "We believe there are millions of Americans who historically would have been able to qualify for a loan, but simply haven't been able to get one since the Great Recession. And we believe they deserve a chance to achieve the dream of homeownership." Mr. Cooper Introduces New Digital Tools for Borrowers Mr. Cooper, one of the largest nonbank mortgage servicers and mortgage lenders, has announced a design thinking initiative to de- velop mobile-friendly solutions that reimagine the experience of homeownership for customers. e Dallas-based mortgage company is also launching a web and mobile-based loan tracker as part of its new digital mortgage experience. e design thinking initiative is a key part of Mr. Cooper's commitment to creating a technology-led experience that puts custom- ers first and helps them realize the dream of homeownership while using their homes more intelligently and managing their finances holistically. "Mr. Cooper is out to change the experience of homeownership for our customers, giving them the technology, tools, and information they need to better understand their home as an asset and a key part of their overall wealth," said Jay Bray, Chairman and CEO of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, the parent company for the Mr. Cooper brand. "At Mr. Cooper, our team members are committed to delivering radi- cal customer service and providing innovative technology-driven solutions that enable intel- ligent homeownership. Ultimately, we want to help our customers better understand and take advantage of their home asset to optimize their personal balance sheets." Mr. Cooper is implementing a constant customer feedback loop to test, hone, and guide product strategies and designs to develop solutions that help customers manage not only their mortgage, but their overall financial health. e company has hired IDEO, a global design, and innovation company, to support elements of this initiative. e first of many new product launches is Mr. Cooper's new digital loan tracker, which will be available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. e tracker will include real- time information about an applicant's mortgage application status, easy-to-understand descrip- tions of documents needed to keep the process moving towards closing, and single-click upload capabilities for required documents. "Mr. Cooper's new technology initiatives, such as our updated digital loan tracker, are being designed with both our customers' and internal team members' needs in mind to make the experience more streamlined, more infor- mative and easier to understand," said Tony Ebers, EVP of Originations at Mr. Cooper. credit, service, and community development needs of the communities they serve. e CRA Wiz and Fair Lending Wiz are part of the Wiz solution suite, a collection of compliance intelligence software solutions that can be customized to meet a variety of needs and budgets. e CRA Wiz is designed to apply a wide range of fully customizable automation technologies to CRA reporting processes and is designed to give a total CRA compliance pro- gram that fits clients' services and market. e Fair Lending Wiz is designed to position client institutions for growth by providing robust analysis allowing easy identification of potential risk and immediate corrective action to remedy unfair lending practices. Fair Lending Wiz analyzes, verifies, and documents compliance with all fair lending regulations. "As a former Officer of rift Supervision (OTS) examiner, I am accustomed to using Wolters Kluwer CRA and Fair Lending Wiz technology in my examinations, and I trust the data these solutions provide," said Marcus Vasquez, VP and Fair Banking Officer at Al- legiance Bank. "We are a growing commercial bank, and I want to have the assurance that our data would be comparable, if not exact, as to what regulators are using when conducting our examinations. e peace of mind these solutions provide is invaluable." Carrington Launches 'Non-Prime' Lending Program Carrington Mortgage Services, based in Plano, Texas, has expanded its residential mortgage offerings to make access to home loans a greater possibility for the roughly 100 million U.S. consumers who have less than perfect credit. e introduction of its proprietary, non-prime loan products is the next step in Carrington's ongoing focus to help underserved borrowers purchase or refinance a home. e move also underscores Carrington's confidence and track record of success in working with this segment of the population that has a difficult time qualifying for a loan in today's tight credit market. According to Experian's eighth annual State of Credit survey, 21.2 percent of Americans have credit scores below 600. For these consumers, especially in today's risk-averse lending environ- ment, access to appropriate financing options can be a challenge. Carrington has developed the expertise to qualify creditworthy borrowers with less-than-perfect credit, originate quality loans and service them.