DS News - Bank of America

» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 87 in the Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) category. e judges' comments included feedback that NatGen has "an impressive platform and a history of doing it right," along with "great results and focus on exceptional customer service by leveraging effective technology." "NatGen has an enduring commitment to consistently deliver solutions and results that protect our clients' brand and secure the relationships with their customers," said Art Castner, President of National General Lender Services. "We are so pleased that our focus on the customer experience has been recognized with two prestigious Stevie Awards. Coupled with our 12-year call center of excellence certi- fication from BenchmarkPortal, they provide compelling external validation of both our commitment and results." North Carolina-based NatGen is a full- service insurance tracking and lender-placed insurance provider with over 42 years' experi- ence. TEXAS Five Star Global and AM&AA Partnership: Positioned for Growth Dallas-based Five Star Global—a national event, publishing, and marketing firm cur- rently focused on the mortgage servicing industry—announced a financial and working partnership with e Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), a provider of education and business-building opportuni- ties for M&A middle market professionals. is partnership will serve as a cooperative endeavor to positively enhance future Alliance events, including the twice-annual conference, which serves thousands of private business investment, advisory, and transactional experts through expert education, advanced certi- fications, and unparalleled networking and deal-making opportunities. Five Star Global will assist with marketing, logistics, and operational support as AM&AA expands its position as the world's foremost authority for private company mergers and acquisitions. "On behalf of the entire team, we are thrilled to join forces with Five Star Global," said Michael Nall, Founder and Managing Director at AM&AA. "rough this growth partnership, we will continue to enhance and expand the education, networking, deal-mak- ing opportunities provided to highly qualified, independent professionals across the entire Wilmington and New Bern metropolitan areas, the report noted. "On a national basis, we continue to see strong loan performance," said Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic. "Areas that were impacted by hurricanes or wildfires in 2018 are now seeing relatively large annual gains in the share of mortgages moving into 30-day delinquency. As with previous disas- ters, this is to be expected and we will see the impacts dissipate over time." e report revealed that as of November 2018, 4.1 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency, a 1.1 percentage point de- cline in the overall delinquency rate compared with November 2017, when it was 5.2 percent. "Solid income growth, a record amount of home equity, and an absence of high-risk loan products put the U.S. homeowner on solid ground," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at CoreLogic. "All of this has helped push delinquency and foreclosure rates to the lowest levels in almost two decades, and will provide a cushion if the housing market should turn down." e foreclosure rate was 0.4 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. e transition rate or share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due fell as well, down by one percent to 0.9 percent year over year. e rate for early-stage delinquencies, loans 30 to 59 days past due, was 2 percent, down from 2.2 percent in November 2017. e share of mortgages that were 60 to 89 days past due in November 2018 was 0.7 percent, down from 0.9 percent in the previous year. NatGen Recognized for Customer Service National General Lender Services (Nat- Gen) was presented with two Stevie Awards during the 13th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. e Stevie Awards honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. e Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service are open to all organizations worldwide and recognize the achievements of sales, customer service, and call center professionals. Winners are determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in seven specialized judging committees. NatGen earned a Silver Stevie Award in the Best Use of Technology in Customer Service category and a Bronze Stevie Award middle-market spectrum." With over a decade and a half experience in event promotions and hosting, the Five Star Institute annually hosts over a dozen events for business professionals across the U.S. residential mortgage and real estate market. is includes the largest event in mortgage servicing, the annual Five Star Conference and Expo, hosted in Dallas, Texas. "We are excited to welcome AM&AA to the Five Star Global family of companies," said Ed Delgado, President and CEO at Five Star Global, LLC. "Our partnership with this storied organization represents an opportu- nity for its dedicated membership to deepen their connections and expand their reach into additional opportunities. We look forward to continuing the more than 20-year tradition of excellence that has become synonymous with the AM&AA brand." Editor's Note: Five Star Global is the parent company to DS News. BSI Financial Secures $140M for MSR BSI Financial Services, a Texas-based mortgage servicing operations platform, has partnered with two institutional investors to purchase mortgage servicing rights (MSR). is capability is funded by a capital raised in excess of $140 million, which was nearly three times the amount targeted. BSI Financial will source, perform due diligence, and service MSR assets acquired in partnership with these investors. Prior to the acquisition, BSI was focused on its loan-processing platform. Gagan Sharma, BSI Financial Presi- dent and CEO, said, "With our new MSR acquisition capability, we offer our existing subservicing clients, as well as other lenders in- terested in selling servicing rights, the value of convenience and liquidity." Lenders that elect to subservice their loans with the company may be able to reap economic benefits, efficien- cies, and flexibility. Sharma added, "We now provide a connection to the capital markets in addition to our subservicing and other a la carte services." Lenders who partner with BSI for servic- ing and subservicing have the option to either subservice or sell MSR on either a bulk or flow basis. In return, lenders could possibly see ac- celerated cash flow and reduced operating risk that can arise when dealing with aggregators. In addition, loans will be boarded on the company's ASSET360 platform, which uses exception-based processing to identify data anomalies during loan boarding and over the

• Cover