Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/975135
ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 15 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), so how do we get consumers to consent to these activities? Consumers want it, but they have to consent for us to do it. We're still back at that basic blocking and tackling level, in my opinion, and we have to do better. We're still addressing a great deal of technology issues that are impeding our progress. is industry as a whole is still pretty ba- sic, and we have got to start figuring out how to modernize our industry to meet consumer needs. Do you think that process is about trying to roll things out gradually or do pilot programs? Or is it about communicating with the consumers to figure out what is wanted? It's both. For the most part, we know where consumers are, we know the kind of things they like. We've done enough surveys, and we understand it. e problem is, we have limitations in our platforms. e two big service providers really can't do auto-text-messaging and auto-emails today. Go to any credit card system and they will show you how it is done. e servicing platforms were not built for those types of technological advances. Historically, in this business, we have believed that we know what's best for the consumer, and so our systems have always dictated what we thought was best. We live in a different world now, where the consumers are speaking out and telling us, "No, what we think is best is X." To keep up will require a large investment in our core technology, and that's a massive undertaking. We've built systems on old architecture and technology that are not easy to change. You can't go in and flip the switch and make something happen. We understand consumer needs to a large degree, so the question is, how do we get there? How do we build the infrastructure around that to get us to where we need to be? I'm sure cost is a concern as well. It is a concern, obviously, but the reality is we need to spend money to improve the industry. It will make our operations more efficient and capable of meeting consumers' needs. ere's a lot of conversation right now about servicing costs. It's probably tripled over the last three years. I remember days when average servicing costs were $56 a loan, and now it's $200 a loan. e spend on technology clearly gets us more bang for the buck, but the industry is still struggling with how to pay for these advances in technology. What are some of the things that servicers can do to prepare for that sort of constant evolution? Every time we go into a disaster, or every time we go into a downturn in the market, it shouldn't feel like the first time we've ever done it. is last crisis, when things started to happen, delinquencies started to rise and foreclosures began to grow, we came out of the gate very poorly. We started throwing a lot of things at the problem to fix it and we simply were not prepared. It was almost like we were developing stuff on the fly. Now, we have an opportunity to step back and say, "What are all the lessons we've learned in this process?" Let's build a playbook for the future, so if these 10 things happen, we have a roadmap to be able to implement the right changes and address consumers' needs quickly to avoid confusion and turmoil. For the servicing business, this is the time for us to take a step back, look at who we are, analyze the things that we've done, come up with a standardized playbook, look at the tech- nology shortfalls we have, and figure out what we need to improve on for the future. Are you taking into consideration the possibility of these natural disasters becoming more frequent and more damaging going forward? A disaster is a disaster, right? Hurricane, fire. It doesn't matter. e way we react as an industry is the same. Somebody's going to go file a claim. FEMA's going to require certain things. No matter what the disaster is or when it occurs, we need to have a standardized process that says, when it occurs and when it's been declared, here are steps we are to take. Part of the problem is, when it happens, we all sit around and talk about it. We say, "Okay, this is what we're going to do, we're going to develop a playbook." And then ten other things come up, and we forget about it, and we don't do it. en the next disaster hits, and we're like, "Oh yeah, we were going to build a playbook for this." e same thing could happen and likely will happen, as history tells us, with down- turns in the marketplace. is crisis was a fair- ly deep crisis, so the question is, what did we learn, what are we going to to do next time, and who are the leaders who will sit down now to develop the playbook to prepare us for the next time? Are we going to be prepared or are we going to get caught flat-footed again? e choice is an industry-wide decision that needs to be addressed. "The technology in the servicing space has probably lagged behind the industry and consumer needs for some years now. So, how do we get with our core servicing providers and figure out how to change the technology to be more consumer-friendly, create better productivity, and remain flexible to an ever-changing regalutory landscape, all while preparing for the future and any crisis we may incur?"