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10 | TH E M R EP O RT TAKE 5 In the 15 years since he acquired the company, Gagan Sharma, President and CEO, BSI Financial has helped the business keep up with the changing times, from weather- ing the Great Recession to the industry evolving to service newly originated loans. He spoke with MReport on what he sees as the key challenges in a rapidly changing envi- ronment and how technology will be a game changer for servicers to keep up with borrower needs in the future. * * * * * M // You acquired BSI Financial in 2005. How has your journey with the company been over the last 15 years? SHARMA // Change has been the only constant in the past 15 years. Within a short period of acquir- ing BSI, we had the financial crisis and the Great Recession. We had to be very nimble and pivot the business from the tra- ditional sub-servicer to a special servicer. Given the magnitude of turbulence in the market, we had to be thoughtful about what risks we took from 2008 through 2010- 2011. After 2011, we established ourselves in the specialty servicer space, working with several insti- tutional investors. We are proud of our work in helping borrowers who may not have received the service they expected at big-box firms. As a focused and specialized firm, we helped borrowers avoid many foreclosures and kept families in their homes. And in cases where the borrower could no longer afford their homes due to the eco- nomic downturn, we offered them foreclosure alternatives so that they could make a dignified transition to a new housing situation. As the economy healed over the last couple of years, we have again pivoted to where we are building our business on servicing newly originated loans, whether they are GSE or FHA/ VA or non-QM loans. The common theme for us through this evolution has been the use of data and digital technologies to provide custom solutions for our clients. We built proprietary tools and apps like the Asset360 analytics engine and our digital and mobile tools as we consistently made strides to improve the experience of bor- rowers with their servicer. We are proud of the deep relationships we have established with our clients and continue to push the envelope to provide bor- rowers with the best experience possible, while appreciating the opportunity to service their loans. M // What challenges do you see for mortgage servicers this year? SHARMA // There are a few challenges. Disaster preparedness, which has been an ongoing issue and it is always necessary for ser- vicers to update their practices and policies this year so that they are ready for any natural disasters that hit various locations in the country. In the world of default servic- ing, change means challenges. Servicers will need to adjust to changes in regulations for the servicing process of loans in bank- ruptcy. Servicers will also need to further improve the process for service transfer. In addition, they will need to adjust to a new requirement to send monthly statements to borrowers. As the industry conforms to changes, it will require more investment in technology to stay up-to-date with them. That will range from digital and mobile tools to use of artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data in the servicing process. M // How will these new technologies change the industry? SHARMA // We view three buck- ets of technology as key compo- nents in mortgage servicing: » Digital and mobile technology The Trends Altering Our World In a market where change means challenges for servicers, Gagan Sharma, President and CEO, BSI Financial Services gives insights into how the industry can arm itself to give borrowers the best homeownership experience.