TheMReport

42 | TH E M R EP O RT SERVICING THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Chase's Dimon on Mortgage Reform Jamie Dimon says current mortgage laws hinder lending and the overall economy. I n an annual letter to share- holders, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated that the United States is in desperate need of mortgage reform, which he argues would add to America's economic growth. "Reducing onerous and unnec - essary origination and servicing requirements (there are 3,000 federal and state requirements to - day) and opening up the securitiza- tion markets for safe loans would dramatically improve the cost and availability of mortgages to con - sumers—particu- larly the young, the self-employed, and those with prior defaults," Dimon said. "And these would not be sub - prime mortgages but mortgages that we should be making," Dimon continued. "By taking this step, our economists believe that homeownership and economic growth would increase by up to 0.2% a year." According to Dimon, it was mortgage laws that led to the Great Recession in 2008, and today, bad mortgage laws are hindering economic growth. "Because there are so many regulators involved in crafting the new rules, coupled with political intervention that isn't always helpful, it is hard to achieve the much-needed mortgage reform," Dimon said. "This has become a critical issue and one reason why banks have been moving away from significant parts of the mortgage business. That business, in particular, highlights one of the flaws of our complicated capital allocation regime." Citing JPMorgan Chase's analysis Dimon said, "$1 trillion in additional mortgage loans might have been made over a five- year period had we reformed our mortgage system." Additionally, in his letter, Dimon noted the impact student loans have had on mortgages and household formation. "Irrational student lending, soaring college costs, and the burden of student loans have become a significant issue," Dimon said. "The impact of student debt is now affecting mortgage credit and household formation—a $1,000 increase in student debt reduces subsequent homeownership rates by 1.8%. Recent research shows that the burdens of student debt are now starting to affect the economy." Fannie Mae Recognizes STAR Performers RoundPoint and Colonial Savings received recognition for general servicing. R oundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation and Colonial Savings have earned the Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program performer rec- ognition from Fannie Mae. This recognition is given by Fannie Mae to top-performing servicers. RoundPoint said it earned the STAR recognition for two categories: General Servicing and Solution Delivery, based on specif - ic metrics set by Fannie Mae. "We are honored to receive Fannie Mae's STAR recognition because it acknowledges the tre- mendous effort put forth by our customer service team to consis- tently deliver exceptional support," said Kevin Brungardt, CEO of RoundPoint. "The recognition aligns with our corporate values, our focus on service excellence, and being 'all things home' to our customers." According to Colonial, this award comes on the heels of the launch of its mortgage services' new state-of-the-art website that is designed to make it easier for its customers to make a mortgage payment, access FAQs, schedule automatic payments, and more. "We are very proud to again be named a Fannie Mae STAR Performer," said Tim Neer, SVP, Director of Loan Servicing. "Colonial continues to be a top- tier mortgage servicer year after year. Being awarded this distinc - tion helps to solidify the fact that we continue to make positive changes for our customers." The STAR Program is a performance management and recognition program with a trans - parent and formal framework that recognizes Fannie Mae's servicing partners for their competency, capacity, and overall performance. The program was created to measure servicers across key operational and performance areas relative to their peers and to recognize high achievement through STAR designations. It is based on scorecard metrics related to customer service and foreclosure prevention results and operational assessments of the servicer's processes, policies, and capabilities. "Colonial has been a customer- first company since it was founded as Fort Worth Mortgage Corporation in 1952," said J. David Motley, President. "Colonial has continued to improve the customer experience, embracing the latest technology and other methods to ensure our customers receive the level of service they have come to expect over the last 67 plus years." RoundPoint is a national co- issue servicer, loan subservicer, and residential mortgage lender. As one of the nation's largest non - bank mortgage servicers, it cur- rently services nearly $90 billion worth of mortgage assets and is authorized to service loans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Founded in 1952 as Fort Worth Mortgage Corporation, Colonial is one of the largest servicers of residential mortgage loans in the United States, with a servicing portfolio of $26 billion. Colonial operates three mortgage origination divisions, Colonial National Mortgage, CU Members Mortgage, and Community Bankers Mortgage. "$1 trillion in additional mortgage loans might have been made over a five-year period had we reformed our mortgage system." —Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO

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