TheMReport

24 | TH E M REP O RT T eresa Bryce Bazemore has a number of titles to follow her name: president of Radian Guaranty, board member for US Mortgage Insurers, trustee at the Home Builders Institute, and member of the Philadelphia Fed's Economic Advisory Council, to name just a few—and that doesn't even touch on all of her leadership positions outside the industry. While she may be a major fig- ure in housing finance today, she had to get her start somewhere, just like everybody else. Looking back on the beginning of her legal career—as an associate at what later became DLA Piper— she remembers the difficulty of trying to piece together the com- plex mortgage system and reflects on how that experience propelled her to where she is now. "I wish I had been offered a Mortgage Banking 101 course in- stead of just learning piecemeal," Teresa said. "Luckily, as a lawyer, I was exposed to a lot of issues quickly and to more areas of the business over the first couple of years, so I was able to get an ap- preciation for the different areas of the business and how they are interrelated." Her understanding of those interdependencies has served her well, earning her general counsel positions at both PNC Mortgage and Bank of America Mortgage and the titles of SVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary for Nexstar Financial Corporation. She joined Radian Group in 2006, moving through the ranks as EVP, general counsel, chief risk officer, and secretary for the group before finally moving into her current role. Through it all, Teresa says she took inspiration from the lessons instilled in her throughout her upbringing. "My parents always taught me to work hard and to do my best. I've always focused on their advice rather than measuring myself against the efforts of others," she said. Other key factors in her success, she says, are her authenticity, integrity, and credibility, as well as her ability to think innovatively in problem- solving. Whatever her secret is, it's working. Throughout the last two decades, Teresa has been honored with a dozen different accolades from different industry groups and business publications, including being named as one of the 75 Most Powerful Women in Business by Black Enterprise Magazine and one of the 40 Most Influential Women in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal. She was also a recipient of the 2005 Mortgage Banker's Distinguished Service Award and the 2001 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, among others. On the personal side, one of Teresa's biggest achievements she remembers fondly is the purchase of her first home, a condo in Columbia, Maryland. "My parents helped me with the down payment since I had only been out of school a couple of years," she recalled. "I got an FHA loan with a 9 percent interest rate. The loan officer never told me about conventional financing with mortgage insurance." For today's young adults with aspirations of homeownership, her advice is to take the plunge now while affordability conditions still look favorable— and to keep it simple, at least at the start: "Oftentimes I hear first-time homebuyers stretching themselves to the limit to build savings for their dream home. My advice is to not stretch yourself to the limit. Remember as your income and your savings rise, you can move up to a more expensive home." POWER PLAYERS Special Section Teresa BRYCE BAZEMORE PRESIDENT OF RADIAN GUARANTY "My parents always taught me to work hard and to do my best. I've always focused on their advice rather than measuring myself against the efforts of others."

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