TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/734547
8 | TH E M R EP O RT TAKE 5 M // What are your priorities in your new position as Head of Fifth Third Mortgage? ROBINSON // I want to continue to drive innovation through products, process, and customer service, by keeping the customer at the center of all we do. We are actively engaged with the industry, our communities, our customers, and community organizations to listen to the voices of consumers so that we can tailor our business to best meet their needs. Striking a good balance between disciplined growth and continued process improvement and process excellence capabilities is another priority. Though I am focused on growing the business—volume, rev - enue, and profitability—rather ag- gressively over the next few years, I recognize that sound growth can only come by ensuring we provide excellent customer service. We uti - lize tools such as Lean Six Sigma for continuous process improve- ment, and we maintain discipline on growing in the markets and segments upon which we've built our strategy for the next few years. M // What are the biggest challenges you face when overseeing a servicing portfolio of more than a MILLION loans? ROBINSON // The single largest challenge facing any servicer today is in default management when a borrower becomes delinquent in making his or her payments. Since the financial crisis, the regulatory environment has changed im - mensely, particularly in the area of mortgage servicing. Though these changes have proven helpful for borrowers in ways, such as single point of contact case managers to aid throughout the term of delin - quency or having added assistance in obtaining loan modifications, the rules vary widely from state to state. And many of the rules, both state and federal, are writ - ten in rather ambiguous language that leaves wide interpretation of process. This lends itself to process variation, confusion by consum - ers and servicers, a poor customer experience, and sometimes mis- takes. We are dedicated to doing what is right for the customer at all times, but due to the varying requirements by state and federal regulators, as well as investors who buy the loans from such places as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it unfortunately is easy to make errors and cause angst for all. Sound execution of any process requires attention to service, quality, and speed. The unfortunate reality is that regulatory and investor requirements are generally changing faster than servicers can keep pace with. So servicers have to consistently wrap technology with manual workarounds, which is not a recipe for success in the long term. The servicing community, regulators, and investors must collaborate to determine how to create sustainable processes and technology advancement if we truly want to do what's best for the customer and ensure compliance. Edward L. Robinson was named SVP and Head of Fifth Third Mortgage, a division of Fifth Third Bancorp, in July 2016. Now that he has had time to settle into this role, we thought it fitting to get his thoughts on the industry in honor of our issue dedicated to the "Best in Origination." His distinguished career in banking has also included serving as SVP and as VP of originations with PHH, one of the top 10 mortgage originators in the country. He has held various positions of increasing responsibility with Genworth Financial and General Electric and served 15 years in the U.S. Army as a Special Operations team leader, during which time he successfully completed elite technical and leadership training and completed four combat tours, operating in 15 countries. Robinson recently spoke with MReport about his new role with Fifth Third and the current state of the originations market. Fifth Third's Robinson Shares His Views on the Industry and the Inner Workings of this Top Bank Staying Actively Engaged With the Industry