Looking at my work calendar, I noticed that today is April Fools’ Day. Another of your unique Earth celebrations—we don’t have a day dedicated to practical jokes on Amicitia, but that doesn’t mean we don’t pull a fast one every now and then. This one time, I affixed a device very similar to what you call a “harmonica” to the intake vent of my friend Eugene’s hovercraft. Every time he revved up the power cells, a strange whistle-like melody would play! Drove him crazy. I’m still waiting for retaliation on that one.
I can appreciate a good joke as can my colleagues here at myCUmortgage. Yet, there’s one thing that’s definitely no laughing matter—compliance. In fact, compliance and risk management are probably the furthest things from a joke, as they very well should be.
We take great pride in compliance at myCUmortgage and view it as one of many important services we provide to our partner credit unions. Because of our dedication to mitigating risk, we’re continuously growing our team of compliance, risk and quality control experts—shout out to Brandon, Cherri, Dan, Dom, Don, Gary, Hannah, Lisa, Marianne and Yvonne! And last year, we added one of the most recognized and respected subject matter experts in the field, Michael Christians. It’s no coincidence that Michael’s session during our annual Partner Conference is the most requested, best attended and highest rated. I’ve also heard that he makes the annual Reg Z training informative and fun; who does that with compliance?
That said, we all realize that compliance is very important for many different reasons. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements, for example, may result in:
- Fines and penalties
- Harm to the credit union’s reputation and brand
- Legal action affecting the credit union and possibly individual staff
Very important stuff. As I see it, the most important aspect of compliance goes beyond these items—it is the trust it establishes that is most important. Trust between myCUmortgage and our credit union partners. Trust between our credit union partners and their members. Trust between their members and myCUmortgage. Trust in that we’re all in this together and have each other’s best interests at heart.
Maintaining that level of trust is no jaunt around the Earth’s moon and back. It takes a constant and sustained effort to ensure each and every steppingstone on the path to home ownership and the life of the loan is in place.
Credit unions can do this in one of two ways, or a combination of both:
- A credit union can have a compliance expert on staff. Depending on the size of the credit union and their volume of mortgage loans, an entire team of experts may be needed.
- A credit union can partner with compliance experts outside of their organization, experts who know the mortgage industry and the credit union way of doing business. This is an ideal option for any credit union with limited resources or expertise. This type of partnership provides the credit union with peace of mind knowing that each home loan has been checked for any potential compliance risks.
At myCUmortgage, we assist our partner credit unions in both of these scenarios. For those who have their own compliance experts or teams, we provide continuing education opportunities to keep them on top of industry changes and trends. myCUmortgage also facilitates some of the required compliance courses for all credit union mortgage team members. And our experts continually comb through each and every loan.
Many of our credit union partners rely exclusively on myCUmortgage for all of this and more. Although most mortgage industry professionals typically don’t stand around and talk compliance, that’s okay—myCUmortgage has you covered! Our comprehensive compliance services are really an umbrella partner service over everything we do as well as the credit union’s resource for anything risk related.
What are your thoughts on the importance of compliance and risk management? How does your credit union ensure your members’ home loans are in compliance? Please comment below.
Compliance, by its very nature, is a serious matter in mortgage lending and servicing. However, with the right partner and resources, you won’t be fooled in April or any other month—you’ll instead have peace of mind knowing that you and, more importantly, your members are covered.
I must ooze away now—somehow, the communications array on my spaceship was jammed… with strawberry preserves! Good one, Eugene.