We’re excited to welcome back to the program Seth Sprague, Executive Vice President at PHOENIX.
As we head into 2019 it’s clear that the interest rate volatility has been dramatic since we Seth was last on the program. Today he’ll share his thoughts on how this has impacted the MSR market, originations and MSR values.
Seth has over 25 years of mortgage banking experience, with emphasis on the mortgage servicing right (MSR) asset and an in-depth knowledge of MSR modelling techniques, MSR accounting and capital issues and MSR transaction management.
Topics to be Covered in this Episode and Interview with Seth Sprague:
1. Indications that the Federal Reserve may not increase rates further in 2019, but how others suggest that the Fed may lower rates. How should you change / alter your strategy to account for rate uncertainty?
2. The most recent data from Black Knight that suggests housing appreciation is slowing, and how we have been in a nice increase in values for some time now. How should we be thinking about this in terms of our 2019 strategy?
3. On the origination side of things, what are the types of companies that benefit most from a drop in interest rates and a potential increase in refinance activity? What are some steps that a company can take to perform better under this scenario?
And more!
Want to know more about Seth Sprague?
Seth D. Sprague CMB, EVP of Trading & Analytics, joined PHOENIX in 2013 after more than ten years with SunTrust Mortgage managing mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio valuation process as well as their periodic MSR transactions.
Seth’s primary responsibilities at PHOENIX include managing bulk and flow MSR transactions and offering strategic advice across PHOENIX’s 250 plus clients. In 2017, Seth’s duties were expanded to include a more active role in the strategic leadership in PHOENIX Analytics with an emphasis on developing and providing strategic valuation solutions to meet the needs of clients.
Seth has a total of over 25 years of mortgage banking and servicing valuation experience at a variety of firms including SunTrust Mortgage, Bank of America Mortgage, United Financial/Matrix Financial and KPMG LLP.
In 2018, Seth was selected as Secretary of the MBA’s Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) Society and continues to serve on a number of committees with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) including the Financial Management Steering Committee, MBA’s Servicing Council for the 21st Century, MBA’s BASEL III and the Servicing Compensation Working Group.
Seth is a frequent speaker at various MBA and other industry conferences often speaking on liquidity and the overall challenges present in the mortgage industry. Seth has been an instructor with the MBA’s School of Mortgage Banking (SOMB) program since 2007, teaching “Servicing/MSR Day” and also as an instructor for the MBA School of Mortgage Servicing. Seth holds an MBA from the University of Colorado – Denver and an undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond with a concentration in Accounting.
Contact Seth through his Linkedin profile.
Excerpts from this Episode:
1. Listen: Why get into servicing mortgages…
2. Listen: What is servicing worth…
3. Listen: The Basel III bus tour… understanding Basel…
4. Listen: On interest rate volatility…
5. Listen: Data provided by Black Knight and how that could change strategies for 2019…
6. Listen: Opinions on MSR recommendations…
7. Listen: Should I retain servicing or not?
8. Listen: The type of companies that benefit most from a drop in interest rates and potenital increase in refinace activity
9. Listen: Concerned we are teaching people to do heart surgery on a youtube video… this is complicated stuff
10. Listen: Evaluating if servicing is right for you…