[David] In fact. Alice, let’s get over to your segment on, with a regulatory review, your review of a year. What are the big things you’ve been seeing?
[Alice] As I looked back to say what were the big things that actually impacted us? We had a lot, there was a lot of great programs back then throughout that year where there were some real amazing conversations that I recommend everyone go back and check on. But couple reminders. We did get the trigger lead bill through, so thanks for the MBA on getting that through. That was an important one that, missed the mark at the end of last year. So it was great to see that make it through in 2025. Certainly the government shut down, made a lot of headlines. But for us, it’s more about the reporting as it relates to that. And, I don’t see any big impact other than that, the NAR settlement, the realtors settlement for changing the Real Estate Commission, I think was one of those that had a lot of buildup. People weren’t sure what was going to happen, how was that going to influence the market. And it seems like realtors have leveled off. They’ve learned how to make that work and manage that. So I think that one has stabilized. And then I just wanna put a reminder out there. Freddie Mac issued a bulletin, 25-13, and it was a recommendation. All seller servicers are encouraged, regardless of your size, to establish an internal audit process. So you wouldn’t have to go as far as a SOC 2 Type 2 reporting if you’re under 150 billion in servicing. But nonetheless, really, this is the slower time of year for a lot of companies. It’s a good time to get projects done, and I think one of the best things you can do is set up at least some kind of group who gets together, who assesses where are my risks in my company, where I’m not doing things in compliance with agency requirements? Where do I feel are my biggest risks? And then establishing a system for someone to go in and check, is it aligning with policies I have in writing or am I missing policies that I should have? I think it’s a great time of year to do an assessment of that activity and that way you are starting what an internal audit process looks like. Pick one topic. You don’t have to feel like it’s this monstrous thing I think get done. Just start simple no matter what. If you have servicing on the books, start simple and start, assessing that, and I should say, even an origination side, there are many times you have gaps that you find out. You’re like, holy cow, that person’s still doing that. We stopped that process two years ago. You really find some good nuggets, with an internal, targeted internal audit process. So that’s my pep talk for kicking off the new year.
[David] Yeah. Good, good, good. Pep talk. Very good stuff. Thank you Alice. Appreciate it. Thank you for being here and happy New Year to you and your family. Thank you. Allen, you had something you wanted to say?
[Allen] Yeah, I don’t think. People really understand the depth of how critical it is to have a technology audit. You are all technology companies, whether you want to believe it or not, and you should also call your insurance agent immediately and get cyber insurance and, insurance on your operations because it just takes one consumer to make a phone call to say that their information was stolen and you pulled their credit, or you did the last thing with them, and that’s it. You’re in it. You gotta contact your insurance company. You could be named in lawsuits. You have to protect yourself. And by not having, forget SOC1 or SOC2, the only difference in those two audits is the amount of time that you’re monitored for in the audit process. Go hire a company to do this. They’re gonna make sure your email systems are secure. They’re gonna make sure that your servers, any technology that you have. Even if it’s something simple like you have an online spreadsheet, they’re gonna make sure they have the right roles and rights and people to access it. All it takes is a minor, minor, minor slip up or security hole, or a mistake. Even somebody emailing something when they shouldn’t have to their personal Gmail as simple as that to cause you thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars of issues. So, it is critical that you work towards what Alice said and make sure you have an audit process and you get it done by an independent third party. It’s not as expensive as you think. [David] Yeah, that’s a really good point. Thank you.
[Alice] That’s a great point, Allen. Yeah. And I’m so glad you, put that in there. That is number one.
[David] Yeah. And I think we wait, even the companies that have good procedures, it’s going back and reviewing ’em, doing an audit of ’em, like you said. But just going back and constantly make sure they’re updated and being refreshed. Friend of mine just took a significant loss, nearly a million dollars, and it had to do, it’s outside the mortgage industry and they had really tight procedures, but they’re getting more and more sophisticated. It’s not that you’re testing for the procedures that, of things that were threats. It’s anticipating the new ones and that’s when it comes to the technology side. Where they’re just getting better and better or worse, however you wanna say that. At getting in there and duping us and getting people to send money. It’s just really astounding. So I could go on and on about that topic.
Alice Alvey, Master CMB
She handles development of their World Class Training program designed to support UHM partners and organizational effectiveness.
Prior to UHM, Alice served as Senior Vice President at Indecomm leading the Indecomm-Mortgage U division, Internal QA and Compliance and SaaS technologies. Indecomm acquired Mortgage U in 2013, where Alice was President/Co-founder, providing training and consulting since 1996. Prior to MU she served as SVP of Operations at a national bank overseeing operations for wholesale, retail and correspondent from underwriting through servicing, and compliance.
She has been in the trenches of mortgage lending operations from application through servicing for over 30 years. Her authoring work in training content, policies and procedures and the FHA/VA Practical guides illustrates her ability to bridge regulatory requirements with day-to-day operations.
Alice has been a weekly contributor to the Lykken on Lending show since its beginning in April 2009 and has made her weekly contributions to 450+ episodes!