2014 MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference: Washington D.C. Edition

2014 mba regulatory compliance conference
Being compliant is a major focus in our industry. With upcoming changes it’s important to gain a deeper understanding of what they mean and how they’ll affect not only our company, but also the people we help on a daily basis. Staying on top of these updates can be a daunting task, however, our regular attendance at the annual MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference allows us to be proactive instead of reactive.

In attendance for this year’s conference was our Vice President, Bradley Voyles, and our Chief Compliance Officer, Rob Green. While in Washington D.C., from September 28^th to the 30^th, they heard from key regulators and experts regarding various topics and looming changes. After they returned, I sat down with Rob to discuss his experience at the conference and what changes are in the foreseeable future.

Q&A with Rob Green

Question: How was your visit to D.C. and how was the conference overall?

Rob: I love going to D.C. in general. It’s a pleasure just to go and see the history of our country. As for the conference, I get so much out of them. I can’t help but be excited to go and hear additional details or obstacles other lenders are running into and how they tried to overcome them or how they have implemented new policies and/or procedures.

Question: Could you share what was discussed and what sessions you attended?

Rob: About 70% of the conference I spent learning about the new RESPA / TILA integration. The first day alone I went to 4 classes about this topic. The first class was all about rules, the second was on the “Loan Estimate”, the third was over the “Closing Disclosure” form, and the fourth talked about how to integrate these into our business practices.

The second day I attended a social media and advertising session, which covered areas of concern in Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) advertising on their personal social media sites. The last session of day two was a round-table discussion over requirements of a compliance management system (CMS). On the final day we had a session with additional regulators and discussed trends they were discovering in recent audits. They described how the recent findings are affecting companies’ operations. They are also looking at ways we can better communicate with the regulators.

Question: What was the greatest benefit of attending for you?

Rob: Learning about the new RESPA / TILA Integration was by far the most important. The integration becomes effective August 1, 2015. This means any application taken on or after August 1, those borrowers will see the new loan estimate disclosure form and closing disclosure form. It’s going to be a challenge to implement but it’ll make things easier for the buyer to understand, documents will be less complex for the borrower.

Question: Why is it important for companies, like us, to attend these types of conferences?

Rob: It’s beneficial to hear the regulators discuss different findings and the actions they took on those findings. Hearing these give us a better idea of the areas we need to focus on.

Not all companies put a huge emphasis on compliance. One of the great things about GVC’s ownership is they’ve made compliance a focus of the company. It’s a big deal to make sure you’re doing things correctly and it says a lot about GVC as a company. They’re not in this for a quick buck, they’re in it for the long haul.