The Shocking Truth about E-Mortgages
by Craig Hughes
Mortgage Banking, September 2010
The other day a friend of my kids’ was over at the house wearing the ultimate spoiler T-shirt—the front of the shirt was emblazoned with a litany of movie “spoilers” (Rosebud is a sled, the boy’s analyst is a ghost, etc.). I was amused to find several spoilers that I did not already know, and it made me think how often these days I see the words “spoiler alert” in the press.
Don't Count on Silver Bullets
by Craig Hughes and Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, December 2009
While intellectually we all understand that silver bullets don’t exist, that never seems to stop people from looking for them. Invariably, when faced with a business problem in need of solving, you can count on someone charging out to look for some piece of technology that will “take care of everything.” Months later, when that new system has been implemented, just as invariably disappointment sets in because no matter how “successful” the implementation, it turns out that only part of the problem was solved.
New Roles for Rules
by Brad Parkins and Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, August 2009
In the April 2006 issue of Mortgage Banking, CC Pace contributed an article on rules engines (“Why Should I Care About Rules Engines?”) that provided an introduction to rules and rules engines, a brief history of their use in the mortgage industry and a framework to understand the rules engine products available in the marketplace. The article focused on mortgage origination—primarily around mortgage product eligibility and pricing, automated underwriting and workflow—as that was where rules technology was most commonly being applied in the industry at that time.
Managing Enterprise Risk
by Craig Hughes
Mortgage Banking, May 2009
Few things have been made clearer in the midst of the current turmoil than the need for businesses to do a better job of managing risk. For banks in particular, if the market conditions have not made the point adequately clear, then the regulators and auditors will.
Wither Commerical Mortgage Technology
by Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, February 2009
The commercial mortgages pace is very different from its residential counter part, so it shouldn’t be too
surprising that the technology used also differs. As is the case with the residential market, however, some commercial lenders have made strategic use of technology, while most others have not. Also—as with
residential — commercial mortgage volumes will be down this year and the market is changing dramatically.
Demand Surges for the Hosted LOS
by Scott Kersnar; featuring CC Pace's Managing Director of Financial Services,
Craig Hughes
Mortgage Technology, February 2009
A few years ago most mortgage professionals dismissed the notion of using a hosted loan origination system as a system of record. Have all your data housed offsite and your LOS managed by a vendor that also serves your competitors? No way.
Looking for ROI in LOS
by Craig Hughes
Mortgage Banking, December 2008
Inevitably, the funding appropriation process for any large capital expenditure begins with some form of costbenefit analysis (CBA). During that process, the claim is made that the proposed initiative will pay for itself within an acceptable time frame through the resulting return on investment (ROI). Too often, this ROI is purely hypothetical and not something the project—or anyone associated with it—is held accountable for after the fact. Projects are typically measured solely by being on time and on budget—not by achieving the intended results.
The Tale of Tech Cities
by Jennifer Adams; featuring CC Pace's President, Michael Gordon
The Voice of Technology, Fall 2008
While some Washington-area companies are working toward a blend of
government and private-sector opportunities, CC Pace Systems, Inc. is also
maximizing its efforts across private sector verticals to stay healthy in these
lean economic times.
OppenheimerFunds Gets Return on Investment from Agile and SOA
by Maria Trombly
CIO IT Drilldown Case Study, September 2008
OppenheimerFunds learned at least two lessons in its deployment of service-oriented architecture: Let business drive technology instead of the reverse, and switch to Agile development processes early.
The Promise and Perils of Reverse Mortgages
by Rob Larson & Bruce Yang
Mortgage Banking - August 2008
With the FHA commissioner whispering in one ear and the former president of Ginnie Mae whispering in the other, it’s hard not to get excited about reverse mortgages. In fact, 55,218 Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) have been originated in just the first quarter of 2008—more than in the entire year of 2005.
Putting Quality and Control Back in Quality Control
by Craig Hughes
Mortgage Banking, May 2008
As our industry struggles through its significant difficulties, most of us are focused primarily on cleaning up the aftermath—and rightfully so. As we do so, we find ourselves asking how we came to be in the current situation and what we need to do to try to ensure it never happens again.
The Future of AUTOMATED UNDERWRITING
by Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, February 2008
As someone who has spent considerable time helping clients with their business and technology strategies, and spent a fair amount of time pondering the industry’s current state of affairs, I’ve recently come to an important conclusion: As the mortgage industry emerges from the current turmoil, automated underwriting (AU) is going to be more important than ever. It will be, in many respects, much improved from what we have been used to—and absolutely vital to conducting business.
Maintaining a Vendor Relationship
by Debbie Shatz
Mortgage Banking, February 2008
You’ve selected your product, negotiated the contract with the vendor, implemented the system within your organization to rave reviews and are sitting back thinking it’s all over. Instead, it is really just the beginning.
The Upside of the Downturn
by Jared Townshend & Janiece Tucker
Mortgage Banking, May 2007
This may be one of the few positive articles you will read this year about the mortgage industry. It examines what some lenders are doing well, rather than focusing on lenders that are exiting the business. This article is devoted to the lenders that have successfully stayed on the upside of the downturn.
Communicating Change?
by Janiece Tucker
Mortgage Banking, May 2007
Have you ever been given new software to use in your job, without really understanding why? Have you been asked to start using a new accounting method that you just don ’t understand? Have you ever gone months without any updates on some project that seemed to be a high corporate priority not that long ago?
Why Do I Need My Own Project Manager If the Vendor Provides One?
by Debbie Shatz
Mortgage Banking, February 2007
A question asked fairly frequently by our clients is why they would need to appoint their own project manager to an implementation effort when their vendor is assigning one. The simple response to this question is: The vendor’s project manager represents the vendor and its interests—so who will represent you and yours?
Project Risk Management
by Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, February 2007
The mortgage industry is an industry built on risk—interest-rate risk and default risk are two examples—and successful lenders take necessary steps to mitigate these risks. But when it comes to technology projects, it is infrequent that we see adequate risk analysis and mitigation activities being performed. In this column, we provide an introduction to risk analysis, including the key tools that CC Pace uses to perform project risk analysis.
Defining Project Success
by Debbie Shatz
Mortgage Banking, December 2006
Whether you’re implementing new technology or new processes, changing the way you do business or altering the company culture, there are expectations among your team members, stakeholders and sponsors. But do they share the same expectations?
ASP vs. MSP: Is Either Right for You?
by Barbara Michels
Mortgage Banking, August 2006
You need a replacement point-of-sale system (POS) — but do you have the right infrastructure to support and maintain an in-house system? Should you use an application service provider (ASP) instead? Or how about something even more radical, such as outsourcing your entire infrastructure to a managed service provider (MSP)—also called a management service provider?
The New Face of Imaging
by Craig Hughes
Mortgage Banking, August 2006
After suffering from a lackof interest for a long time, imaging has suddenly caught on in the mortgage industry.
Why Should I Care About Rules Engines?
by Tim VanTassel & Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, April 2006
Rules engines, decision engines and workflow engines are all current buzzwords in our industry as we increasingly strive to automate the business rules that once were the domain of the specialist. This article will help the non-technical executive better understand these terms by defining what rules engines are, giving a brief history of their use in the mortgage industry and providing a framework for understanding the different options available.
The New System Is Live — How Come It’s Not Better?
by John Cherry & Jared Townshend
Mortgage Banking, April 2006
Even “successful” technology projects can be failures. They fail to live up to their initial promise and fall short of producing the desired business results. The following account is a compilation of some real-life experiences that have happened to various CC Pace clients over the past three years. The narrative is told through the voice of a system end-user...
Negotiating a Vendor Contract
by Debbie Shatz
Mortgage Banking, January 2006
Contract negotiation is a key activity that frequently fails to receive the preparation or attention it deserves. This very important step in the purchase and implementation of any technology solution is often treated as its own activity, separate from both the selection and implementation phases. This disparate approach does not sufficiently acknowledge the need for buy-in and support from the implementation team. It also does not consistently ensure the agreement is based on the critical areas identified by the selection process, and usually fails to contribute to the relationship-building begun during the selection phase.
Managing Cyclicality
by Bill Lehman
Mortgage Banking, March 2005
During the last refinance boom some of the effects of increased loan volume were absorbed by technology, especially through automated underwriting (AU), but there is still much more that can be done. This is evidenced by the industry’s falling margins now.
