DSNews The homepage of the servicing industry
Click through to learn more about joint ventures, crucial hires, industry awards and more in this weekly update.
Equifax, the Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered global data, analytics, and technology company has announced a strategic partnership with FICO, a California based predictive analytics and data science company.
Through this partnership, FICO and Equifax are introducing the Data Decisions Cloud, an end-to-end data and analytics suite that addresses key needs across risk, marketing, and fraud to enable financial institutions to meet the needs of consumers faster and more precisely.
“We are energized about this broad partnership between Equifax and FICO. Two industry leaders are joining forces to help financial institutions better meet the needs of consumers and improve business agility,” said Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax. “Our partnership will seamlessly integrate Equifax’s differentiated data assets and Ignite platform with FICO’s market-leading cloud based decisioning software and applications.”
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Tromberg Law Group, one of the largest woman-owned creditor firms in Florida, is now expanding into Virginia with a new office located in the heart of Richmond, the state capital. Firm owner Andrea Tromberg acquired Gladstone Law Group in 2017, the firm at which she had served as Managing Partner since 2011, and immediately began looking for opportunities to expand beyond Florida and Puerto Rico.
Tromberg brought on Kelly Gring, an attorney based in the city of Richmond, Virginia. Gring graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2005 and earned her law degree from the University of Richmond’s T.C. William’s School of Law in December 2007. Gring has been practicing in the field of creditor’s rights since 2008.
Gring is licensed to practice in the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, as well as the Eastern and Western District Bankruptcy Courts of Virginia, and became licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia in 2016. She is a seasoned litigator and has appeared in most of Virginia’s 133 state courts, the Eastern District of Virginia, and both the Eastern and Western District of Virginia Bankruptcy Courts with regularity.
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Fort Worth, Texas-based Colonial Savings (Colonial), a national, multi-service financial institution, has again been named a Fannie Mae STAR Performer in General Servicing for 2018.
Fannie Mae's Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards, or STAR Program, recognizes financial institutions who have demonstrated best practices in a number of servicing categories including a review of relevant people, strategies, processes, and applicable metrics.
According to Colonial, this award comes on the heels of the launch of its Mortgage Services' new state-of-the-art website that is designed to make it easier for its customers to make a mortgage payment, access FAQs, schedule automatic payments, and more.
"We are very proud to again be named a Fannie Mae STAR Performer," said Tim Neer, SVP, Director of Loan Servicing. "Colonial continues to be a top-tier mortgage servicer year after year. Being awarded this distinction helps to solidify the fact that we continue to make positive changes for our customers."
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New York-based Berkadia today announced the addition of three new members to its mortgage banking team: Managing Directors Carolyn Whatley and Laura Beaton, as well as Senior Director George Spadier. Berkadia’s mortgage banking team employs more than 135 advisers in 31 offices across the country. In 2018, Berkadia’s loan origination volume was over $26 billion, with 1,388 loans closed and over $18 billion in combined agency loan volume.
“2018 was a great year for our mortgage banking team and we’re optimistic as 2019 gets underway. Economic fundamentals remain strong and multifamily demand is solid, but more than that, we’re energized by the incredible talent we’re continuing to attract to Berkadia,” said Hilary Provinse, EVP and Head of Mortgage Banking.
“Bringing Carolyn, Laura and George onboard enhances our regional and product expertise and is another step in our ongoing effort to cultivate best-in-class talent in every major market across the company,” continued Provinse. “We continue to broaden and diversify our offering—our recent approvals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac small balance loan programs being one example—while we’re simultaneously adding strategic expertise and experience to our team. As our industry, and our organization, increases its focus on technology and product innovation, we remain cognizant that people—our teams and our clients—are the cornerstone of our business and that nurturing and supporting our deep client relationships is what will truly propel us forward.”
