Diversity and the Business Supply Chain in Mortgage

How can a minority-owned business get certified? What are the best practices to track and report vendor activity for diverse vendors in the mortgage and servicing industry? What steps can be taken to foster diversity in the appraisal business? These were just some of the questions that were tackled by experts during a webinar by the American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC), titled "Diversity and the Business Supply Chain."

Presented by Edmond Buckley, President Aspen Grove Solutions, Francisco Reyes, Director, Vendor Oversight, Altisource, Clint Welser, VP, Business Development, Laudan Properties, and Kirk Willison, SVP Government and Industry Relations, Altisource, the webinar began with an overview of how minority-owned businesses could get certified.

Going into the details for each, the speakers took the audience through the details of how a HUBZone designation qualified an entity to participate in federal contracts related to Low-Income Tax Credit areas. They also gave details on the different types of minority-owned enterprises that could qualify to get certified for businesses. These included LGBT-owned, service veteran-owned, small business entities, women-owned business entities, and minority business entities.

The panel then gave insights to the audience on how key industry players tracked and reported vendor diversity and how companies could consolidate practices into standard guidelines into their own vendor diversity program. From benchmarking to making a business case for having a diverse vendor network, the speakers gave tips on how companies could track diversity spends as well as how they could create general guidelines for optimal vendor management.

"Some companies require third-party certification to consider a vendor diverse while others accept self-certification as well," the panel explained. "Qualifications may vary from one certifying body to the next, but majority ownership and management are common requirements."

The webinar concluded with examples of how companies could foster new opportunities in America's appraisal industry and how increasing the ethnic and gender diversity in this industry could help the appraisal industry tackle its existing challenges.

Click here to hear the full recording of this webinar.