MBA Premier Member Profile: Sutherland Mortgage Services
(One in a continuing series of Premier Members of the Mortgage Bankers Association)
Sutherland Mortgage Services, Houston, is a premier mortgage outsourcing company with a full menu of component and end-to-end mortgage services. With more than 1,500 mortgage professionals on staff, Sutherland can offer complete on-shore or blended off-shore solutions. Sutherland currently supports top mortgage originators in the industry.
For more information, visit www.sutherlandglobal.com; email us at sgsmortgage@sutherlandglobal.com; or call us at 1-800-388-4557, ext. 2812. Address: 5959 Corporate Drive, Suite 3000, Houston, TX 77036
Sutherland provides the following originations solutions:
–End-to-end fulfillment
–Customer-focused processing
–Expert underwriting
–Closing
–Post-closing
–Quality control/quality assurance
We provide the following servicing solutions:
–Loan boarding
–Customer service
–Cashiering
–Escrow
–Custody and records
–Payoffs and lien releases
–Default
–Loss mitigation
–Analytics and reporting
–Sub-servicing
Ann Jarema is Sutherland’s Senior Director of BFSI Industry Marketing.
MBA NEWSLINK: What trends might your company find compelling in the next few years?
ANN JAREMA: Lenders are increasingly pressured on productivity and production costs and compliance; but what customers want is excellent service at a fair cost. Our dual-shore process keeps the loan in motion 24 hours a day. All customer interactions come from the U.S. staff, and they handle more expensive tasks, such as underwriting. By off-shoring, however, the U.S. team doesn’t get bogged down with smaller assignments. Our goal is to continue to evolve our processes and practices, transforming our business to seek additional efficiencies that save our clients’ money, while ensuring borrowers receive the customer experience that they expect.
NEWSLINK: What is the single most important issue facing your company right now?
JAREMA: Today’s lenders are experiencing a juggling act. They need to manage loan origination cost, provide capacity on demand for fluctuating volumes, deliver high quality output to investors, keep cycle times to an absolute minimum, enable optimum investment in technology, and ensure high-quality personnel.
The net cost to originate a residential mortgage has increased dramatically since year-end 2009, including seeing a steady rise over the past five quarters. In addition, today’s typical mortgage process timeline is 45-60 days.
They care about:
–Putting the profitability in mortgage lending;
–Lessening the loan cycle for the customer (thus cutting costs for the loan originator); and
–Creating a delightful customer experience…helping people get into their new homes faster, with less stress working with a proactive partner that can help deliver measurable results, solve existing and unforeseen challenges and maintain a dynamic day to day working relationship.
On the servicing side of the business, servicers are also challenged by:
–A shift of focus from specialty default servicing to improved customer service;
–Increased merger and acquisition activity;
–Focus on automation and cost reductions; and
–Compliance issues.
We want to build awareness of Sutherland Mortgage so that it’s more frequently considered by community banks, credit unions, home builders, consultants, etc. A key challenge is around confronting the misconceptions of off-shoring and explaining why it is beneficial.
NEWSLINK: Why did your company join the Mortgage Bankers Association?
JAREMA: We have valued our partnership with the MBA as a select member and look forward to strengthening it further as premier members. We view the MBA as an integral partner in the marketplace and look to them to provide core knowledge and educational foundations. We believe the MBA heightens awareness of our brand in a positive way. Our underwriters go through all three levels of MBA training, and all other staffers go through at least one. We worked with MBA to launch a program designed for “mortgage-bound” college graduates; it’s unique, because no college offers this type of curriculum.
NEWSLINK: How has being a Premier level member benefited your company?
JAREMA: We are just becoming a Premier member; we were a Select member in the past. We recognized the benefits that Premier membership would bring us as we grow and transform our business.
(MBA Premier Member Profiles are a service provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association and MBA NewsLink as a service to MBA Premier Members. Publication does not constitute an endorsement of a particular company, product or service. For more information about the MBA Premier Member program, contact Julie Dychkewich at jdychkewich@mortgagebankers.org or 202/557-2779.)
