H.R. 3648, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, passed the House by an overwhelming 385-28 vote. The bill would extend the income tax deduction for all mortgage insurance premiums and allow for limited exclusions of discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income.

MBA Chairman John Robbins, CMB, commended the House action. "This bill is of critical importance to many current and prospective homebuyers during this time when the home finance market is enduring significant disruption,” he said. “Extending the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums will lower the cost of a mortgage for many low and moderate income borrowers, making the American dream of homeownership more affordable and more attainable."

Robbins urged the Senate and the Bush Administration to support the bill. “For those borrowers who have worked through a troubled loan with their lender, they should not have to face a tax bill on the phantom income that results from debt forgiveness,” he said.

But MBA called for further examination of H.R. 3609, the Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007, which passed the House Judiciary subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law by a party-line vote of 5-4. MBA has expressed concern that this bill would increase mortgage rates and not help troubled borrowers.

"Giving judges free rein to rewrite the terms of a mortgage would further destabilize the mortgage backed securities market and will exacerbate the serious credit crunch that is currently hindering the ability of thousands of Americans to get an affordable mortgage," said Kurt Pfotenhauer, MBA’s senior vice president for government affairs and public policy. "The current legislation gives no guidance as to the proper parameters for judges to modify existing loan contracts."

By allowing judges to rewrite loan contracts and provide whatever relief they individually deem appropriate, HR 3609 would cast doubt on the value of the asset against which the mortgage loan is secured, MBA said. As a result, lenders and investors would likely demand a higher premium for offering these loans. This premium could come in the form of higher fees, a higher interest rate or the requirement for a larger downpayment, all of which would serve to make the American dream of homeownership less attainable for many Americans.

"The reason you only pay six percent on a mortgage loan, where another type of consumer loan may cost 10 percent or more, is that the mortgage loan is secured by an asset—the home," Pfotenhauer said. "When a judge can unilaterally reduce the amount that the lender can get when the home is sold, it devalues the asset securing the loan and the lender and investor will either not fund a loan, or will increase the cost of the loan. Either way, consumers are the ones who pay the price."

In addition, the bill removes the requirement that people who go into bankruptcy receive credit counseling, removing one of primary consumer protections contained in the Bankruptcy Reform Act.

The bill will now be considered by the Judiciary Committee.
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Simmons brings more than 20 years of executive level experience within the mortgage banking industry.  Prior to joining Overture Technologies, she was as associate partner for IBM Global Services’ Business Consulting Services division, where she played an integral role in expanding IBM’s services into the mortgage finance market. Previously she was a partner with the STRATMOR Group and a principal in Simmons Solutions. Her experience also includes work with GMAC, ALLTEL, First Nationwide Bank and KPMG Peat Marwick, as well as nine years in higher education research and teaching roles with the University of Houston and Boston University.

Workway Hires Anderson as VP
Workway, Burbank, Calif., hired Catherine Anderson as vice president of its commercial division. Her focus is growing the company’s commercial banking, real estate and brokerage markets throughout the nation and serving the current customers through retained search, temporary and permanent job placements.

Anderson has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial banking, commercial real estate and brokerage industries. Prior to joining Workway, Anderson was vice president and commercial division manager at a staffing company specializing in loan administration training, consulting and staffing. In addition, Anderson has worked with several national lenders’ commercial construction and commercial business loan departments.

Smith Joins Westcor Land Title Insurance Western Operations
Westcor Land Title Insurance Co., Winter Haven, Fla., hired Debbie Smith as Western agency sales representative. Smith brings more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience. Prior to Westcor, Smith helped grow the western region for American Pioneer Title Insurance Co. as an agency representative. In addition, she worked in nonprofit communications and fundraising for Colorado Micro Business Development.

ProVest Adds Fisser Wolfe, Zakula, Walicek, Hucks
ProVest, Tampa, Fla., appointed Michele Fisser Wolfe and Fred Zakula as vice presidents, responsible for Florida and Illinois operations, respectively. Additionally the company announced two chief information officers: Craig Walicek, CIO of infrastructure and Randolph Hucks, CIO of application development. 
 
Wolfe and Zakula are responsible for managing active clients, employees and new service processing cases while working with attorneys, mortgage servicers and government personnel to enhance efficiencies in the service process. Wolfe has more than 15 years of management experience in the mortgage banking industry ranging from bankruptcy, foreclosure and litigation law practices, to default servicing management in prime, sub-prime and master servicing. Prior to joining ProVest, she held senior management positions with Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. and First American Default Technologies, among others.
 
Zakula has directly managed outsourcing operations for many of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, such as First American National Default Outsourcing and he developed default processes for special servicing/reverse mortgage operations and tracking processes. Zakula speaks regularly at MBA and regional industry conferences, providing both individual and panel presentations on critical issues. 
 
As CIO of infrastructure, Walicek oversees ProVest’s support structure and information systems, ultimately contributing to bridging the gap between attorneys, mortgage servicers and homeowners. He comes to ProVest as the former executive IT director of Cort Business Services, where he helped manage the 2,500-employee company’s systems that operated both internally and with clients in more than 30 countries. 
 
Hucks joins ProVest from Emprimis, a Web-based human resources applications provider. He is responsible for application development and maintenance of ProVest’s technologies. He has nearly 15 years of C-level experience leveraging technology to streamline field data research.
 
XSell Names Armstrong Director of Inside Sales
XSell LLC, Jacksonville, Fla., appointed David Armstrong as director of inside sales. He is responsible for designing and executing XSell’s inside sales strategy, including growing the company’s inside sales force to support continued expansion into new channels and markets and marketing of the company’s platform.

Armstrong brings more than 16 years of sales experience to XSell, having previously helped build and manage inside sales teams for a number of emerging technology companies. Before joining XSell, he served as senior director of inside sales for Vurv Technology. He has also worked for PeopleSoft (now Oracle), Taleo Corp. and Gateway.
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Bulls Capital Partners Promotes Cotton to AVP
Bulls Capital Partners LLC, Vienna, Va., promoted Alicia Cotton to assistant vice president of production. She previously served as senior production analyst. her responsibilities include managing front-end production and marketing activities and interacting with the Underwriting and Closing Divisions.

Cotton has been with Bulls Capital for more than a year.

Midland Taps Davis as VP
Midland Loan Services Inc., Kansas City, Mo., appointed Jeremy Davis as vice president and development manager, responsible for business development, sales and client relationship management for servicing, subservicing, Shared Services and construction loan administration. He will also provide business development and sales support for technology and real estate services.

Davis joined Midland in 1998 and most recently served as vice president of account management. 

Frost joins First Houston Mortgage
First Houston Mortgage, Houston, hired Greg Frost as partner for New Mexico. He will maintain his position of president and CEO of Albuquerque, N.M.– based Frost Mortgage and his company will now originate loans for First Houston Mortgage. Frost’s team maintains a 9 percent market share in Albuquerque and will retain its name for marketing purposes.       

Frost has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Prior to joining First Houston Mortgage, Frost was a branch manager of a Tucson, Ariz.-based national mortgage lender where he originated loans for the New Mexico area. Currently, he is vice president of new product development for LoanToolbox.com, a Web-based provider of training and marketing services.

Smith Joins 1st Metropolitan Mortgage
1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Charlotte, N.C., named Martin Smith director of human resources. He will oversee all human resources affairs, including development and implementation of strategies for continued company growth and employee retention.

Smith has more than 28 years of experience in the human resources industry, with expertise in managing and development and employment law. Before joining 1st Metropolitan, he was director of human resources for IVAX Pharmaceuticals.
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With record activity in the first two quarters—nearly $70 billion and $75 billion, respectively, and cross-border activity increases from 35-53 percent of volume—the research indicated that some commercial real estate deals faltered during the second half of the year as others were shelved because of the credit crunch. The DTZ International Investment team now expects transaction volumes to fall by at least 15-20 percent during the second half of the year.

Delayed deals, however, do not reflect the real trend, according to DTZ. Re-pricing risk will be the most likely long-term outcome for commercial properties as debt capital providers become “much more risk averse,” according to Joe Valente, head of research at DTZ.

“While debt-driven investors will find it more difficult to make deals add up, a correction in yields in some markets could present attractive opportunities for equity buyers such as life insurance and pension funds,” Valente said. “We are likely to see a flight to quality with investors willing to pay a premium for covenant strength and reliable rental income.”

DTZ expects to find a general revaluation of risk, “promoting the unwinding of the convergence of property yields,” and the research firm also expects questions about the pricing of some alternative assets or properties in secondary or emerging markets.

Teun Draaisma, co-head of European equity strategy at Morgan Stanley, said many investors adopted a wait-and-see approach in the last few weeks—waiting for a sense of direction regarding the uncertainties and that it would be a mistake to sell equities. According to Draaisma, equities are good inflation hedges as long as interest rates do not substantially increase, and the Federal Open Market Committee’s key rate cut of 50 basis points reduced the likelihood of perpetuating “this bearish scenario.”

“We think it is very possible that a real benchmark and performance chase will develop over the next few weeks and months, as investors put the cash positions they built to work,” Draaisma said. “There are no opportunities without risks. It is possible that the authorities do not succeed in reflating the economy and that a recession is not avoided. This is not our view, but it is possible of course. Selling equities today because of that view is plausible and defensible, but we do not recommend it.”

DTZ’s said European retail property investment activity recorded a strong second quarter with more than $15.5 billion transacted, bringing first half investments on the sector to more than $27.1 billion.

“While we are already seeing investors taking a position on the side-lines to see how the situation unfolds over the remainder of the year, I’m confident that if the markets stabilize and remain liquid in the short-term, there are significant opportunities for equity buyers to underpin a rally in early 2008,” said John Slade, managing director of international investment at DTZ.
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The San Francisco regional office arranged first mortgage financing of more than $100 million, including $95 million for Cupertino City Center Office Buildings Three and Four, which contain 365,000 square feet. The property, in Cupertino, Calif., includes CRC Health and TPL Group as tenants.

Jeffrey Weidell, executive vice president and managing director of NorthMarq’s San Francisco office, arranged a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule through its correspondent relationship with Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America. According to Weidell, financing accommodated a Tenants-In-Common structure for a partner buy-out.

Weidell arranged first mortgage financing of $7 million for a 21,000 square-foot strip retail center in Sunnyvale, Calif. The financing—based on a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule—was arranged for Tarigo-Paul through Countrywide Financial, Calabasas, Calif.

Weidell also arranged first mortgage financing of $10 million for Glendora Shopping Center in Glendora, Calif. The financing included a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule for the borrower, SC Properties, through NorthMarq’s correspondent relationship with Nationwide, Columbus, Ohio. The recently renovated infill shopping center consists of 106,000 square feet with ACE Hardware and Albertson’s as its major tenants. .

William Jackson, senior vice president and managing director of NorthMarq’s Dallas regional office, arranged construction loan financing of $5.4 million for a 35,000 square-foot restaurant complex in Irving, Texas.

Financing through Wells Fargo, San Francisco, was based on a term of 24 months, interest-only, without preleasing of the complex.

David Blum, vice president of NorthMarq’s Los Angeles regional office, arranged first mortgage financing of $4.344 million for Cliffbrook Condos in Dallas. Financing was based on a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule and arranged for the borrower—Arizona Highland House LLC—through Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C.

The 126-unit condominium complex consists of more than 123,150 square feet. Cliffbrook Condos, built in 1978 and renovated in 2003, contains units ranging from 688 square feet to 1,300 square feet, according to Blum.
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The event, held at the Hynes Convention Center, is the industry's largest gathering of residential real estate finance professionals, and it provides endless opportunities to learn about the most pressing issues in the industry, network with peers and advance your business opportunities.

High-caliber general session speakers, industry-experts and panelists, as well as a sure-to-be-sold-out exhibit hall, contribute to an event that real estate finance professionals attend year after year. It promises to provide solutions to business challenges, and offers you endless prospects to build new relationships and connect with the most influential industry experts.

Highlighting this year’s conference is the Opening General Session address from Richard Branson, the charismatic British philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin companies. Born in 1950, Branson was educated at England’s Stowe School, where he went into business at 16, publishing Student magazine. Branson is best known for the founding of Virgin, a world-known brand comprising a variety of businesses, such as the Virgin Music label, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Cola. The interests of Virgin Group have now expanded into international "Megastore" music retailing, air travel, mobile services, financial, retail, music, internet, drinks, rail, resorts and leisure. In December 1999 Branson was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s millennium New Years honors list for “services to entrepreneurship.”

Also confirmed for this year’s conference: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, journalist, television commentator, and political historian. A commentator for NBC and on-air personality for PBS, she has provided consulting and commentary for documentaries on Lyndon Johnson, the Kennedy family, Franklin Roosevelt and baseball as a contributor to Ken Burns' The History of Baseball.

Rock star, philanthropist and political activist Bono will deliver the Third General Session keynote address. Bono has received a number of awards for his activism, including the French Legion D'Honneur in 2003 and an honorary British knighthood in 2007. He was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2005 along with Bill and Melinda Gates and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Bono began his professional music career in his native Ireland in 1978 when he, with The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton formed the rock band U2. Since then, U2 has sold more than 140 million albums and has won 22 Grammies. 

Widely renowned as one of the leading advocates in the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa, in 2002 Bono co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) to raise awareness and influence government policy on Africa. DATA is a founding member of the One Campaign to Make Poverty History, a network of 2.4 million Americans campaigning against extreme poverty.  

In 2006, Bono launched (PRODUCT) RED to harness business and consumer power in the fight against AIDS in Africa. (PRODUCT) RED partners with iconic global brands that sell (RED) products and contribute a significant percentage of the profits directly to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

Also confirmed for the Annual Convention & Expo: boxing legend George Foreman, who will address the annual Sports Luncheon; and comedian Martin Short, who will provide entertainment with Creedence Clearwater Revisited at the annual Club MBA.

This year’s Sports Luncheon on October 16 features George Foreman, one of the best-known boxers in history and now a highly successful businessman. Foreman's championship boxing career began during his childhood years while in the federal Job Corps program. It was there that Foreman rapidly established an impressive amateur boxing record, which led him to a gold medal win at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

In 1969, Foreman turned professional, and within two years he was ranked the number-one challenger by the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Council. By 1972, Foreman's impressive record was 37-0. Foreman became world heavyweight champion in 1973, and later, at 44, became the oldest fighter ever to win the heavyweight crown, as well as the fighter with the most time between one world championship and the next.

Additionally, Foreman became an ordained minister in the late 1970s and founded the George Foreman Youth Community Center in 1984. Since the early 1990s, Foreman successfully took on the role of entrepreneur and businessman, selling millions of his George Foreman Grills.

Versatile comedian/actor Martin Short provides the laughs at this year’s ClubMBA, also on October 16. Short began his career on Canada's "SCTV Comedy Network," where his work won an Emmy Award and landed him on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." It was then that his career in comedy took off.

Short has appeared in a number of comic films, beginning with "Three Amigos," with Chevy Chase and Steve Martin, and as the wedding planner in "Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride II.” Short's career also includes several roles on Broadway, where he earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in "Little Me." His more recent work includes "Primetime Glick," in which he starred as a fictitious Hollywood legend and celebrity interviewer. Short created the show for Comedy Central in 2001 and later won an Emmy for Best Performer in a Musical, Comedy or Variety Show.

Born in Canada, Short was awarded the "Order of Canada," Canada's highest civilian honor, in 1994 for his contribution to Canadian culture, and he was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in June 2000.
The real estate finance industry faces marketplace shifts that require companies to evaluate current operations and create new strategies to succeed. These are revolutionary times; seize the opportunity to come make history and revolutionize your business.

Just added: The annual MBA Tailgate Party will feature Boston baseball legends Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice.

This year, the MBA Convention & Expo returns to Boston. With its rich economic and social history, Boston is one of America's oldest and most culturally significant cities. The capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, Boston serves as the commercial, financial and cultural center of the six-state region. Boston is situated on a magnificent natural harbor opening onto Massachusetts Bay and is home to nearly 600,000 residents, many institutions of higher education and a variety of cultural and professional sports organizations.

Register Early and Save
Save on your registration fee and ensure your place at the convention's most popular events. You may only reserve your hotel room after you have registered for the convention.

For more information, visit the Convention Web site, http://events.mortgagebankers.org/94th_annual/default.html.
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The workshop includes topics on rational vs. irrational pricing; how to create an effective pricing and product strategy to generate successful loan volume without sacrificing bottom-line profit objectives; and limiting risk exposure.

Engage in discussions and activities designed to identify critical elements in pricing. Participants learn how to increase risk tolerance by factoring risk into decision making processes and current strategies in today’s market.

At the end of the course, attendees will:

• Demonstrate the major components of pricing costs
• Identify and determine profits and costs per loan
• List the factors associated with price locking
• Discuss pricing strategies for reducing risk

Who Should Attend:
Designed for entry level secondary employees, lock-desk personnel, product development and management employees, loan originators seeking a broader understanding of the pricing environment and staff involved in managing loan pipeline, loan products and profitability.

Registration Information:
MBA Member: $399; Nonmember: $599. To register online, go to http://www.campusmba.org/products/default.aspx?product_code=E2801652/REGIS. You can also register by phone at (800) 348-8653, or download the registration form at http://www.campusmba.org/files/ClassroomProgramRegistrationForm.pdf and fax it to (410) 672-3504. To qualify for the member rate, you must work for a company that is a member of MBA.

Designation Credit:
Attendees of this course will earn one point that can be applied to the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and Certified Mortgage Technologist (CMT) designations.
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This is the only conference of its kind offering the mortgage industry's legal and technology professionals the opportunity to confer, interact and dig deeply into the myriad of hot topics in this sphere.

This year the conference includes, at no extra charge, pre-conference workshops for those new to the industry or those who need to refresh their skills. These sessions are designed to address the range of laws affecting mortgage technology, including ESIGN, UETA and a host of compliance laws, as well as key technology concepts and systems, such as XML, MISMO and MERS.

Program topics include the latest developments in the legal and technology sphere, including:

• eMortgage adoption
• Loss mitigation and new regulatory guidance
• Warehouse lending in the virtual world
• Intellectual property
• eDiscovery and records retention issues
• Outsourcing
• Standardization
• Data security
• Fair lending and anti-fraud protection
• Identity theft and breach notification
• Compliance and new technology tools
• Secondary market developments

This is a unique opportunity to ensure that you and your company are at the vanguard of legal and technology advancement.

Who Should Attend

• General counsel
• Regulatory compliance professionals
• Senior executives
• Business managers
• Information technology professionals
• Private attorneys
• Other personnel involved in legal and regulatory issues

Network with Attendees
Conference sponsorship is the ideal vehicle to grab the attention of this important audience and position your company as a leader in the industry. All sponsorships include a tabletop exhibit opportunity, but space is limited. For more information download the sponsorship brochure, or contact Phil Giorgianni at phil@mortgagebankers.org or call (202) 557-2733.

Registration:
MBA Members Early Registration Fee before November 14: $995; Nonmembers: $1,495. After November 14: MBA members $1,175; nonmembers $1,595.

To register online, visit http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_code=M2802033/REGIS

Earn CLE Credits
The Legal Issues in Mortgage Technology Conference is intended to satisfy CLE course requirements upon approval by applicable state bar licensing entities.

Hotel
Program registrants are responsible for making their hotel reservations. Be sure to make your reservations before the hotel cutoff date of November 7. The cutoff date does not ensure availability of rooms. If rooms are available until November 7, you will receive the discounted hotel rate provided below. After November 7, reservations will be made on a space-available basis only, and you will be charged the regular hotel rate.
 
Hotel del Coronado
1500 Orange Ave.
Coronado, Calif. 92118
(619) 522-8238/ (800)
MBA discount rate: Rooms: $210/night, single/double, +$17 resort charge (based on availability)

As a National Historic Landmark, the Hotel del Coronado has a rich and colorful heritage that sets it apart from neighboring Coronado hotels. From Marilyn Monroe to Charles Lindbergh, from state dinners to the ghost of Kate Morgan, the Del is an American treasure with more than 115 years of fascinating stories to tell. Visit the Hotel del Coronado Web site for more highlights. http://www.hoteldel.com/.

To view the conference brochure, go to http://www.mortgagebankers.org/files/conferences/pdf/M2802033_brochure.pdf.
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“Nearly 35 to 70 million people may have thin credit files, out of which many deserve access to credit at fair terms, conditions and pricing,” said Barrett Burns, president and CEO of Stamford, Conn.-based VantageScore, speaking at the Mortgage Lending Industry’s Emerging Markets and Diversity Conference. The company created a model that interprets consumer credit files from all three major credit reporting companies. “A thin credit file does not necessarily mean they are all high-risk borrowers. A compelling percentage of these individuals inevitably prove to be low-risk borrowers.”

A random sample of subprime mortgage consumers revealed that VantageScore technology lifted 11.4 percent of borrowers out of the subprime category. More than 8 percent of overall borrowers of all types had an increase in scores. Among consumers in the superior risk category, VantageScore re-classified 21 percent out of subprime segments altogether.

“Using technology is to facilitate greater access to credit for borrowers,” Burns said. “There is a concern, especially among immigrants, about credit scores for both the borrowers and lenders. The risks involved require a common ground to achieve predictive and consistent scoring to provide credit to more people—especially those who are creditworthy.”

The Hispanic National Mortgage Association, San Diego, which focuses on increasing homeownership in the Latino community, seeks to bridge the gap between lending to non-white Latinos and others using technology that also incorporates cultural understanding of the community.

“An individual not having a traditional score does not make that person a high-risk borrower,” said panelist Leo Simpser, co-founder and managing director of HNMA. “Creditworthy borrowers are facing credit denials, acquiring high cost loans and even experiencing fraud—all of which is further adding to the wealth gap and social crisis the community faces. The cycle of no-info no-credit for minorities that should be broken.”

The association’s Hispanic Automated Underwriting System, which incorporates both quantitative and quality information, standardization of data and automation of manual processes, strives to better understand borrowers’ ability and willingness to pay, combined with an overall understanding of loan economics.

“Lending is not only about credit, but also about the process of lending,” Simpser said. “Measuring creditworthiness differently could lead to providing efficient origination. This results in providing more liquidity as well. Harnessing technology to make the origination process more efficient is most important. The lack of cultural insights and the lack of a capturing of new borrower information are also main barriers in creating innovation in credit scoring.”

Establishing and building a credit bureau file using ongoing bill payments is also an option for some borrowers who have little to no credit history. Pay Rent, Build Credit Inc., Annapolis, Md., is a ‘consumer reporting agency’ and Fair Credit Reporting Act-compliant repository for rental and other recurring data. The company is an alternative national credit bureau that was launched to support automated mortgage underwriting and risk based credit pricing decisions with rental and other commonly recurring bill payment data—data that is often missing from traditional credit reports.

“Consumers with thin and no traditional credit histories can build a consumer credit file in advance of applying for any loan or service, have the right under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to have their PRBC report considered alongside traditional credit reports,” said Michael Nathans, chairman and founder of PRBC. “As more lenders factor bill payment histories into their lending decisions, these consumers will have more mainstream loan products available to them and the opportunity to avoid expensive sub-prime loans.”

Individuals ineligible for a prime mortgage because they did not have the opportunity to establish a traditional credit score could qualify for a prime Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan offered through most major lenders.

"FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and mortgage insurers have long accepted rental and other commonly recurring monthly bill payments such as utilities, telecom, cable, auto, insurance and even deposits to a savings account to establish the credit reputations of manually underwritten applicants,” Nathans said. “However, it was often easy to skip the work necessary to compile and verify applicants' rental and bill payment histories, which could result in them acquiring higher priced sub-prime loans.”
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Panelists defined diversity from both human resources and business perspectives. As the workforce is changing, with more baby boomers retiring—24 million are expected to leave the workforce in this decade—the workforce is becoming more diverse than ever. Panelists said the idea of inclusion is critical to strategy and planning both for employees and for business practices.

“The concept of inclusion is taking on more importance today, than ever,” said Karen Collins, chief diversity officer at The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif. “What that means is that the workforce is increasingly becoming less male and also includes a majority of people of color.”

Tammy Edwards, director of inclusion and diversity at Sprint, Overland Park, Kan., and Rick Parsons, executive vice president and global staffing executive at Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., also participated on the panel, moderated by Angela Roseboro, chief diversity officer at Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va.
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