“Executives look to IT personnel—not end-users—to ensure security and compliance,” said Amanda Kleha, product marketing manager in the enterprise division of Google, Mountain View, Calif. “The burden rests squarely on the shoulders of IT personnel. Only 25 percent of executives felt that their users should shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the safety and compliance of electronic communications. Users certainly play a role in being aware of and vigilant about maintaing secure communications and ensuring compliance."

The average unprotected user would have received 36,000 spam messages last year; it continues to be the top communication security issue facing companies, according to the report, 2008 Annual Google Communications Intelligence Report.

“In communications security, respondents were most worried about protecting themselves against spam, viruses and worms; securing their mobile workforce; ensuring the availability and continuity of business—and handling the strain these challenges place on their IT resources,” the report said.

“Respondents acknowledge that ensuring communications security and compliance is not a simple task and serious challenges exist in both areas,” Kleha said. “Top challenges organizations face in meeting compliance goals are planning for disaster recovery, ensuring compliant business processes, preventing unintentional data leakages and protecting internal systems from breach by hackers.”

Kleha said while security and compliance are of greater concern, they also negatively impact IT productivity. “At the close of 2007, executives were extremely concerned about the impact of communications security and compliance on IT productivity,” she said. “Time spent ensuring adherence to compliance producers—46 percent, arranging system upgrades to enhance security—44 percent and overcoming network delays or outages due to security breaches—42 percent, were all high on respondents’ lists of concerns.”

The report said software-as-a-service has potential to address productivity issues, however. “The benefits of a solution based on the SaaS approach directly address the IT productivity issues including ease of implementation, maintenance, troubleshooting and overall effectiveness,” Kleha said. “Thirty-one percent of organizations already use some type of SaaS solution because of the benefits.”

Looking ahead, Google expects the number of threats to stabilize but anticipates a dramatic increase in their complexity. “Businesses will be challenged to identify new and different types of malicious content as well as protect sensitive information against evolving social engineering techniques that circumvent security measures by manipulating or tricking users into disclosing or performing actions that divulge confidential data,” the report said. “To prevent those potential data leaks, we expect organizations to place increased emphasis on outbound security policies and content encryption in the year ahead.”

“The continued growth in electronic messaging—and the accompanying surge in spam—is a consistent and increasingly painful thorn in the side of IT professionals," Kleha said. "In most organizations, it is the IT department that is held accountable for ensuring the security and compliance of their electronic communications, but the obstacles to success are significant."

Kleha said IT professionals are attempting to secure mobile workforces, ensuring both availability and continuity of business processes, meeting compliance goals, planning for disaster recovery, preventing data leakage and protecting internal systems from hackers. “It’s no wonder IT professionals are feeling the pain most acutely in their productivity levels,” she said.
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PA. Banking Dept. Taps Bleicken as Deputy Secretary
David Bleicken has been named the Pennsylvania Banking Department's deputy secretary of nondepository institutions and consumer services.

Bleicken has served the Banking Department in various capacities since 1997; most recently as director of the bureau of licensing, investigation and consumer services. He is also president of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, a national trade group that works to increase the knowledge and ability of those engaged in the administration and enforcement of mortgage regulation.

Arbor Appoints Reisert to SVP of Capital Markets
Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC, Uniondale, N.Y., appointed Peter Reisert to senior vice president of capital markets. In this newly created position, he will oversee day-to-day operations of the Capital Markets department and its role in supporting Arbor’s Fannie Mae, FHA and CMBS production unit. He will also be responsible for identifying new lending partners and developing new lending programs.

Reisert has more than 15 years of experience in real estate finance, with a focus on capital markets. Prior to joining Arbor, he served as director of capital markets with Centerline Capital Group. Previously, he held posts with CharterMac Mortgage Capital, PW Funding Inc. and BankAmerica Mortgage.

AFN Adds Danovsky, Promotes Bartel
The American Legal & Financial Network, St. Louis, hired Christina Danovsky as vice president of education and communication. She will identify, facilitate and manage strategic relationships between the AFN and members of the residential mortgage banking community and will carry out the tasks necessary to continue membership growth and retention in all areas. She will also work with the various AFN committee’s and educational programs of the corporation.

Danovsky brings 12 years experience in marketing, education and event management. She comes to the AFN from her most recent position as director of marketing with Fidelity National Information Services.

AFN also promoted Matthew Bartel to chief operating officer, charged with developing and directing strategic opportunities for the corporation. He will also continue to work with the various AFN educational and industry events and oversee the various marketing, operation and administrative functions of the corporation. 

Bartel joined AFN near its inception in 2002, and has more than 10 years experience in marketing, event management, sales and operations management.

Miller Joins Digital Risk
Bruce Miller, most recently a managing director and group head at ING Capital Markets and previously founder of Credit Suisse First Boston’s original Conduit and Credit Products Group, joined Digital Risk LLC, New York.

Miller will lead Digital Risk’s structured finance consultancy, responsible for assisting clients with risk mitigation and mortgage performance strategies as well as applying risk assessment technology to the mortgage finance sector.

Before joining CSFB, Miller was head of the securitization group at The Daiwa Bank Ltd., where he ran the firm’s U.S. securitization business.

RoboDocs Taps Anderson as Accounts Manager
RoboDocs, Newport Beach, Calif., announced that Keana Anderson has been named national accounts relationship manager. She will spearhead the company’s sales and client relationship initiatives while driving new opportunities for corporate sales and growth.

Anderson joins RoboDocs from Gateway Capital Finance, a California-based commercial lender. She brings nearly a decade of experience in sales and marketing, management and client relations, having worked with several companies in the music, entertainment and financial services industries.

Mumford Taps McCutcheon
The Mumford Co., Newport News, Va., hired Brian McCutcheon a sales analyst, assisting with development of property marketing, valuation analysis, market research and other corporate activates.

McCutcheon comes to Mumford having served in the Marine Corps for nearly nine years as a helicopter crew chief.

Sollen Technologies Promotes Brumfield to VP Operations
Sollen Technologies, Dallas, promoted John Brumfield from manager of sales and marketing to vice president of operations. He will continue to manage sales, implementations and client service divisions; in addition, he will assist in management of guidelines and investor relations by defining goals and strategies for operations.

Brumfield has more than 13 years of experience in secondary mortgage marketing, strategic planning and business development. Prior to joining Sollen, he worked in secondary marketing at Overland Mortgage and Texas Capital Bank where his responsibilities included fielding loan scenario and pricing questions as well as overseeing the day-to-day secondary marketing functions.
 
GE Real Estate Appoints Del Tufo, Brodsky
GE Real Estate, Norwalk, Conn., appointed Todd Del Tufo to director of North America Equity, responsible for originating joint venture and preferred equity real estate investments.

Del Tufo will be based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining GE Real Estate, he was an investment officer at CapitalSource LLC, a commercial finance company. Before that, he was an acquisitions officer at Alex Brown Realty Inc.

GE Real Estate also appointed Stuart Brodsky as regional sustainability leader for its North America Equity unit. He will be responsible for developing and executing a sustainability business strategy, which will include identifying new green partners and development opportunities and enhancing profitability through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Brodsky most recently was national program manager of commercial property markets with the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program. 

Mortgage Dynamics Promotes 4; Adds Duran
Mortgage Dynamics Inc., McLean, Va., announced the following promotions of senior consultants: Janis Ulsch to senior vice president of servicing consulting and outsourcing; Judy Wheatley to senior vice president for loan production and compliance consulting, Patricia Cox as senior vice president for production and post closing outsourcing; and Frank Cockrell as senior vice president for software development. MDI also named Chris Duran as vice president for investor accounting consulting and outsourcing. 

Wheatley, Ulsch and Duran have been with the company for 10 years or more and each has reviewed and/or advised more than 100 companies. Cox joined the firm in 2006 to oversee major loan audit projects and to develop both onshore and offshore services. 

Cockrell has been MDI’s senior programmer for five years and has developed or expanded MDI’s custom software products to support loan audits for credit, compliance, fraud, quality control, and adjustable rate mortgage life of loan audits.

Mortgage Contracting Services Hires Diaz, Miller
Mortgage Contracting Services, Tampa, Fla., named Toni Diaz as vice president of vendor management and Carl Miller assistant vice president of the company’s Dallas operations. 

Diaz and Miller come to MCS with more than 20 years of combined experience in the financial services industry. Diaz is responsible for oversight and management of a nationwide network of vendors that work with MCS on a daily basis; Miller leads operations for one of the company’s largest servicing clients.

Before joining MCS, Diaz was vice president of mortgage banking for Tampa, Fla.-based Florida Bank Group; Miller has more than 15 years experience; prior to MCS, he was an assistant vice president at Countrywide.  

First American Title Taps Anton for Mexico Operations
First American Title Insurance Co., Santa Ana, Calif., appointed Tony Anton as director general of the company’s operations in Mexico, responsible for implementing new strategies for the Mexican operation, as well as coordination of activities that service and support the Mexican market. 

Anton began his tenure with First American in 2004, when he joined the company’s San Diego office as a development specialist with the Strategic Markets Division. He was founder and president of San Diego’s first National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) chapter and was instrumental in the development of the San Diego Housing Opportunities Collaborative, the county’s first umbrella organization for the nonprofit housing sector.

Hyland Promotes King
Hyland Software Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, announced that its Director of Financial Services Jason King will now also oversee Hyland’s Insurance solutions division. He will manage Hyland’s sales initiatives for the company’s insurance business division and will continue to manage sales initiatives for commercial banks, credit unions and lending institutions.

King has held several positions during his career with Hyland Software, including industry manager of lending solutions and enterprise sales account manager for financial services.  He is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and MISMO.

CB Richard Ellis Promotes Murphy to Vice Chairman
Patrick Murphy, a 27-year commercial real estate veteran, has been promoted to vice chairman at CB Richard Ellis, New York. He will focus efforts on new business development, strategic planning and high-level recruitment on the New York City marketplace.

Murphy previously served as executive managing director of CBRE’s New York Tri-State Region, and will remain on the New York Tri-State Management Committee. He will also maintain a presence in New Jersey, where he managed the CB Richard Ellis office for several years. Prior to joining Insignia/ESG in 1991, he served as vice president at CPC Baker Harris, an international real estate consultancy.

Jones Lang LaSalle Taps Davis
The New York office of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels appointed Jeffrey Davis to executive vice president, responsible for coordinating growth of the hotel capital raising business in the U.S.

Prior to joining Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, Davis served as vice president of asset management and business development for Ian Schrager at Morgans Hotel Group. He also had experience at Arthur Anderson as a national hospitality consultant and corporate finance experience and at Salomon Smith Barney.
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This detailed benchmarking study has been conducted by MBA on an annual basis for the past nine years. The study allows both prime and subprime single-family servicers to measure their operational and financial performance in relation to peers.

Among the topics to be explored and reported:

• How do your servicing shop's revenues and expenses compare to your peers?

• How does your institution’s product mix influence your bottom line?

• In what areas does your institution excel?

• What major factors affect your institution’s direct servicing costs?

• How does your institution’s servicing portfolio performance compare to peers?

The study ties operational practices to direct servicing costs—allocated to 15 functional areas for large servicers and nine functional areas for smaller servicers. Included are benchmarks on outsourcing, offshoring, call center operations, borrower communications and payment methods, investor reporting and default practices.

New in 2008: revamped servicing portfolio data and additional default-related questions that are particularly meaningful in today’s operating environment. 

Survey participants receive highly detailed output reports comparing their firm to peers for 2007, as well as a summary presentation that provides servicing trends over time and analyses of the aggregated results.

An integral component of the study is a servicing operations forum held in Washington, D.C. June 11-12. The forum is open to all mortgage servicers participating in the study and allows for the exchange of ideas and better understanding of the data outputs. As in previous years, there will be two separate discussion sessions: one for single-family prime servicers and one for subprime servicers. Companies that decide to participate in both the prime and subprime studies may attend both sessions.

For more information and to download the registration form, go to http://mortgagebankers.org/files/Research/Flyers/2008SOSFOverviewandRegistration.pdf, which includes detailed components of the study, as well as a list of 2007 participants. If you have any questions, contact Marina Walsh at mwalsh@mortgagebankers.org or (202) 557-2817.
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Learn how FHA reform could affect your business. As lenders enter a new environment, FHA modernization has become a cornerstone of MBA’s 2008 legislative agenda. Significant developments within the FHA reform will continue to be a primary focus within our economy and on Capitol Hill. Learn how these and other occurrences affect the mortgage industry moving forward.

MBA and its education arm, CampusMBA, are pleased to continue the bimonthly conference with senior staff of FHA. The fifth installment of this series provides an excellent opportunity for members to learn firsthand about changes and developments to the FHA's single-family program from key decision makers in the Administration.

CampusMBA's LIVE Online Conference gives you the speaker-and speaker-led experience with the convenience of staying at your desk. Each 90-minute conference includes a general question-and-answer time set aside to allow members the opportunity to address specific issues they are facing in the day-to-day business of FHA lending. Afterwards, you can download presentation and supplemental articles to review at your convenience.

Who Should Attend:

• Wholesale and retail originators
• Brokers and loan correspondents
• Residential underwriting professionals
• Credit policy professionals
• Quality assurance professionals
• Individuals interested in learning about current government housing programs

Price:
MBA members: $49.99; Nonmembers: $99.99
Attendees who participate this LIVE Online Workshop receive 1/2 point towards their Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation 

For registration information, call (800) 348-8653. To register online, visit http://www.campusmba.org/products/default.aspx?product_code=E2801716X/REGIS. For more information, email campusmbaeducation@mortgagebankers.org.
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• News about MISMO’s new Version 1.2 Commercial Reference Model, with detailed specifications about data fields that have been published in commercial transactions to date

• Quick! Where were you when you first heard the term “paperless office?” MISMO’s Colleen Wesling takes a look at progress in the eMortgage arena.

These stories and more in MBA Tech NewsLink, a weekly newsletter focusing on mortgage technology issues from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Delivered by email every Tuesday morning, MBA Tech NewsLink provides news and information about mortgage technology, MISMO and op-ed articles from technology experts, including value-added stories you won’t see in MBA NewsLink.

MBA Tech NewsLink is available through a free subscription for MBA members; to start getting your subscription, send an email to Gloria McCullough at gmccullough@mortgagebankers.org or call 202/557-2944.
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MBA Vice President of Government Affairs Paul Richman, testifying yesterday before the New York State Senate’s Standing Committee on Banks, said Governor’s Plan 44, which would expand existing standards governing lending practices and establish new standards, would “further destabilize the New York mortgage market and cause harm by increasing borrowing costs, promoting uncertainty and limiting the availability of credit,” particularly to low- and moderate-income borrowers.

“MBA believes that if the bill is enacted it would shift the delicate balance that as existed under current New York law between consumer protections and a lender’s ability to offer affordable mortgage credit to New Yorkers,” Richman said. “It is our strong belief that if the bill is enacted in its current form it would severely and negatively impact the cost and availability of credit in New York, especially to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.”

Bill 44 would, among other provisions, criminalize mortgage fraud and foreclosure “rescue” scams; establish stronger standards for appraisers; and create a “duty of care” for mortgage brokers. Richman said MBA supports those provisions.

But the bill would also include several provisions that give MBA pause. One provision would create a new category of loans that would be subject to new controls and prohibitions, known as “non-traditional loans.” Such loans would be based entirely on price levels and would appear to have near-identical prohibitions and liabilities as the state’s current “high-cost” loan category. Additionally, these high-cost provisions would be constructed to impose “assignee liability” for lenders, which MBA has vigorously opposed.

“Most lenders today do not lend in the ‘high-cost’ segment of the market,” Richman said. “The reticence to engage in ‘high-cost’ lending is based first on legal concerns, as the repercussions in terms of expanded liability are simply too extreme and not worth the legal risk to a lender.”

On assignee liability, Richman noted that it “creates considerable legal exposure for secondary market participants and investors. It will be subject to all purchasers of a mortgage loan to ‘all claims and defenses’ that the borrower could assert against the original lender.”

Richman added that the assignee liability language creates “unrestrained assignee liability where all parties in securitizations, including depositors, issuers and servicers, might fall subject to the penalties of this law. Virtually all secondary market participants, when confronted in other states with such provisions, have adopted policies of not purchasing ‘high-cost’ transactions at all, regardless of whether the loans meet the particular requirements or conditions of New York’s ‘high-cost’ laws.

Richman said that based on the experience of similar provisions in other states, the triggers under Bill 44 in its current form would “create a real threat of an acute capital shortage in New York. These triggers will, in all likelihood, eliminate massive volumes of lending in that mid-tier sector of the market and will certainly curtail access to much-needed credit for a large segment of borrowers in New York, particularly low- and moderate-income borrowers.

Richman also expressed MBA’s concerns with a provision in Bill 44 that would prohibit a lender from refinancing an existing home loan into a “non-conventional loan” unless the new loan provides a tangible net benefit to the borrower. He recommended that a safe harbor provision be incorporated into the bill, similar to standards in other states.

“A ‘tangible net benefits’ standard is problematic for various reasons; most importantly, because the ‘benefit’ is derived entirely from the consumer’s subjective perspective, whether it is based on actual need, pecuniary gain or some concept of added convenience,” Richman said.

Richman emphasized the work of the HOPE NOW Alliance, of which MBA is a founding member, in working with borrowers facing delinquency or foreclosure and said that provisions that place new burdens on servicers, such as a 60-day abeyance, would add “unnecessary and cumbersome process requirements to existing law and current industry practices. The additional notice requirement will only mandate more delays during the already lengthy judicial foreclosure process in New York.” Additionally, a provision requiring a “mandatory settlement conference” is unclear and ambiguous, he said, and would create significant burdens on servicers.

“There are 62 counties in New York and the majority of mortgage servicers are not located within the State of New York, nor do they have persons with the authority to settle located within the state,” Richman said. “As such, a servicer would have great difficulty in complying with this provision.” He suggested that the provision be rewritten to allow servicers to “appear” via phone conference call or video conference.

Richman, noting that HOPE NOW statistics show that many borrowers do not contact their servicer first when facing difficulty paying their mortgage, encouraged state officials to encourage such borrowers to reach out to their servicers. “As legislators, every time you talk about the foreclosure crisis, we would urge you to remind your constituents who may be facing trouble paying their mortgages to reach out to their servicer or call the Homeowners HOPE Hotline, 1-888-995-HOPE,” he said. “As we all know foreclosure is bad for the borrower, but it is also bad for the lender and the community. It is in everyone’s best interest to find workable solutions whenever we can and that is exactly what the industry is doing through efforts such as the HOPE NOW Alliance.”

Richman said Bill 44, in its present form, does not meet the tests of a simple framework: that it help stabilize the mortgage market; that it help distressed borrowers; that it ensure that problems in today's market do not occur again; and that it do no harm.

"We must all ensure that any new legislation or regulations do not damage the structure of the real estate finance market or increase costs for future borrowers," Richman said.
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