eMortgage: A mortgage where the critical loan documentation—specifically, the promissory note, assignments and security instrument—are created electronically, executed electronically, transferred electronically and ultimately stored electronically—the paperless mortgage. Parts of the transaction that precede the actual closing may occur on paper initially, but are ultimately converted to electronic form prior to closing.

“The loan process involves so many moving parts, people and processes. Smaller lenders may have a hard time capturing data about all these various aspects, especially to track and manage profit expectations of activity. Warehouse line and loan reconciliation are among the most complex and profit-impacting components of mortgage lending.” --Lionel Urban, president of PC Lender.com, Honolulu.

Loan Reconciliation Data Helps Maximize Profits
Palaparty, Vijay
Loan reconciliation data helps lenders determine loan level profitability. Several parts of the loan process greatly determine how much income is gained or lost in a loan. Loan reconciliation data is useful to lenders to determine how to save costs and maximize profits.

“The loan process involves so many moving parts, people and processes. Smaller lenders may have a hard time capturing data about all these various aspects, especially to track and manage profit expectations of activity,” said Lionel Urban, president of PC Lender.com, Honolulu. “Warehouse line and loan reconciliation are among the most complex and profit-impacting components of mortgage lending.”

Loan reconciliation identifies actual net incomes by originator, branch, product type or investor—to determine profit margins and return on assets for business. It also provides clarity and accountability for all the employees within a mortgage banking operation. The evaluation also outlines areas for improvement, where business could make efforts in cost-saving activities or reducing expenses.

PCLender, a web-based software and service provider, launched a warehouse and loan reconciliation product in May that enables lenders to reconcile actual profitability of loans through its InHouse Mortgage enterprise lending platform. The warehouse line product incorporates aspects of loan pricing that could potentially be areas where profits are most gained or lost.

“When loan reconciliation is properly performed, it provides business owners and managers clarity in all business activities and simplifies the metrics to manage a company’s largest expense—employees,” Urban said. “Loan reconciliation does not require additional staffing or steps when processing a loan but it does require clearly defined staff objectives to ensure all key activities are performed within a centralized system that summarizes all transaction data. When the process is clearly defined, management is further simplified through daily summary reports.”

PCLender’s product provides a summary report of the loan by tracking the delta of anticipated expenses and the income actually received. The company identifies areas where transactional income could be lost, including lender fees, especially when they are excessively waived or not collected correctly at the time of closing. Base price and price adjustments are also areas of potential lost income—when they are not correctly quoted by an originator, locked with secondary marketing or paid by the investor when the loan is purchased. Additionally, the SRP might not be correctly estimated by secondary or paid by the investor when the loan is purchased.

Extension fees could also result in loss of profits, when files are not funded in a timely manner due to borrower or processing delays, Urban said. Loans not being shipped on time could also result in loss of potential income. In some cases, the servicing department might not be aware of the first payment that is required and an investor could elect to shift the date of payment of collection. Impounds could also be incorrectly calculated at closing or are not correctly paid by the investor at loan purchase—costing the lender more money. Third-party expenses could also result in losses, when they are not collected from the borrower at closing or for cancelled transactions.

Duplicate fees incurred for the same services that are not passed on to the borrower also result in losses—for example, when lenders pull multiple credit reports for the same borrower, Urban said. “Warehouse line management, in which loans may have excessive interest costs due to the time on the line and low initial interest collected from the borrower, could also leak profits. Loans might also have excessive warehouse lender transaction fees. Commissions are often incorrectly calculated for loan product. Also, when fees are waived and broker payments are incorrectly calculated for loan products or missing price or fee adjustments, the lender loses money.”

According to Urban, the lack of automation and reporting tools lead many small and mid-sized lenders to be unaware of the pricing and expenses of their loans. He said PCLender is currently gathering data to analyze which loan process areas are showing the most trouble, resulting in "significant losses" of profits.
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Companies Upping Security Spending
Sorohan, Mike
Citing complexity of security, U.S. companies plan to spend 12 percent of their IT budgets on security measures in the coming fiscal year, according to a survey by Accenture and CMP Technology’s Information Week.

Right behind security in priorities are preventing security breaches, enforcing security policies and spreading user awareness. The combination of these concerns has driven “significant increases” in security spending among companies, said Rob Preston, editor in chief of Information Week.

"Business technology executives and security professionals still do not have their arms around the security issues despite current and planned increases in spending," Preston said. "The challenge is extremely complex and the need for information security literally everywhere, from computing devices to networks to applications, is only accelerating the challenge."

Security spending is not limited to the U.S. China-based companies, with a reputation for lax security, said they plan to spend an average of 19 percent of their IT budgets on security in the coming year, suggesting that the security challenges, plans and priorities of Chinese companies are aligning more closely with U.S. organizations. The survey found that Chinese-based companies reported security breaches at five times the rate of U.S. companies (32 percent vs. 6 percent).

Key results from the survey of 3,000 IT professionals in the U.S. and China include:

· Security spending is expected to grow significantly this year. Thirty-nine percent of U.S. respondents and 55 percent of respondents in China expect security spending to increase this year compared with 2006.

· IT professionals in China perceive themselves to be more vulnerable than their counterparts in the U.S. Fifty-eight percent of respondents in China said their organization is more vulnerable to malicious code attacks and security breaches than a year ago, compared to 16 percent of respondents in the U.S. Vulnerability is attributed to increased sophistication of such threats as SQL injection; more ways to attack corporate networks, including wireless; and an increased volume of attacks.

· Assessing security risk and modifying plans and budgets accordingly is problematic across the board. More than 20 percent of U.S. companies and nearly a quarter of Chinese companies do not regularly assess security risk and threats. Of those who do regularly assess risk, only 34 percent of U.S. companies and 39 percent of Chinese companies use the information strategically to drive budgets and planning.

· Measuring the value of security is difficult. Forty-three percent of U.S. companies measure value in terms of fewer worker hours spent on security-related issues. Twenty-four percent of respondents do not even attempt to measure the value of security investments.

"Organizations in the U.S. and China are spending more on information security yet it seems they are uncertain why," said Alastair MacWillson, managing director of Accenture's Security Practice. "Without fully understanding risk and its strategic impact and without systematically measuring value it is difficult to recognize how security can enable high performance."

Top-ranking tactical security priorities for both the U.S. and China in the coming year include installing better access controls, securing remote access and installing monitoring software.

Over the past 12 months, respondents in both the U.S. and China said improved storage management and improved document management have been beneficial to achieving regulatory compliance. In the U.S., improved infrastructure security was also considered helpful, and in China, classified e-mail content has been beneficial.

The U.S. more aggressively monitors employee activities, with more than half monitoring e-mail use, compared with 34 percent of Chinese companies. In the U.S., 40 percent of respondents monitor web-site use, compared with a quarter of their Chinese counterparts. Thirty-five percent of U.S. companies monitor phone usage versus 22 percent of Chinese respondents. Instant message monitoring is nearly even across the U.S. and Chinese with 29 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
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MISMO Releases MXCompliance Certification for Flood v2.4
Krause, David
MISMO announced the release of MXCompliance certification requirements for Flood v2.4. The certification requirements are based on the latest MISMO Flood specification published by MISMO and joins the Flood v2.3.2 certification released in June 2006.

MXCompliance requirements for the MISMO Flood request and response transaction set allows vendors, lenders and servicers to become a credible source for the transaction used for flood zone determinations. With this "MISMO-compliant" stamp of approval, entities can differentiate themselves within the request for proposal process by illustrating their commitment to free and open data standard transactions, demonstrating overall flexibility and showing that they passed a third-party test. 

With MBA's support and subscriber company participation, MISMO is the premiere standards development body for the real estate finance industry. Its creation and continued expansion of this compliance service is tremendously important and essential.

MISMO continues to work on the creation of compliance specifications for the various MISMO transaction sets. MISMO plans to expand and make compliance certification available for other transaction areas in the future. 

For additional information, please visit http://mxcompliance.mismo.org or contact David Krause at dkrause@mortgagebankers.org.
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MBA Trimester Workgroup Meeting Sept. 17-20
Morrison, Carrie
The next MISMO Trimester Workgroup Meeting, sponsored by Midland Loan Services, Mortgage Cadence and Stewart Title Guaranty, will take place Sept. 17-20 in Houston.

To view the daily meeting schedule, visit http://www.mismo.org/files/mismo/MISMOSeptember2007DailySchedule.pdf. To view the schedule as a grid, go to http://www.mismo.org/files/mismo/MISMOSeptember2007ScheduleGridView.pdf.

Meeting Registration
To register for the meeting, go to the MISMO Online Store (http://store.mortgagebankers.org/shome.aspx?SKIN=MX) and click on MISMO September 2007 Trimester Meeting under Upcoming Events. On the following page, click Register. If you have registered for MBA events before, you will need to enter your username and password previously provided to you. If you are a new online store user, you will have to set-up an account to register.

After logging in and selecting the meetings you would like to attend, press Finish at the bottom of the page. The next page will list the meetings for which you are registering and will give you the opportunity to make any updates to your selection. After verifying your choices, check out. You will once again be asked to confirm your order and you must press SUBMIT at the bottom of the page to complete the registration process. If you do not finish this last step your registration will not be captured. After your registration is complete, you will then receive a confirmation e-mail. Please verify all information is correct and contact Carrie Morrison at cmorrison@mortgagebankers.org if anything is incorrect or if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation.

If you plan on registering multiple attendees at once, contact Carrie Morrison directly before doing so. The system will error out if one or more of the attendees are not already in the MISMO database.

MISMO Non-Subscriber Meeting Fee
for MISMO non-subscribers there is a $395 per person meeting fee. You can consider becoming a MISMO subscriber. By joining MISMO, your organization is entitled to full subscriber benefits, including free registration for all MISMO trimester meetings. To join MISMO, download the subscription application at http://www.mismo.org/files/mismo/MISMOApplication.pdf.

Meeting Facility:
Hotel Derek (http://www.hotelderek.com/index.cfm)
2525 West Loop South
Houston, Texas 77027
Telephone: (713) 961-3000
Fax: (713) 297-4393

Room Rate
The room rate is $154/night for a single or double. You may make your reservation by calling (866) 292-4100. Please specify you are with the MISMO trimester workgroup meeting to get the group rate. To make hotel reservations online, please go to the MISMO reservation page (http://www.hotelderek.com/reservations/reservations_frame.cfm?hotelid=1433), click on Group Reservations (a hyperlink under the Check Availability button) and then enter the group password MISMOT. The room block is closing earlier than usual on August 22nd, so please make your reservations as soon as possible.

Reservations must be canceled 48 hours in advance of your scheduled arrival day to avoid a one night's stay penalty.Please note, meeting registration does not reserve hotel accommodations (and vice versa).

Hotel Amenities
The hotel offers the following amenities:

 · Complimentary high-speed Internet access
 · 500 miles on United Airlines for each stay
 · Free local and 800 access phone calls
 · Business center
 · In-room FedEx supplies
 · 24-hour fitness center
 · Relaxation outdoor pool
 · Spa treatment suite
 · Complimentary transportation within a three-mile radius

The hotel also houses world-renowned restaurant bistro moderne, which serves contemporary French bistro creations with a local Texas touch presented by star chef Philippe Schmit.

Nearby Attractions
The Hotel Derek offers easy access to a full-range of Houston attractions, the central business district, museums and restaurants. The hotel is adjacent to the upscale neighborhoods of River Oaks, Tanglewood and the trendy Uptown area. It is only seven miles west of Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Arena.

Among sites located in Houston include:
 
 · The Galleria 
 · Johnson Space Center 
 · Bayou Place 
 · Houston Arboretum 
 · Houston Zoo 
 · Houston Downtown Aquarium 
 · Contemporary Arts Museum 
 · Museum of Fine Arts 
 · Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Parking
The hotel does not offer self-parking. Day valet parking is $6 and overnight valet parking is $15.

Airport Transportation
You have two options flying into Houston. The Hotel Derek is located 26 miles (30 minutes) from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and 16 miles (20 minutes) from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). Cab rides from Bush are estimated to cost $45/one-way and from Hobby $35/one-way. For driving directions to and from the above airports, visit http://www.mismo.org/files/mismo/DrivingDirectionsHoustonSeptember2007.pdf.

If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact Carrie Morrison at cmorrison@mortgagebankers.org or (202) 557-2797.
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Tech Briefs
Palaparty, Vijay
AOL to Provide Real Estate Listings Online
America Online, Dulles, Va., will partner with Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, Jacksonville, Fla., to provide broker and MLS listings to AOL Real Estate users, and provide access to instant home evaluations through FNRES’ Cyberhomes tools.

Home buyers and sellers can search real estate listings enrolled by FNRES and have expanded access to Cyberhomes’ home evaluation information and market data later this year.

WEI Mortgage Adopts Sollen Technologies
WEI Mortgage Corp., Rockville, Md., chose San Francisco-based Sollen Technologies’ Lender Online and Best Ex products for loan pricing and execution capabilities.
 
Lender Online is Sollen’s web-based software product that enables loan searching, validation, loan level adjusted pricing and locking for a wholesale, retail, correspondent or call center application. The Best Ex pricing engine and product development product, which complements Lender Online, offers secondary marketing desk capabilities to search for options on the secondary market by comparing products and prices in real time.

Document Systems Releases LoanMagic V4.0
Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif., a developer of mortgage technology for compliant loan document preparation and customer contact management systems, released version 4.0 of its LoanMagic software. The application combines tools for lead management, contact management, mortgage loan calculators, side-by-side loan comparison and marketing.

The product is designed to be used with any loan origination system and gathers and tracks leads, walks originators through the loan sale process, collects contact information, pulls credit, compares loan programs and delivers pre-disclosure documents. Information can then be delivered to the LOS for loan processing and closing. The updated information can then be returned to LoanMagic for post close review and follow-up.

Credit Service Company Offers Credit Analysis Product
Credit Service Co., Van Nuys, Calif., a mortgage credit reporting service, will offer Houston-based Market Kinetix’s Deal Maker Score credit analysis product to its mortgage industry lender and broker clients.

Deal Maker is a scientific credit analysis tool that allows borrowers to raise their credit scores. Once mortgage professionals run borrowers’ credit report, they choose the Deal Maker option from within the Credit Service Company’s web portal to get information on the fastest method for achieving a target credit score.

Continental Real Estate Group Leverages ByOwnerMLS.com
Continental Real Estate Group Inc., Hackensack, N. J., posted its real estate listings on ByOwnerMLS.com, Boca Raton, Fla., which features an online search engine equipped with for-sale-by-owner properties.

Continental is a licensed real estate brokerage in 11 northeastern states and operates several web sites, including www.MultipleListingSystem.com.

American Mortgage Exchange Selects Beanstalk
American Mortgage Exchange Financial Corp., Norcross, Ga., signed a four-year service contract with Beanstalk Networks LLC, West Palm Beach, for its OpenClose mortgage lending product and Decision Assist loan pricing and underwriting software services.

Decision Assist creates the rules, rates, matrices and underwriting conditions for loan program and analyzes the complete credit report and automatically parses out credit scores, rolling rates, public records and trade lines, factoring all of this information into the pricing and underwriting decision. OpenClose is a mortgage banking platform with elements of the lending process communicating in real time.

Interthinx Automates Third-Party Review
Interthinx, Agoura Hills, Calif., a provider of risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the financial industry, completed automation for lenders to validate broker submitted data with same-day results.

The new automation enables Interthinx to alert lenders of issues pertaining to license information and status, licensee derogatory information, social security number, bankruptcy filings, address and phone number and brokers’ inclusion on the OFAC list, industry and client submitted watch lists and Interthinx’s NFPD on mortgage brokers.

Ellie Mae Offers Zenta Broker Services for Processing
Zenta, New York, a knowledge process outsourcing and business process outsourcing company, and Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif., a mortgage industry software and services provider, entered into an affiliated partner agreement to offer Zenta’s Broker Services through Ellie Mae’s ePASS Network web portal.

Zenta is a hybrid onshore and offshore service delivery platform that provides a cost-efficient alternative to in-house loan processing. By combining Zenta’s loan processing with Ellie Mae’s Encompass Mortgage Management software, users will receive cost- and time-efficient transactions and more secure transfer of data and documents.

Closing Market to Enable Access to RealtyData
RamQuest Software Inc., Plano, Texas, a business services provider for the title and escrow industry and developer of the Closing Market digital network, announced the integration of Closing Market and RealtyData Corp., Garden City, N.Y., a provider of property information products.

Title companies using Complete Closing can electronically order and access RealtyData’s searching and custom reporting products. The integration automates the process of ordering a property or a vesting report by facilitating the initial order directly from the Complete Closing system and electronically delivering results back to the same system.

New Venture for Global Business Outsourcing
Keane Inc., San Ramon, Calif., a business and IT functions global services firm, and ZC Sterling Corp., Atlanta, a provider of technology-enabled outsource and insource business processing services to the mortgage and insurance industries, announced a new business venture, BestShores. BestShores provides mortgage lenders with BPO services that combine technology with global outsourcing services to address the mortgage lifecycle.

BestShores provides clients with domestic and offshore processing services, process optimization strategies and technology services that use Optical Character Recognition, workflow tools, and custom system applications. The platform applies technology to enhance the way data is captured, audited and input to loan systems. BestShores also leverages a client-customized technology-enabled onshore and offshore resources to improve quality and increase cost savings.
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MBA Document Custody Conference Sept. 9-11
Brockmann, Diana
Join your colleagues and industry partners in the "Loan" Star State of Texas. Experience two full days of general sessions, panel discussions and interactive panel sessions on issues currently affecting document custody professionals at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Document Custody Conference 2007 in San Antonio, September 9-11.

Session highlights include:

Agency Showdown (General Workshop)
Sunday, September 9, 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Lasso your favorite agency in a round table discussion. Meet with Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to discuss the hot topics and get answers to your most common questions. Wear your boots and jeans and join us for some good old Texas fun.

Moderator:
· Angee Nolan, assistant vice president, JPMorgan Chase

Speakers:
· Carol Andrade, operations and servicing manager, Freddie Mac

· Jennifer Burke, MBS specialist, Ginnie Mae

· Sharon Novak, operations manager, Freddie Mac

· Debra Thompson, director of custodian oversight & monitoring, Fannie Mae

MBA Luncheon/Economic Update
Monday, September 10, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Featured Speaker: Douglas Duncan, MBA senior vice president and chief economist.

As leader of MBA’s Research and Business Development Group, Duncan is responsible for providing economic and policy analysis services in the areas of real estate finance, legislative and regulatory proposals and industry trends for MBA and its members. He also oversees the education products and services of the association as well as its industry technology committees and standards efforts. He has oversight responsibility for the Research Institute for Housing America, MISMO, the Secure Identity Standards Accreditation Corp. and Lender Technologies Corp.

This year’s conference is in San Antonio, at the enjoyable Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the Riverwalk (http://sanantonioregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp). This conference offers a unique opportunity to network with business-to-business partners and industry peers. A variety of programming covers current topics affecting your business such as:

· Impact of ARM loans on the marketplace
· Private securitization
· Audit management
· MERS eRegistry and MISMO® updates
· Information security

New and experienced document custodians, quality assurance professionals or anyone else with a business that touches on any aspect of the post-closing process, loan delivery, document control or servicing issues, such as time management and customer service should plan to attend this conference.

To register, visit http://store.mortgagebankers.org/ProductDetail.aspx?product_code=M2702038/REGIS.
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MBA Tech NewsLink Reprints
MBA Staff
Articles appearing in MBA Tech NewsLink are available as reprints for a nominal fee. Reprints are done on quality paper or can be sent electronically as a .PDF file. Reprints can be distributed to your employees, to illustrate presentations or for other communication purposes.

For reprint information on stories in MBA Tech NewsLink, contact Joanna Vulakh at (800) 394-5157, ext. 25.
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Q&A with WNS Global Services
Dangelo, Mark
(Mark Dangelo is a freelance writer, author and principal with the advisory and research firm Innovative Relevance. He can be reached at m_dangelo@innovative-relevance.com or at 440/725-9402.)

During the past seven years, the value-added adoption of business process outsourcing (BPO) has become an operational requirement within the mortgage industry. Once considered a specialization dominated by offshore startups, it has rapidly evolved into a collaborative business model able to adapt to business cycles and complex operating requirements. BPO has emerged as one of the top tools to improve efficiencies, leverage best-practices, and achieve operating “scale.” Furthermore, enhanced BPO definition and implementation practices have removed the historical barriers-to-entry that previously benefited only the largest of the industry players. 

So who are these BPO providers and how can a mortgage organization take advantage of these services? While there are numerous methods to promote alignment between buyers of BPO services and industry providers, they all share common goals of quality of service, collaboration, incentives and of course performance metrics. However, these generic advisory benchmarks must be tempered with depth of provider subject matter expertise, number of processes managed, and the ability to quickly adjust to business demands for an industry in transition.

Within the mortgage industry, WNS Global Services (www.wnsgs.com) has become a leading BPO providers with significant industry expertise. To further understand its capabilities, we spoke with Arijit Sengupta, WNS’s executive vice president of banking, financial services and insurance.

MARK DANGELO: What are the three key challenges facing the mortgage industry during the next 18 months and how can your organization mitigate these risks, while creating a collaborative operating arrangement with customers that is sustainable and able to change with business demands?

ARIJIT SENGUPTA:  First of all, those of us with industry experience clearly understand the cyclical nature of the mortgage business including the influences from the Federal Reserve, consumer sentiment and availability of investment capital. To combat this challenge, our collaborative client model allows organizations and executives the ability to smooth out these inherent highs and lows, while taking advantage of our economies of scale, process expertise and operational skill sets. 

Secondly, we believe the uncertainty surrounding interest rates will result in lenders feverishly trying to find the right mix of consumer products and services to sustain credit quality and volumes. However, they must balance this with their internal ability to define, roll-out and support needed market changes. By using a global and experienced BPO provider, the WNS teams can rapidly assist our clients with go-to-market changes and back-office improvements. Finally, a lack of technology within mid-sized lenders has resulted in a paper-based legacy processing nightmare. For WNS’s clients, proven technological ‘e’-based processes honed to customer requirements have resulted in significant operational gains. 

DANGELO: Why should customers or prospects place your firm at the top of their “short-lists” when evaluating mortgage solutions?

SENGUPTA: I and my management team have created a delivery culture that permeates the organization from top-to-bottom. Our proven market track record and extensive domain expertise create an unmatched differentiator among our competitors. Supported by our collaborative alignment and transition frameworks, our clients are assured of service quality, risk and disruption avoidance, and a partner who understands their pressures. In an industry where success yields more success, organizations reviewing WNS can quickly recognize our contribution to clients though our growth in sales, personnel, locations and competencies within mortgage processes.

DANGELO: What are the top two lessons learned that your organization has experienced since the start of 2007 and how can mortgage decision makers take advantage of this experiential learning?

SENGUPTA: In 2005, the initial timeframe for positive ROI required within BPO arrangements ranged between one to two years. Today, with the market turmoil and downsizing pressures, these parameters have been accelerated to under 12 months. For example, WNS was successfully tasked by a lending client to guarantee its ROI targets across 46 distinct processes and 150 personnel within six months. This lesson is one that will be faced increasingly by mortgage providers as the business demands of our clients are accelerating. 

The second major shift, sometimes contrary to popular press, is that BPO is not singularly about cost or labor arbitrage. The mortgage industry is growing concerned on two fronts: investment avoidance and scalability. For WNS, there is a confirmation that domain expertise, technology, strategic offshoring, and process compartmentalization of core and non-core processes, which creates significant efficiencies and faster ROIs (as compared to those who concentrate strictly on transaction costs).

DANGELO: With the generic outsourcing markets considered “mature,” what innovative markets are developing through which clients should consider your firm a leader?

SENGUPTA:  To date, the BPO industry has been performing specified processes in a rules-based manner, particularly in the offshore arena. The ability to perform knowledge based tasks, including risk management, statistical and risk modeling, underwriting and research & credit analysis is a growing focus within the offshore outsourcing industry. 

Previously these processes were performed in a vertical organization or captive context; now they are now emerging as the next step on the value chain for third-party providers. WNS is a leader in the knowledge process outsourcing services including title insurance, underwriting, servicing and secondary marketing to offshore locations.

DANGELO: What advice can you offer firms struggling with “where to begin” when considering outsourcing or knowledge processing solutions?

SENGUPTA: Depending upon what business benefits are being sought and the discipline and rigor within the client organization, this advice could fill several books. However, there are 10 foundational items that must always be addressed:

1. Define how BPO will enhance your competitive positioning.
2. Understand how customers will perceive the shift to a BPO model.
3. Identify the key regulatory issues to be addressed.
4. Determine the impact of offshoring on internal skills and capabilities.
5. Define the migration and governance models that align with corporate culture.
6. Conduct due diligence on any partner including their alliances.
7. Define clear measurements and metrics of performance and quality.
8. Address scalability, BPO and compliance requirements.
9. Define continuous improvement and pricing incentives to make the arrangement adaptable and sustainable.
10. Clear contractual obligations using SLAs and OLAs.
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WNS Global Services At a Glance
Dangelo, Mark
WNS Global Services is a publicly traded firm, NYSE stock symbol “WNS."

Sales
2006: $202 Million (USD GAAP)
2007 (est.): $352.3 million (US GAAP)

Personnel
2006: 12,000
2007 (est.): 15,500 YTD, including more than 1,200 mortgage personnel

Key Mortgage Competencies, Products and Services:
WNS provides services across the entire mortgage lifecycle including origination, processing, underwriting, closing, funding, post close, due diligence and servicing. WNS delivers BPO and ITO services to wholesale lenders, retail lenders, lender servicers providers, investors, subprime lenders and private mortgage insurance companies.

List of Representative Clients
First Magnus Financial Corp.; IndyMac Bank; Top 20 U.S. full-service bank; mid-sized Wall Street investor; Top 5 U.S. subprime servicer; Top 5 U.S. lender service provider; Top 5 U.S. private mortgage insurance company, and Top 5 U.S. reverse mortgage lender.

Corporate Description
WNS Global Services acquired Tucson, Ariz.-based Trinity Partners, a provider of BPO and IT business services to mortgage banking and related institutions, in November 2005. This acquisition positioned WNS Mortgage Services as a provider of BPO services in the mortgage industry and also added IT capabilities to WNS' suite of offerings. WNS has transitioned more than 80+ distinct processes spanning the entire mortgage value-chain from loan origination to loan administration and secondary marketing.

Key Locations and Centers of Operation
WNS has 11 delivery locations across India, Sri Lanka and the U.K.

Planned Exhibition Events
WNS will participate at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2007 Annual Convention & Expo in Boston Oct. 14-17.

Key Contact Information
Arijit Sengupta
Executive Vice President, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance
Telephone: 212/277-8185

Amit Goyal
Vice President, Mortgage Services
Telephone: 520/901-4326

Key Corporate Executives
Ramesh Shah
Chairman, New York

Neeraj Bhargava
Group CEO, Mumbai, India

Zubin Dubash
Group CFO, Mumbai, India

Arjun Singh
CEO, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)
Gurgaon

Deborah Kops
Chief Marketing Officer, New York

Key Corporate Internet Links
Corporate Website: http://www.wnsgs.com
Mortgage Services: http://www.wnsgs.com/what_mortgage.php

Notable Investment Events and Partners
WNS Holdings Ltd. is the parent/holding company controlling various subsidiaries and concluded its IPO on July 25, 2006. The firm currently has $10 billion under management and invests in a range of industries, including healthcare, information and communication technology, consumer and industrial, media and business services, financial services, energy and real estate. Warburg Pincus is WNS Holdings Ltd.s majority shareholder.
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About MBA Tech Newslink
 
Publisher: Cheryl Crispen, Senior Vice President - Communications and Marketing
Director of Online Publications: Mike Sorohan MSorohan@mortgagebankers.org
Deputy Editor: Michael Murray MMurray@mortgagebankers.org
Senior Staff Writer: Vijay Palaparty 202/557/2904 VPalaparty@mortgagebankers.org
Advertising Opportunities: Bill Farmakis 203/834-8832 bill@jlfarmakis.com

Any reprints or other use of these articles in whole or in substantial part, in any medium, requires advance written permission from the Mortgage Bankers Association. For reprint information on stories in MBA Tech Newslink, please contact Joanna Vulakh at 1-800-394-5157 x25.

MBA Tech Newslink, a weekly electronic publication, is a member benefit free to employees of MBA member companies, and available by paid subscription to non-members. For membership information, visit MBA's website at http://www.mortgagebankers.org/AboutMBA/membership

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