The new year is upon us, and most of us set goals that we want to accomplish. Many of these relate to money. If you are a mortgage professional who could handle more bucks in your bank account, employ these six New Year's resolutions to help you close more loans in 2016. 

#1: I will educate myself on all mortgage aspects. Consumers have lots of questions during the mortgage process, and it pays to be able to answer them in a concise, understandable manner. Mortgage professionals who "don't have time" to give their customers the 411, or who aren't prepared for the barrage of questions will most likely end up with big, gaping holes in their schedule. 

Resolve to: read industry blogs, attend training webinars, and in-person presentations about current

Regulators and government agencies continue to ask for greater oversight from servicers. In the last three years, GSE’s, the CFPB and the OCC have all issued vendor management requirements placing a larger amount of scrutiny on how banks and nonbanks are managing third-party risk.

It's essential that servicing companies create and follow a strong vendor management and oversight program for any outsourced functions or third-party services purchased on the behalf of others. increased scrutiny on banks and nonbanks and how they manage their third-party risk.

Thank you to ComplianceBuzz for putting together a comprehensive list of 40 TRID Facts You Need To Know. We are less than a month til the October 3^rd deadline and wanted to refresh you and your team on some of these facts.  An added bonus...You can also take a sneak peek at our eBook "Steps to Reduce Third Party Risks" as part of our mortgage lending services. Enjoy!

The TRID deadline is only 1 month away! October 3rd is an important date in our industry, and information and preparedness are key to successful compliance with TRID.  Below are some quick and easy tips on the 3-day rule.  

TRID, TRID, TRID….it seems this has been the main focus, and topic of discussion this entire year.  And with delays and more delays, we are now wondering will this ever come to fruition? 

One thing we know is the CFPB is clear about their stance on consumer protection and that includes third-party vendor relationships. When a transaction between a financial institution and its customer involves a third-party, the financial institution is still responsible for compliance with laws and regulations 

Third Party Vendor Management is a hot topic these days. 

In preparation for the August 2015 deadline, one of the first (and most effective) steps you can take to limit potential third-party risk, is to review and reduce your vendors to only the ones that adhere to the most stringent of compliance standards.

Over the last few years, GSE’s, the CFPB and the OCC have issued new vendor management requirements placing increased scrutiny on how banks and nonbanks are managing third-party risk.

It is clear that the regulators and government agencies expect more oversight.

In the servicing business, it has always been critical to have a strong vendor management and oversight program for any outsourced functions or third-party services purchased on the behalf of others. However, depending on the function or company size, the focus may have been more on performance management and less on due diligence and vendor risk.

According to a bulletin published last year by the CFPB, the bureau wants to ensure that consumers are protected from irresponsible service providers and that servicers are contracting with ethical third parties. The CFPB expects banks and nonbanks to have an effective process in place to manage the risk of outsourcing. Specifically, a supervised entity, at minimum, must thoroughly review the service provider’s policy and procedures, internal controls and training materials.