Varolii Blog » Banks/Finance

The Nine Most Terrifying Words

Brian Moore — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:05:31 +0000

According to Ronald Reagan, the nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” but my recent experience with the CFPB calls that into question. During the recent MBA National Mortgage Servicing conference in Dallas, David Silberman, the CFPB's Associate Director of Research, Markets and Regulation, gave a ... Related posts:

Consumer Financial Protection - A Good Thing?

Brian Moore — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:45:56 +0000

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, better known as the CFPB, recently announced they were going to pay close attention to how mortgage servicers handle the transfer of accounts from one company to another. Ordinarily in reaction to such news, I’d be writing a rant about yet another expensive regulatory intrusion into an industry already struggling under ... Related posts:

Mortgage Delinquency Redux

Brian Moore — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:53:50 +0000

I’m getting tired of looking at this chart. I’ve posted it in this blog every quarter for the past two years and it has hardly changed, although some might regard the 59 basis point drop in the mortgage delinquency rate over the past 12 months as a hopeful sign of progress toward historical norms. But ... Related posts:

Is HARP finally plucking all the right strings?

Brian Moore — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:16:35 +0000

If so, then why are so few borrower's dancing to the tune? A Federal Housing Finance Agency report released Friday shows there were 180,000 refinancings completed under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in the first quarter of 2012, up from roughly half that number the prior quarter. The agency attributed the increase to the ... Related posts:

Live From Interaction 12 – Speed Sells

Brian Moore — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:03:28 +0000

One of the most interesting insights shared by a Varolii client at our annual users conference was the impact making a rapid response to a shopper’s web inquiry has on the likelihood of making a sale. The client in this case is a large mortgage lender, but the finding is applicable across industries that use ... Related posts:

Mortgage Delinquencies Down Slightly, But Remain Near Historic Highs

Brian Moore — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:42:24 +0000

The Mortgage Bankers Association has released its National Delinquency Survey for the fourth quarter of 2011. It shows total delinquency has dipped below 12% for the first time since 2008, but that is still more than double the average rates before the meltdown in the mortgage market precipitated the recession. Whether you view this as ... Related posts:

Outsourcing vs. Insourcing: What’s a bank to do?

Brian Moore — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:03:39 +0000

You know the old adage “if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is”? The TowerGroup is advising financial services institutions (FSIs) to keep this in mind when outsourcing key business processes. While bullish on the growth prospects for business process outsourcing (BPO) service providers, TowerGroup’s senior research director, Rodney Nelsestuen, also ... Related posts:

Mortgage delinquency down slightly, but there is still a lot of work to do

Brian Moore — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:21:42 +0000

The Mortgage Banker's Association reports that the percentage of residential mortgages at least one payment past due or in foreclosure in the 3rd quarter dropped 1.15% from the same quarter last year and now stands at 12.42%. Despite this modest year over year improvement, this rate is more than double pre-recession averages. There are an ... Related posts:

Catch 22 - Why Congress Must Modernize the TCPA

Brian Moore — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:51:27 +0000

Joseph Heller does not get enough credit for coining the term "Catch 22". How many authors can claim a phrase that conveys so much meaning in two little words, immediately understood as a shorter yet more eloquent version of "between a rock and a hard place"? In the book by the same name, Catch 22 ... Related posts:

Banks Report Fewer Accounts Past Due - Why This Is Not Necessarily Good News

Brian Moore — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:40:19 +0000

TransUnion reported this week that in the second quarter of 2011 the number of US credit card accounts that are seriously delinquent (>90 days past due) dropped to its lowest level in 17 years. This continues a trend that began six quarters ago, bringing the rate down to 0.6%, nearly 40% lower than it was this ... Related posts: