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Client Bulletin: January 27, 2025

Cenlar President and CEO David Schneider to Speak at MBA Servicing

Cenlar President and CEO David Schneider will take the stage next week at MBA’s Servicing Solutions Conference in Dallas to provide insight into the state of mortgage servicing.

Schneider will discuss challenges facing servicers currently, including evolving regulations, technological advancements, shifting customer preferences and the balance between cost and efficiency. He will be joined by other members of the servicing community during the general session, entitled “Executive Perspectives on Servicing”, on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Schneider is just one of the Cenlar executives sharing their expertise in Dallas. Later in the conference, on Thursday, Feb. 6, Chief Information Security Officer Jason Shockey will participate in a discussion entitled “Securing Assets – Cybersecurity Protection”, exploring how lenders can stay vigilant against cyber threats. That same day, Chief Digital Officer Josh Reicher will address another topic vital to the future of the industry in “The Practical Uses and Interpretations of Responsible AI”.

We Continue to Support Homeowners Affected by the Wildfires in Southern California

With Southern California continuing to experience the devastating impacts of wildfires, we want you to know that we are committed to supporting you and your homeowners through this tragic event.

As with all disasters, Cenlar has taken proactive steps in alignment with our plans to manage natural disasters, including:

  • Disaster Identification: We have identified all loans within the zip codes of the FEMA declaration (where either the property itself or the filed mailing address is located in the state). Using this information, we can better target which homeowners should receive assistance emails.
  • Contact Centers: Our Contact Centers are fully operational and will continue to be staffed to handle immediate homeowner needs. For homeowners in the FEMA-declared disaster areas, we extended hours, taking calls Sunday, Jan. 19, Monday, Jan. 20 and Sunday, Jan. 26 to assist homeowners who may need mortgage payment assistance or have insurance or claims questions.
  • Priority Support: Disaster-specific prompts and routing for calls, as well as chat, are active to help make sure homeowners quickly get the help they need.
  • Website: Our website has been updated to provide clear and visible information on mortgage assistance. In addition to placing banners on our website and on CenNet, we are standing up a mortgage assistance page with information specific to the wildfire disasters so that homeowners can quickly find the help they need.
  • Heightened Monitoring: We continue to closely monitor our Insurance and Property Preservation partners to ensure they are delivering the highest level of service to affected homeowners.
  • Disaster Declaration: With federal disaster declaration in place, we have coded all impacted loans so we can track them on our Disaster Dashboard. This dashboard is delivered to you daily via sftp and is on CenAccess.

 

Catastrophe Response Team on the Ground

Our Catastrophe Response Team began providing mobile LPI claims support on Jan. 23 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT. Homeowners who need claims support can visit either of the following locations:

  • 2000 Empire Avenue, Burbank, CA 91504 (Lowe’s)
  • 730 Arizona Avenue, Suite 228A/B, Santa Monica, CA 90401

 

Negative Credit Reporting, Late and NSF Fees

Effective Jan. 16, 2025, we will proactively suppress negative credit reporting and waive late and NSF fees for all homeowners in impacted ZIP codes for 90 days.

In Case You Missed It: Client Call with Insurance Partner Assurant

Thank you to all clients who joined our call Jan. 16 with our insurance partner, Assurant. If you missed the call or would like to review the information again, an audio recording and PowerPoint from the meeting are available on CenAccess, in the News section.

Tom Donatacci Promoted to Chief Client Officer

We’re pleased to announce that Tom Donatacci has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Client Officer, overseeing our Business Development and Client Management areas.

A recognized and highly accomplished leader in the mortgage sector, Donatacci has extensive experience in servicing transactions and subservicing, due diligence and M&A. He joined Cenlar in 2023 and has already made a significant impact on our business with his philosophy of always putting our clients first.

Prior to joining Cenlar, Donatacci held several senior leadership positions in the mortgage industry including Chief of Staff at Impac Holdings Inc., Executive Vice President of Special Servicing at Selene Finance, Executive Vice President of Clayton Holdings, LLC and SVP of Business Development at GMAC Mortgage.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Seton Hall University and a bachelor’s from Rutgers University.

What’s New and Notable? Find Out February 13 During the Next Update with Cenlar Leadership

Please save the meeting link below and join us next week for the latest in our series of regular updates.

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. ET

WHERE: To access the live update with video, click here. You can add a reminder to your calendar by clicking here.

The program will feature a panel discussion with Cenlar executives following the theme, “What’s New and Notable @ Cenlar”. Speakers include Lynn Tarantino, Chief Growth Officer; Lou Sigillo, SVP, Borrower Operations; and Leslie Peeler, COO. Together, they’ll discuss how our efforts in technology and innovation will transform not only how you work with Cenlar but what’s possible for the servicing industry as a whole.

Please note, this call is for current Cenlar clients only. Although you may forward this invitation to interested parties within your organization, please do not forward the meeting link to other third parties. Any information shared on the call is subject to the confidentiality provisions of your respective subservicing agreement.

Going to MBA Servicing? Meet with Us!

Will you be in Dallas for the MBA Servicing Solutions Conference? We will!

We would love to set up time for you to meet one-on-one with our Executive Client Management team during the conference, so we can discuss how we can strengthen our relationship with you.

If you’re interested in arranging a meeting with Cenlar during the Servicing Solutions Conference Feb. 4-7, please email Chelsea Garber or your Client Manager.

In Case You Missed It: Cenlar’s 2024 SOC 1 Report

As we alerted you last week, Cenlar’s SOC 1 Report was issued Friday, January 17, 2025. The following documents, as part of Cenlar’s SOC Report Package, are available on CenAccess, in the Servicing System Reference menu under Training & Reference:

  1. Cenlar’s SOC 1 Report (covering the period of January 1, 2024 – September 30, 2024)
  2. Bridge Letter (covering the period of October 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024)

 

Please reach out to your client manager with any questions. Thank you.

Monthly Regulatory Change Management Summary

As part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed, Regulatory Change Management updates for the previous month will be included in the Client Bulletin going forward.

Please be sure to check out the new reports detailed in the Jan. 13 issue of the Bulletin. Available within the first week of every month, this reporting provides more up-to-date and detailed information along with a greater line of sight into the status and detailed activities associated with completion of regulatory change items.

Below you’ll find our Regulatory Compliance Change Management summary for the month:

For items with implementation target dates of December or prior, we’re currently working to reestablish compliance with our regulatory change management program on the following items. We have outlined what we are doing to achieve this.

  • Q14082.1 FHLMC Bulletin 2024-11: Servicing (08/14/24) (Effective 8/14/2024) – CLOSED
  • Q14439 Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Memorandum – VA Purchase Program (Effective 9/3/2024)
    • What it is: Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) has issued a Memorandum to AFHC servicers regarding the VA Purchase Program. Because AHFC loans are attached to bonds, this Memorandum sets forth AHFC’s expectations as to the handling of these loans. AHFC provides a step-by-step process to be followed by servicers for tVAP and VASP loans. AHFC will not be paying any claims, so servicers must ensure they comply with VA guidelines and payoff amounts are accurate. This Change Impact Assessment for this item is rated Low due to the client and borrower impact.
    • What we’re doing: Impacted business have mapped out a process flow and RCM is pending validation documents from the business. The businesses and RCM will be meeting with the VA for an additional walkthrough. Cenlar is currently monitoring for VASP and tVAP loans.
      Questions related to the regulatory compliance change management program may be submitted at any time to compliancechgmngt@cenlar.com.

Questions related to the regulatory compliance change management program may be submitted at any time to compliancechgmngt@cenlar.com.