The Centinel September 2025
Our Focus is You: Transforming Client Service
By Tom Donatacci, Chief Client Officer, and Matt Detwiler, SVP, Client Relations
When clients decide to do business with you, they aren’t just buying a product or service. They’re investing in a relationship.
And like any relationship, success depends on trust, communication and reliability. How well you nurture that emotional connection can be the difference between a one-time deal and a long-term partnership.
We saw the power of partnership firsthand at our inaugural Cenlar Client Summit June 9-11, with representatives from many of our clients, Cenlar executives and industry influencers gathering to make connections and share knowledge.
While there, our clients received a first-hand look at what we’re calling “the new Cenlar.” Our approach to this transformation starts with a simple question for our clients: “What else can we do for you?”
Historic Times Call for Creative Solutions
By Michael Merwin, SVP, Investment Management, and Keith Dyer, VP, Mortgage Acquisition & Relationship Management
We’re living in historic times for the housing market.
Soaring home values have allowed homeowners to grow an incredible amount of wealth very quickly. Collectively, American homeowners now hold $35T in home equity, a 72% increase in the last five years.
Frosting the Whole Pop-Tart: Reinventing An Industry One Push At A Time
By Kelly O’Donnell, Director, Enterprise Portfolio Management, and Kelsey Cooling, Senior Project Manager
Consider the Pop-Tart.
Introduced in 1964, the foil-wrapped toaster pastry radically changed breakfast in the U.S., becoming so popular with consumers that its manufacturer, Kellogg’s, couldn’t keep up with demand. Three years later, in 1967, Kellogg’s innovated again by adding a rectangle of frosting to the top of the pastry, leaving just a thin unfrosted crust around the edge.
And then, nothing. In the nearly 60 years since, the Pop-Tart hasn’t changed. What started as a revolution became rote.
A few years ago, there was a social media post about this that clearly hit a nerve, quickly going viral. It said, “I don’t know why they aren’t frosting the whole Pop-Tart. They have the technology.”
There are a lot of similarities between mortgage subservicing and the Pop-Tart. A revelation when introduced, subservicing hasn’t evolved all that much in the intervening decades, instead sticking with the tried and true. But why? After all, we have the technology.
That’s why, at Cenlar, we’ve decided to frost the whole Pop-Tart. And we’re reinventing ourselves and our industry while we’re at it.
Catch Up with Cenlar This Fall
We hope to see you soon, at one of the many industry get-togethers this fall. The full list of events we’ll attend is here. We look forward to catching up!