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Rjb walzak services
RISK MANAGEMENT -- WHY BOTHER?

Just the words RISK MANAGEMENT make many leaders in the consumer lending industry roll their eyes. Why? Traditionally risk management has been perceived as part of a volume prevention exercise and any effort to put resources against assessing and maintaining the right amount of risk is done so with the enthusiasm of having one?s teeth drilled.

Yet it can?t be avoided. Every day the business activities that are carried on create risk. We have always been aware of risks such as Credit, Market and Liquidly risks and have dealt with them as they appear. But we have been unable to bring them all together and understand how they impact the company?s success or distinguish how much profit we would have made without that risk. How then can company leaders understand and control risks on a company-wide basis? The answer to this question lies in the development and implementation of Operational Risk Management in your organization.

Operational Risk is defined as the risk of financial loss due to a failure of people, processes and/or technology as well as from external events. While many of the elements of an Operational Risk program, such as Quality Control, Regulatory Compliance, Management Self-Assessments and Business Continuity Planning, are already familiar to most leaders in the financial services industry, it is the through the unification of these various practices and the linking of them to the organizations? financial success that the real benefit is achieved.

There are three areas of an Operational Risk Management Program. These include Global risks such as catastrophic disasters; Product/Service risks which include poor quality product that cannot be sold or unhappy customers and; Ancillary risks such as personnel and financial management risk. All of these risks have the potential to increase costs and decrease profits. You can address these risks by first understanding what they are, where and when they occur and controlling them through the data your organization produces.

rjbWalzak Consulting can provide guidance in the identification and assessment of the Operational Risks within your company and help you develop management controls and the corresponding reports that indicate the level of operational risks. More importantly, we can guide you through the process of establishing relationships between these various risks so that future reports will provide you with real-time information on issues that face the organization. You will be able to proactively address these issues rather than react; you will be able to take advantage of opportunities quickly to get ahead of the competition and ultimately you will be able to TURN RISK INTO REWARD
QUALITY CONTROL... DOES IT REALLY HAVE TO BE JUST A COST OF DOING BUSINESS?

Several years ago, the CEO of a major consumer lending organization picked up the six inch binder that comprised the quality control report and in frustration asked /Do I have a problem or don?t I?/. This frustration has been repeated over and over as companies try to deal with a process imposed by investors that makes even the most seasoned mortgage bankers roll their eyes. The perception that quality control is part of a /volume prevention/ exercise that adds no value to the company is prevalent within most mortgage operations as well as other consumer lending areas.

The truth of the matter is that this perception is correct as quality control is done today. Having a full time staff that does nothing but look for mistakes in loans with no idea if the issues identified are representative of a larger problem is a waste of valuable capital resources. Being required to respond to lists and lists of /mistakes/ on loans which doesn?t tell you anything about a problem in your organization is a waste of time. These are resources no financial institution can afford to waste!

BUT it doesn?t have to be that way. The main purpose of a quality control program is to test the processes used every day to determine if in fact, they are producing what you want them to produce. Once issues are found in the process, you can determine if they create risk to your organization. If so, take action that you know will address the problem. However opportunity may lie in those issues that are identified, but that create no risk. Questions that can be asked of these issues include Is this a process that can be reduced or deleted? Is there an opportunity to expand product offerings or the base of operation?

A sound QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM can help you answer these questions if it is done right. Employing basic concepts utilized as part of quality control programs in successful companies, the rjbWalzak Consulting methodology establishes a quality control process that works for you, not against you. You can expect to see a streamlined process that covers more areas of the organization, identifies real risks and reduces costs. Furthermore you will have an educated staff that functions as a critical part of your overall risk management team and assists you in enhancing your investor relationships.
INTERNAL RISK... NOT JUST FOR AUDITORS ANYMORE!!

To most managers the belief is that Risk Management is a credit or interest rate issue or it is an origination issue when loans are kicked out of trades. But rarely is there any thought given to the risks that exist within the internal operating environment of the organization. Those issues most frequently come to light when auditors, whether they be internal or external, point them out. Often that is too late, the damage is done, financial resources must be spent to clean-up the problems and once completed, the method for finding these problems leave with the auditors.

However, these risks don?t go away. Many times clients have stated how frustrated they are that they seem to be spending valuable resources on fixing the same problem over and over again. Why don?t they know when these same problems are starting to occur so that they can be fixed quickly? Why are they always getting nasty surprises when they thought the issues were under control?

Using Risk Management as way to identify and prevent these risks from causing unexpected problems and costs is the best way to answer these questions. An internal risk review program puts the accountability for these problems right where it belongs, in the hands of the managers. Reporting results to the senior management team gives them an on-going understanding of how well these risks are being managed BEFORE they become an expensive problem.

rjbWalzak Consulting?s approach to Internal Risk Reviews is focused on assisting managers in identifying these risks, understanding what controls they have in place, determining whether these controls are effective and prioritizing the risks based on the likelihood of them occurring and the impact if they do. Once this self-examination is completed, the results can be used as a template for managing these risks on an on-going basis. To complete the process, we will work with senior management to identify which risks are the most meaningful to them in understanding the overall risk profile of the organization.

Once developed, these indicators can prevent nasty surprises as well as become focal points for improvements or change. Ultimately, risks and costs can be reduced. Opportunities can be incorporated and you can TURN RISK INTO REWARD.
FRAUD: IT'S REAL, IT'S OUT THERE, IT'S MANAGEABLE

At some point, fraud will visit your business. You can control this uninvited guest by ensuring that you and your staff know what fraud is and what it isn?t. Understanding the types of fraud that are out there and how to recognize and verify them without torturing your customers and risking your investor relationships is critical. The key to effective fraud management is to know your risk, know your resources and insist on effective monitoring and staff education.

Do you know the types of fraud that are most prevalent in your area? Do you know what areas of the country have increasing amounts of fraudulent applications? Do you know the difference between Identify Theft and other types of fraud? Do you which fraud creates the most risk for your organization? Do know the Internet sites that are available to you that help spot fraudulent applications? Do you know what the USA Patriot Act requires of your fraud prevention program?

Proactively addressing these issues can reduce the risk of fraud in your organization. rjbWalzak Consulting has developed an approach for classifying these issues and relating them to risk. These relationships can then be used to determine the extent of the risk, the source(s) of the risk and allow you to make decisions that are the most advantageous for you. We also have many relationships within the industry to assist you in providing knowledge to staff members in order to identify fraud, Furthermore we can direct you in the production of monitoring reports that place your fraud risk in the right perspective so that you area not spending millions of dollars to stop a few thousand dollars worth of fraud.

Understanding the types of fraud that are out there and how to recognize and verify them without torturing your customers and risking your investor relationships is critical... and so easy, if you know how. As your prevention processes begin to show solid results, investors will gain greater confidence in your ability to protect them from fraud and become more open to expanding opportunities with you, ultimately allowing you to TURN RISK INTO REWARD.
IS THIS JUST MORE PAPER?

It is not unusual for companies to build their policies and procedures like someone putting together a jigsaw puzzle. As the piece necessary for continuing toward the completion of the puzzle is needed, they find just one that works this time, not worrying about how or if it will fit in the overall picture. The same thing happens in many lending operations. While the basic parts of the process are known by the staff, how individual activities are handled many times reside with members of the department. When personnel changes occur, that knowledge is lost. Likewise it is not uncommon to find that how things are done is the result of inheriting policies and practices from individuals that join the organization from another company. Either way, these policies and procedures were not designed to fit in your organization.

Do you want to find out if that?s what happening to your organization today? Just ask a processor, loan officer, collector or other member of your staff why they do something the way they do. If their answer is Because that's the way we always do it, OR Because that's the way I was taught to do it, your organization is a puzzle with pieces that don?t fit. Where pieces don?t fit, there is RISK.

Developing policies and procedures should be more like building a house. You know what you want, but in order to build it that way, there must be a cohesive process to bring all the pieces together. The outside structure, how the space is organized into rooms, the electric and plumbing, paint and wallpaper must be designed ahead of the actual construction. If not, you could end up with no plumbing in the bathrooms, or a shower in the kitchen. If that happens, you not only pay for the construction, but the cost of the mistakes.

Policies and procedures provide guidance to your staff; just as blueprints provide guidance to builders. They tells your staff how you want to produce or service YOUR loans. Well developed policies and procedures can help prevent the costly mistakes. Furthermore, once in place, they can help identify how the process can be streamlined so that the actual cost per file can be reduced. That's how you TURN RISK INTO REWARD.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID ANYMORE!

A well known attorney once stated that the eight most feared words in mortgage banking were; /I?m your regulator and I?m here to help./ As the specter of angry, upset consumers looms more and more frequently over the heads of lenders, the need to protect your company from the risk of non-compliance grows. How do you keep your organization from becoming the next target of state or federal regulators? How do you introduce and enforce adherence to regulatory compliance requirements, when they are another of the /volume prevention/ issues that have troubled leaders in this industry for years?

Once again, the problem many leaders face when addressing this issue is that they have no idea what the real risk is. Questions such as /how good is my HMDA data/, /how accurate are my Truth-in-lending statements/, or /do I know what the requirements are for the state that was just added to the company?s origination targets/, typically cannot be answered. And more often than not, this is because the reports received on regulatory compliance are simply a compilation of data with no real information on what the risks are and where they are found.

A successful REGULATORY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM will contain various functions, each related to some aspect of the risk. Included should be an approach for identifying and introducing new regulations that occur. Lenders should also have a way to effectively measure the level of compliance and hold individuals accountable. Education on the requirements as well as on how the organization implements these requirements is also critical. And there must be a level of awareness regarding the type and number of consumer complaints that are received.

rjbWalzak Consulting can assist you in implementing a program, whether it is for all regulations, or an individual process for a recently added requirement, that will accomplish these tasks and identify your risks in a way that minimizes the cost in terms of human and capital resources. Having personnel experienced in this type of implementation is a key to our success. We will work with you to establish a program that answers your questions and gives you information that will allow you to avoid the risk specter of unfriendly regulators and unhappy consumers.
DO I HAVE A PROBLEM OR DON'T I?

How many different reports does your organization produce on a regular basis? Do any of them give you the information needed to answer this question? Many times managers are overwhelmed with numbers in various reports yet they can?t use this data to identify if their processes are working as expected or if something should be adjusted. Making things worse, if they think there is a problem they cannot tell from these reports where it is occurring and what needs fixed. Known as DRIP (Data Rich, Information Poor), this phenomenon is found in the majority of reports produced for management and gives numerous amounts of data without providing any information that enables them to make strategic and profitable decisions about the business.

Turning your statistics from a DRIP to a ROAR

In order to answer questions about the business managers need information that establishes key business measurements and an understanding of how these measures relate to each other. These types of reports generate information that allows managers to analysis the business and then make decisions that address problems and take advantage of operational efficiencies or market opportunities. Yet few companies have developed these Real-time Operating Analysis Reports (ROAR) that keep them up to date on the level of risk and the relationships between these risks and the organization?s performance.

Performance Measurement Systems

Most managers fail to realize that traditional measures such as profits, market share, ROI, earnings per share simply help them *keep score* on the performance of their business and can give misleading signals to management and investors. They do not help the organization measure activities or capabilities and because they are *after the fact* indicators, they do not provide insight into underlying issues that could impact future performance. Recently management in numerous organizations have begun to utilize an approach, set of measures that gives a fast but comprehensive view of what is going on in the business. This type of reporting includes financial measures, operational measures on internal processes, customer satisfaction and improvement activities. This Balanced Scorecard approach is many times compared to the dashboard of a car because in a quick glance you can determine if the car is performing as expected or if there are problems ahead. rjbWalzak Consulting has worked with numerous companies to develop and implement new measurement and reporting systems. Based on what you want to know, we can assist you in identifying measures that will give you the information necessary to effectively run your business. With the information you get from these reports, you can TURN YOUR RISKS INTO REWARDS.
ARE YOU READY TO MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Starting a business is risky, yet numerous individuals have taken that step and organized their own loan brokerage companies. Many of these entrepreneurs have been successful beyond their greatest expectations. Now they want to move up to the next level and become fully integrated mortgage bankers with funding lines and secondary market relationships. Yet they may find themselves falling down to the bottom rung if all the right business practices are not put in place.

Most of these lenders easily connect with warehouse lenders, or find various correspondent lenders willing to buy product. Yet new mortgage bankers must recognize that these relationships all rely on the underlying management and controls of the organization. Unfortunately most of the time this is the last area that receives any focus. Why? This is mainly because the individuals who operate these companies are familiar with secondary marketing and feel comfortable in tackling these issues. Because they haven?t had experience with back room delivery operations and risk management processes, such as quality control, they are hesitant to dive right in.

Now you don?t have to! rjbWalzak Consulting has over twenty years experience in this area and numerous relationships in the industry to provide support and advise to you as you grow. Because we can provide direction, information and assist you in setting up these operations, as well as ensure you have informative, actionable results, your focus can continue to be on production and growth.
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