rjbWalzak Consulting Services
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.