Choosing the right partners for our companies is an important thing. There are many different aspects of the relationship that we must take into consideration. How easy will it be for employees to make the adjustment to using the vendor's product? How will the vendor's product affect day-to-day operations? Will it be worth the money? How easy is the vendor to work with? The list goes on and on.
One item of consideration that we often fail to think about, though, is compliance. But that shouldn't matter, should it? If the vendor isn't compliant with current regulations, that's on them—we don't have to worry about that … do we? Actually, it turns out we do.
On the June 27 episode of my Lykken on Lending podcast, co-host Andy Schell made a very interesting point about choosing a technology vendor. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) does hold mortgage companies accountable for the technologies they use in their operations. We have to be able to justify our technology selections to ensure that we are compliant with the vendor management requirements.
This revelation brings a whole new set of criteria to the table when it comes to shopping for vendors. When choosing a partner, all of the classic criteria still remain. We need partners who will work well with our employees, will help us improve operations, and we need the product to be worth the investment. But, beyond all that, we need partners who can demonstrate clearly that they are compliant with the CFPB. If they can take that concern off our shoulders, they certainly might be someone worth working with.
David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is [email protected].
