Lenders Compliance Group Inc. (LCG), a nationwide risk management firm, and The Bernard Law Group have announced a strategic alliance to offer mortgage risk management guidance to the mortgage industry. The two firms will build on existing tools, processes, risk assessments, and resources to provide a "best practices" approach to residential mortgage compliance. Both firms offer regulatory guidance to members of the real estate and banking industries.
LCG provides a suite of services for all areas of mortgage banking, such as loan audit analytics, mortgage compliance guidance, loan origination channel and product development, mortgage quality control (QC), legal reviews and remedies, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) applications, due diligence reviews, and banking, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and FinCEN exam readiness.
Wendy Bernard Esq., named partner of The Bernard Law Group, has accepted the position of director of legal and regulatory compliance at LCG, and will work with the firm’s clients on their residential mortgage compliance needs.
“Wendy Bernard has distinguished herself as an accomplished compliance professional and regulatory counsel," said Jonathan Foxx, president and managing director of LCG. "Her deep involvement in nearly all aspects of the mortgage industry has given her a special perspective on its compliance needs. Wendy brings a unique blend of mortgage banking and mortgage brokerage experience. By becoming a director of Lenders Compliance Group, she joins our other directors and subject matter experts in support of a ‘best practices’ approach for our clients."
According to Bernard, "the breadth and scope of Jonathan Foxx’s expertise in residential mortgage compliance is unparalleled in the mortgage industry and its measure is outdone only by his genuine concern for the organizational well being of those fortunate to be his clients.”
Bernard has unique qualifications as a compliance attorney, as she has worked in the trenches of the mortgage and banking industry for over ten years. Her diverse experience and range of industry responsibilities include commercial lending specialist, loan closing specialist, vice president of quality control, and post-closing compliance relating to the secondary market transactions and securitization. She has served not only as in-house counsel for several regional mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers, but also as a VP of compliance and secondary markets.
“It is clear that Lenders Compliance Group provides a wealth of information and unprecedented access to mortgage risk management support within the mortgage banking and mortgage brokerage industries," said Bernard. "In my view, this strategic alliance between The Bernard Law Group and Lenders Compliance Group ensures that our respective clients are well-versed and represented, with respect to all regulatory compliance issues affecting their businesses. I am excited to bring together our resources and provide ‘best practices’ compliance solutions to strengthen our clients and the industry."
The Bernard Law Group advises clients concerning regulatory compliance, establishing comprehensive framework and execution plans for expansion, recruiting, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, state and Federal law, and the vast array of administrative regulations that impact consumer lending operations. In addition to Bernard’s law practice, she is a board member and organization counsel for the Connecticut Association of Mortgage Brokers (CTAMB); she teaches national and state mandatory continuing legal education as required for professional mortgage loan originators under the SAFE Act; and, she is an adjunct professor of law at Post University in Waterbury, Conn. Bernard has received a Bronze Star Medal for performance of duty in a combat zone and is a 17 year veteran of the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate Generals Corp.
