Structuring an Effective Operations Team FCC Services Home Lending Conference Wednesday May 9, 2018 3:00 4:30 p.m.
NORTHWEST FARM CREDIT SERVICES
3 Association Overview Northwest Farm Credit Services Erin Wells 16,675 Customer-members 713 Employees $10.9 Billion in loan volume 44 locations in 5 states Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska Country Home Loan Product portfolio only Consumer Ag loan product
4 Structure 10 Relationship Managers in field locations 14 Financial Specialists shared duties by state 13 Sales Support/Operations 6 CHL Operations (disclosures, documents, funding, collateral perfection) 5 Servicing (shared amongst multiple portfolios) 1 Encompass Administrator
Country Home Loan Product Lending & Insurance Risk Management Operations & Servicing 5
Lending & Insurance EVP Lending & Insurance 4 State Presidents VP Lending & Insurance SVP Marketing SVP Credit VP Operations VP Country Home Lending Relationship Managers (10) Operation Managers Financial Specialists (14)
Risk Management EVP Chief Risk Officer SVP Credit Approval SVP Collateral Risk Management Credit Underwriter II VP Operations Credit Underwriter III Appraisal Services Representative
Operations & Servicing EVP Chief Administration & Lending Officer SVP Operations & Servicing SVP General Counsel VP Loan Accounting & Operations VP Central Servicing & CHL Operations Director - Compliance Manager Loan Operations Encompass Administrator Compliance Analyst Operations Specialists (4) Manager Central Servicing Manager CHL Operations Financial Specialist (4) Financial Specialist (5)
9 How did you get here? CHL Project process re engineering began in 2017 Changes were effective Oct. 2017 Implemented a Country Home Loan specific scorecard Shifted conditions responsibilities to field staff Developed standardized appraisal fees Centralized disclosures with CHL Operations team What prompted you to make a change? Stale process - no significant changes since 2008 Our business initiative to make it easier to do business with Northwest FCS
10 What efficiencies have you gained from this type of structure? Increased productivity Eliminated duplication = Less touches per file Time to prepare Loan Estimate significantly reduced Greater accuracy and consistency of disclosures Tolerance violations reduced Days to close (94 to 60) Made the process easier for staff members and customers
11 Where are the challenges and/or gaps in your structure? Timely communication amongst team members and groups Inconsistent communication channels Documentation of file either lacking or inconsistent CHL origination software is not integrated into Northwest s LOS duplicate data entry New staff member training Maintaining updated procedures Consumer Ag loan product Leadership and teams not aligned under one structure
12 What best practices have you identified? Quality Review checks Developed a Loan Review database training issues identified perfect file submissions Handoff reduction Instituted a CHL Leadership meeting Eliminated duplication of efforts Consistency of centralized and field processes
FCSAMERICA / FRONTIER FARM CREDIT
14 Association Overview FCSAmerica / Frontier Farm Credit Angie Winegar 57,000 Customer-members 1680 Employees $29 Billion in loan volume (Associations) $1.5B Consumer Lending (All portfolio) 48 Retail locations across 5 states Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and eastern 1/3 of Kansas Consumer Product: Portfolio Only
15 Structure Sales and Support (Retail) Consumer Lending Officers (32) Regional VP (16) Financial Officers (Ag/Retail) VP Retail Operations (16) Other Retail Support Roles Consumer Specialist (29) VP Related Services Related Services Roles
16 Structure Centralized Consumer Operations Team (Omaha) VP Consumer Lending Lead Documentation Specialist Training Specialist Product Manager Escrow Manager Front-End (3) Back-End (4)
17 Structure Other Centralized Support (Omaha) Compliance Officer (2) Credit Analyst (3) Financial Specialist (3-5) Loan Accounting (3)
18 How did you get here? 15+ years always some level of centralized operations Previous leadership structure: VP Consumer Lending (Omaha) Regional Consumer VP (Retail - 3) VP Operations (Omaha) Consumer Lending Officer Consumer Lending Specialist Centralized Operations Aug 2015 - Retail Restructure - One Team / One Purpose
19 What efficiencies have you gained from this type of structure? Lead: Documented procedures / continually updated Workflow management / monitor turn-times Product Manager: Sits within the product function, gathers insights, prioritizes, implements or works direct with technical team to implement enhancements Training Specialist: Consistent and quality onboarding and ongoing team member training Consults on process improvements and maintains internal SharePoint for procedures and communications SME for Retail roles consults on process improvements Doc. Specialist (split tasks): Increased accuracy of disclosures and closing documents Increased productivity Tracking of file error rates Increased workload coverage
20 Where are the challenges and/or gaps in your structure? Origination System Integrations Communication Timely amongst team members Accuracy / clear / many audiences Inconsistent file documentation Time to onboard new teammates Leadership/teammates not aligned under one structure
21 What best practices have you identified? Consistent / scalable processes Daily Requirements & Service Standards Consistent onboarding & ongoing training Quality Check (QC) process for disclosures and closing documents Track File Error and Quality of QCs Facilitate Feedback / Input Sessions Quarterly with Retail Central input and prioritization of origination system enhancements Dedicated / consistent testing resources Centralized Operations = Team of knowledge experts for support
COMPEER FINANCIAL
23 Association Overview Compeer Financial Cheryl Johnson 144 Counties in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin $19.5 Billion in Assets, 43,000 Clients, 1,200 Team Members, $1.6 Billion Consumer Lending Volume
24 Structure Consumer (Retail) Outside Support VP Lending Credit (10) Finance Director Lending Director Operations Partner Lending Leader
25 Structure Sales and Support (Retail) Director Lending Regional Lending Manager (3) Lending Officers (29) 42 Locations Lending Administrators (7)
26 Structure Operations Team Director Operations Mortgagbot Admin Processing and Servicing Leader Quality Review Leader Processing (7) Quality Review (3) Servicing (5) Correspondent Admin (3)
27 How did you get here? How long have you been in this structure? 2015 initial migration thru mid-2017 finalized the structure. Added Lending Admins 2015 Expanded Quality Review Q1-2016 Merger Announcement Q1-2016 Moved Processing under Consumer Business Unit Q2-2017 Expanded Servicing Q3-2017 What prompted you to make a change? Alignment needed between Sales/Support and merger.
28 What efficiencies have you gained from this type of structure? Increased turn around times Increased productivity Days to close (60 to 50) Quality and data accuracy improvements Increased Client Satisfaction and Loyalty Improved Team Member Satisfaction
29 Where are the challenges and/or gaps in your structure? Workload balance between teams Continued shifting of responsibilities Maintaining updated procedures Increased compliance risk/exposure Continuous improvement
30 What best practices have you identified? Quality Review and Quality Assurance Industry alignment Handoff reduction Submit it right the first time Elimination of non-value add tasks Leadership structure allows for quick decisions
Questions Similarities to your organization? Differences to your organization? What struggles does your structure present? What recommendations do you have for these structures? What structure specifics did we miss? What structure are you looking to implement?
Contacts Erin Wells VP Central Servicing Erin.Wells@northwestfcs.com Angie Winegar VP Consumer Lending Angie.Winegar@fcsamerica.com Cheryl Johnson Lending Services Leader Cheryl.Johnson@compeer.com