By rchrisman@robchrisman.com

Flying to Boston for the MBA's conference? Here's a viewyou won't see. But probably a more important question is, "Is your cyber secure?" The FFIEC just published some frequently asked questions about cybersecurityworth a read for anyone who has a computer.

Another week, another settlement with the DOJ over FHA loans. First American Mortgage Trust, which does business as NXTLoan.com, and CEO Barry Polack, will pay $1.025 million to settle chargesbrought by the Department of Justice, which accused the mortgage lender of submitting false claims on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Allegedly First American ignored the FHA's due diligence requirements and falsely certified that First American loans qualified for FHA insurance when they actually did not - all at Polack's direction. The settlement also resolves allegations that Polack falsely certified to the FHA that First American complied with quality control requirements, and failed to report known loan defects. The company joins Wells Fargo, Franklin American, Walter Investment, First Tennessee, First Horizon National, M&T Bank, Freedom Mortgage, Regions Bank, BB&T...

Vendor news is alive and well heading into the MBA's Boston conference next week.

Set your loan officers up for success in 2017. Lenders One is launching a one-of-a-kind participative workshop designed exclusively for its members to increase productionand "set your LOs up for success in 2017. With best practices from several top 200 originators and sustainable sales strategies led by key industry veteran, Steve Scanlon, originators will participate in dialogue driven, action-oriented experiential exercises designed to transform their work culture. Attendees will not only walk away with the mindset of a world class originator, but also a business plan focused on increasing production in the new year. Click here to secure a spot for this December 8-9 workshop in San Diego! Interested in learning more, stop by Trident Bookstore next Monday or Tuesday during MBA in Boston to meet with the Lenders One team, or contact Susan Malpocker. Interested in membership with Lenders One? Contact Michael Kuentz.

STRATMOR has just released the October Issue of its STRATMOR Insights Report, which is filled with interesting stuff like a piece by STRATMOR Senior Partner and founder Dr. Matt Lind that quantifies the value of customer (borrower) retention. Dr. Matt's analysis shows that successful borrower retention efforts can increase the servicing value of a new mortgage by one-and-a-half to three times the usual value lenders ascribe to servicing. This increase can then be used to fund price concessions and/or service improvements, which can improve overall competitiveness and, in a positive feedback loop, further increase the probability of retention and the ability to fund additional price concessions and/or service improvements.

Based on its recently completed Spotlight Survey, Appraisal Process and Turn-Times, STRATMOR also reports in the October Insights issue that, since TRID went into effect a year ago, appraisal fees have increased by nearly 16% along with 79% and 81% increases in appraisal turn-times for purchase and refinance loans respectively. STRATMOR, however, cautions that sharply increase origination volumes coupled with shortages of qualified appraisers undoubtedly account for much of these increases.

Finally, STRATMOR reports on data from its industry-leading MortgageSAT Borrower Satisfaction Programthat revealed that the ways in which mortgage lenders stay in touch with borrowers throughout origination plays a large role in determining satisfaction. When borrowers have to take the initiative, e.g., calling the lender for status updates, satisfaction falls precipitously - to a score of 61 out of 100, the lowest among all of the communication methods polled. Logging into a website, which also requires the borrower to take the initiative, also scored relatively low (84 out of 100). Conversely, methods in which the lender takes the initiative, e.g., calling the borrower, sending an email, texting or updating status via a mobile application, all resulted in scores above 90. You can view and download STRATMOR's October Insights Report for free by clicking here.