Michael Wippler Quoted in MReport

Michael P. Wippler, Office Managing Member of Dykema’s Los Angeles Office whose practice focuses on business counseling, litigation and the negotiation and documentation of business and real estate transactions, was quoted in an article—“Intense Regulations Sow Homogeny Where Diversity Once Flourished”—that appears in the April 2014 issue of MReport, one of the nation’s leading publications that covers news and trends in the mortgage banking industry.

In the article, Wippler discusses how a ramped-up regulatory environment has prompted mortgage originators and servicers to be more cautious with their product offerings, with the result being a more homogenized and “me-too” market. In the old—unregulated—days, Wippler notes, “If one type of mortgage started to decline, a new type of loan would be developed. There was a lot of creativity in mortgage originations and mortgage servicing.”

Wippler observes that with intensified regulatory oversight and ramped-up exposures to risk, servicers “found it much safer to follow similar practices so as not to draw the additional scrutiny of regulators or litigators.”

While he believes the status quo is likely to continue for some time in the mortgage servicing business, Wippler says that the industry “is always trying to differentiate itself on service.” To separate themselves from others, mortgage servicers often claim better systems, better people, faster response times or fewer errors than competitors. Wippler recommends, however, that lenders audit servicer files “to inspect the number of errors and to see how those errors are resolved.”

To read this article in its entirety, click here.