|
In the News“Increased compliance requirements create an opportunity for dealers as well. They can distinguish themselves with finance companies by showing they’re in compliance and asking ways to improve even more, [Kevin] Kopp said.” “Jason Marx, a vice president at the consulting firm Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, said some lenders are better positioned than others for a refi wave, depending on how extensively their processes are automated. ‘Of the customers we deal with, the large national players are certainly capable of handling that … and have made the investments in automation,’ he said.” “Due to the complexity of building this into our own systems, we decided that it made more sense to partner with [GainsKeeper] to build this enhancement,” said Christine Polak, vice president of operations at OppenheimerFunds. “By integrating and streamlining the credit application and electronic tax filing processes, RefundOne provides dealers with significant time and cost efficiencies. RefundOne reduces the re-entry of duplicate information and the overhead expense of using multiple, non-integrated solutions.” “Everyone’s instinct when something goes wrong in the financial services industry is to come up with a new regulation,” said Edward Kramer, executive vice president for regulatory programs at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. “But oftentimes, it really is matter of fixing what you already have.” “If your broker doesn’t have basis information online, or if you have multiple accounts, you can track your basis with GainsKeeper… [it] even helps you to analyze the tax impact of selling different shares.” “Wolters Kluwer appears to be onto something with its Web-based [AML Virtuoso] solution. A TowerGroup report says that simulation increases the efficiency of online teaching by up to 75 percent. Plus, [Raffi] Festekjian says, the simulator is more affordable for smaller institutions than in-person, on-site training; also, it's updated on a quarterly basis with new money laundering scenarios so institutions can stay current with the latest scams, and the solution can also be tailored to money laundering cases specific to a certain institution." “Optimal tax loss harvesting involves looking all year for opportunities to realize losses and minimize capital gains. GainsKeeper examines every tax lot, whether short or long term, as well as wash sales, and fines the most efficient time to sell.” “Everything you need, from an initial overview of the regulatory requirements, to staff training and forms,” [said Anne Shivers, president of Carolina Collegiate Credit Union, when describing Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ Red Flag Rules Tool Kit.] “I am fairly certain that while the securities industry regulators are very interested in adopting principles regulations, they will not do it wholesale,” says David Thetford, the securities compliance principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services in Minneapolis and a former examiner for the National Association of Securities Dealers. “The 'three Cs' of mortgage lending have always been credit, collateral, capacity to pay," says Edward Kramer, executive vice president for regulatory services at consulting firm Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. "These are the most basic elements of loan underwriting, and we lost sight of that." “… David Thetford, securities compliance principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, a compliance and risk management firm, says audits are essentially ‘open book exams.’ All of the answers are there, he says, ‘Firms, supervisors and managers simply need to be prepared.’” “Only about half of community banks say they’re prepared for the Nov. 1 FACT Act ‘Red Flags’ deadline, according to recent research from Gartner. Vendor Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has made quite a dent in selling its Red Flags products into the community bank market, forging partnerships with a slew of state banking associations.” “[Capital Changes’] corporate actions service comes with the added benefit of a contact name and number for an event and they often walk clients through the tax instructions step by step. The longevity of tax activities also means tax information vendors are contacted about corporate actions that happened years ago.” “Kevin Byrne, senior compliance consultant at Wolters Kluwer, says that he expects many bankers to take a wait-and-see attitude [with Red Flag Rules compliance]. Then, after this year’s examine cycle, if they get slapped on the wrist, they will have a whole year to know what to gear-up for. ‘That’s a scary position to take because I personally think that we are going to see heavy enforcement,’ he says. ‘Previous enforcement issues and rules that have been out there don’t necessarily affect people like identity theft does, which is very near and dear to everyone’s heart. The Red Flags is going to have a lot more punch behind it; I think the examiners are going to be looking and expecting that these banks are working [to comply] to the spirit of the rule. If people aren’t prepared and they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they’re probably, come Nov. 1, going to have a little bit of heartache.’” "We've seen a continued push to automate. The concept of Disclosure Manager and bringing all our products together is very compelling," said Art Tyszka, director of document services at Wolters Kluwer. "We started with e-disclosures and we're now doing a lot of work around loan mods…” “Every compliance area can be stronger and you really want to find the weaknesses before the SEC audits you, not when they’re there. Part of the reason the alerts are issued is to help firms realize where some of their peers are deficient and make them take a look at their own practices to make sure they are not deficient as well,” [said Alex Zelvin, senior manager of Securities Compliance Technology.] “Kevin Kopp, director of indirect lending at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, agrees that market forces are influencing lenders. ‘The availability of consumer credit has been affected because of the mortgage losses that have hit the lenders,’ he says. ‘A lot of them are not willing to lose money in their auto loan portfolios. In general, most are looking for higher quality credit customers.’” “The acquisition will help expand Wolters Kluwer’s presence in the global market, said Mark Coronna, executive vice president of Securities Compliance and Insurance for Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. Many of Wolters Kluwer’s current U.S. customers have locations or do business in the U.K. market, which makes acquiring Compliance Online a logical move, Coronna said.” “Although technology can greatly aid in these matters, it can’t do so alone and, accordingly, human knowledge—both historical and operational — is a necessity, says Kathy Donovan, manager of government relations for Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services insurance compliance solutions group. ‘Pure technology can serve as a vehicle for notification, but you need human analysis — you can’t have one without the other and have a successful system,’ she says. ‘Someone has to ask: Is this something we need to push out to the field office, or what does the state expect?’” “The sheer volume of claims, premium increases and renewal notices, and the tremendous regulatory requirements provide ample opportunity to miss something,” [said Kathy Donovan, manager of Government Relations for Insurance Compliance Solutions]. “From an investor and trader perspective, the biggest lesson is that too many people neglect tax-smart trading strategies during the year, according to Stevie Conlon, tax director for GainsKeeper, part of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. ‘It concerns us when they import all of their data to us at once, because it means they haven’t been thinking about minimizing taxes through smart trading during the year,’ [she said].” “Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is upping its hip factor with the release of AML Virtuoso, an anti-money laundering training simulator that the company says is more like a video game than a PowerPoint deck.” “AppOne has helped my dealership gain access to primary lenders, which has allowed our business to serve more customers and deliver more cars,” [said William Brock, West Coast Auto Sales.] “Catching money laundering schemes is no game, but a new training simulator from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services uses elements from computer games to make the task more engaging … Think Encyclopedia Brown rather than Grand Theft Auto.” “Some help sorting through such [cost basis] complications is available to both individual investors and brokers via subscription services such as CCH Capital Changes and portfoliomanagement software programs such as GainsKeeper (also a Wolters Kluwer product).” “Indirect lenders are looking for dealers who will work with them to find inaccuracies and misrepresentations. Even if a dealer has worked with a lender for years, or sends a high volume of loans to that lender, it really means nothing if the dealer is not taking steps to comply with regulatory requirements,” said Lee Domingue, CEO of AppOne. “Especially with borrowers who require extra due diligence for a loan modification, servicers are well advised to focus on compliance, [Russell Reserva, senior product manager] said. ‘Nobody wants to be six months or a year down the road and then have problems with that package because they didn't record something.’” “[Disclosure Manager is designed to be a turnkey solution," added Jason Marx, vice president and general manager, Mortgage, Wolters Kluwer. “ … Lenders are going to be looking for operational efficiency and cost takeouts. Lenders want to move fixed costs to variable costs. Lenders are looking for solutions.” “Jason Marx, vice president and general manager at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, said the company is getting more deeply involved in the loan modification process because of demand in the marketplace. ‘Clearly, with what is going on in the marketplace today, there is a need for servicers to deal with the capacity issues they have,’ he told National Mortgage News. Wolters Kluwer can help servicers speed up the process by delivering documents immediately, with the capacity for borrowers to use electronic notification and signatures to express consent. And Wolters Kluwer already has deep penetration within the mortgage company. The company's customer base includes 70% of the top mortgage originators and 80% of banks in the U.S. use some Wolters Kluwer product.” “AppOne, Inc., provides risk mitigation between dealers and lenders by laser printing and storing all original paperwork to avoid tampering or inaccuracy.” “One big benefit goes to investors using GainsKeeper: They can import their data directly into CompleteTax.” “Wolters Kluwer Financial Services in Minneapolis launched a new healthcare savings account (HSA) banking platform it will target for banks and credit unions looking to offer high-deductible healthcare accounts-business services for corporate clients and individuals. Wolters Kluwer developed the HSA Director platform in conjunction with healthcare banking tech firm Canopy Financial, which recently raised $15 million in funding and supports HSA servicing technology for major clients like Wachovia, Sovereign Bank, and insurance firm Caremark. ” “AppOne, a division of Wolters Kluwer and a provider of technology and risk mitigation services to independent automobile dealer and lenders, offers a risk-management solution that ensures the security of the document flow between dealers and lenders.” “Wolters Kluwer Financial Services of Minneapolis has agreed to buy the assets of a Houston flood-determination business owned by Stewart Information Services Corp. ‘The combination of Stewart's flood determination business with our own … line of flood determination solutions allows Wolters Kluwer Financial Services to expand and strengthen our presence in this space,’ Brian Longe, the [the company’s] president and chief executive, said …” “When looking ahead at the regulatory environment, it really comes down to preparation and protection. Dealers and lenders can benefit greatly from relationships with strong compliance partners who can help them avoid potential legal and regulatory land mines,” [said Lee Domingue, CEO of AppOne]. “Insurers should try to leverage technology, specifically business process management technology solutions that are combined with expert analysis of regulatory content. This powerful combination can improve a compliance professional’s ability to automatically receive and route the content that pertains to their organization much more quickly than most companies are able to do so today. It’s a two-part “win” for an insurer—they gain efficiency by reducing the time needed to analyze the impact on the company, and can expedite the implementation process while simultaneously achieving better overall compliance,” [said Pam Ewing, Senior Manager, Insurance Compliance Solutions.] |
Jennifer Marso Director of Corporate Communications for Wolters Kluwer Financial Services 612.852.7912 Email Jennifer On Twitter: @JenniferMarso Charles Miller Senior Public Relations Specialist Banking, Mortgage and Credit Unions 320.240.5457 Email Charles On Twitter: @CharlesWMiller Angela Peterson Senior Public Relations Specialist Securities, Insurance and Indirect Lending 612.656.7745 Email Angela On Twitter: @AngiePeterson |
