MMLA Events - There are lots of events planned for MMLA members and guests!  Make your plans now to attend these educational and social events!

Be sure to visit our website calendar for all of the 2022 event dates.    Check back often for updates!

LAST DAYS TO REGISTER!!
Get the motivation and information you need to for the Spring/Summer Sales Season.  It will be a fully interactive and engaging experience with great speakers. Click here for all the details and to reserve your spot today!  Don't miss it and invite your sales team, customers and colleagues!

March 16  Good News For Homeowners Webinar!

March 23 West Chapter Breakfast - Margin Compression is Here

March 30 - Mid Chapter & WCR Mixer @ 1 North  

May 3 - Ecomonic Update Webinar

May 23 @ Detroit Athletic Club
Spotlight your company at this highly attended event. Click here to reserve your spot and to register to attend.

Save the dates for these chapter golf outings:
June 8 - SE Chapter at Cherry Creek - registration now open!
June 9 - West Chapter at Thornapple Point
August 18 - Mid Chapter at College Fields Golf Club

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL EVENTS CALENDAR

Mark Your Path for a Strong Future in the Mortgage Industry!

New for 2022!! The MMLA Future Leaders Program is an exclusive opportunity that enables participants to build their knowledge of the mortgage industry and leadership skills through on-line learning, collaboration, and peer group interactions. Course participants can be anyone who wants to grow their business and advance their mortgage industry career!  To enhance the learning and networking experience, participants will be selected on a limited basis, so secure your spot by May 1. 

The MMLA Future Leaders Program consists of six (6) courses.  These will be presented by Certified Mortgage Bankers (CMB) who have hands-on experience and expert knowledge of their content.  Courses will be held virtually via Zoom.  There will be 2 meetings per month July - September, 1 hour each for a total of 6 hours of course work. During the program, participants will be paired with other participants to discuss findings. At the end of the program, the candidates will present their final reports and celebrate at a “graduation” reception!

The 6 courses to be covered are:
1) Industry History & The Mortgage Industry Puzzle

2) Production

3) Underwriting

5) Compliance and Regulatory Agencies

6) The Big Picture: Management/Leadership/Ethics

Watch your email for more information and think about who from your company would benefit from this training!  COMING SOON!!!

Special congrats to one of our Southeast Chapter Leadership Team Members, Nathan Motta, Success Mortgage Partners for receiving the Newrez LLC Premier Partner Award!

A good time was had by all at the recent SE Chapter Kick-Off event at 5th Avenue in Royal Oak!   Thanks to ATA National Title Group for sponsoring!!
  

Do you have news to spotlight?  Send it to j[email protected]

Regulators, MBA Urge Cybersecurity Vigilance as Worldwide Tensions Escalate  

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine escalates and governments worldwide impose economic sanctions, financial regulators have begun to issue guidance in anticipation of potentially heightened cybersecurity attacks and virtual currency disruptions.

Rick Hill, Vice President of Industry Technology with the Mortgage Bankers Association, said MBA members should be particularly vigilant.

"The invasion of Ukraine is expected to result in instability for some time and could result in escalating cyber risks to our industry," Hill said. "As lending is a critical component of our nation's infrastructure, we urge our members to remain extra vigilant for attempts to breach their systems through phishing and other attack methods."

Freddy Feliz, MBA CIO & VP of Information Technology, noted "organizations should also ensure that their third-party vendors and contractors are following the same protocols, as they could become a potential avenue for these attacks."

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency updated its 'Shields-Up' website (cisa.gov/shields-up) to promote awareness of current cybersecurity threats and mitigations.

"While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. homeland at this time, Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has involved cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, may impact organizations both within and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of sanctions imposed by the United States and our allies," CISA said. "Every organization-large and small-must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity."

On its website, CISA offers the following recommendations:

• CISA recommends all organizations-regardless of size-adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protecting their most critical assets.
• In this heightened threat environment, CISA asks that organizations lower thresholds for reporting incidents to the FBI or CISA to help the U.S. government identify issues and help protect against further attack or victims.

Additionally, CISA said organizations should report unusual activity immediately to CISA (us-cert.cisa.gov/forms/report) at [email protected] or (888) 282-0870 and/or FBI local field office (www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices) or the FBI's 24/7 CyWatch at (855)-292-3937 or [email protected] of any impacts.

The New York Department of Financial Services last week issued guidance on its cybersecurity and virtual currency regulations in response to the Russian military actions in Ukraine and recently imposed sanctions. NYDFS specifically raised the specter of elevated cyber risk resulting from ongoing cyberattacks against Ukraine, which it said could spill over to other networks, as well as potential direct attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine significantly elevates the cyber risk for the U.S. financial sector," said NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris. "Russia's ongoing cyber-attacks against Ukraine could spill over and damage networks outside of Ukraine – as has happened in the past. Escalating tension between the U.S. and Russia also increases the risk that Russian threat actors will directly attack U.S. critical infrastructure in retaliation for sanctions or other steps taken by the U.S. government."

NYDFS urged financial institutions to "review their programs to ensure full compliance, with particular attention to core cybersecurity hygiene measures like multi-factor authentication, privileged access management, vulnerability management and disabling or securing remote desktop protocol access." Additionally, institutions should:
–Review, update and test their incident response and business continuity planning and ensure that those plans address destructive cyber-attacks such as ransomware.
–Review and implement practices not already in place in the Department's June 2021 Ransomware Guidance, which sets forth key controls that reduce the risk of destructive cyber-attacks.
–Re-evaluate their plans to maintain essential services, protect critical data and preserve customer confidence considering the realistic threat of extended outages and disruption.
–Conduct a full test of their ability to restore from backups. Regulated entities should not assume that they can restore until a full test has been successfully completed.
–Provide additional cybersecurity awareness training and reminders for all employees. 

Additionally, NYDFS said regulated entities that do business in Ukraine and/or Russia should take increased measures to "monitor, inspect and isolate traffic from Ukrainian or Russian offices and service providers, including over virtual private networks. Regulated entities should review firewall rules, active directory and other access controls, and should segregate networks for Ukrainian or Russian offices from the global network."

Regulators also noted the Russian invasion significantly increases the risk that virtual currency transfers could be used to evade sanctions for listed individuals and entities, including through transmission of virtual currency to or from users located in comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions.

March is Women's History Month.  Celebrate the great women of MMLA at the mPower event on May 23, 2022 at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Watch this video by keynote speaker, Dr. Meg Meyers Morgan: