NCRA s 19th Annual Conference Closes to Great Reviews By Terry W. Clemans
DECEMBER 2011
NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
20
imilar to a major holiday, after lots of planning and work, our National Credit Reporting Association Inc. (NCRA) annual conference seems to be over before we know it and 19th Annual Conference is now one for the history books. This year garnered 108 participants, representing more than half of the nation’s mortgage credit reporting industry. The conference opening featured the annual changing of the association’s officers. Thank you to 2011 President Tom Conwell of Credit Technologies in Michigan for a great year of leadership! Incoming President Don Unger of Advantage Credit in Colorado and Vice President Daphne Large of Datafacts in Tennessee will provide a smooth transition. The highlight of the agenda was the Keynote Address by Craig Zablocki, sponsored by TransUnion. Craig received a standing ovation for a motivational address that was both humorous and thought-provoking. NCRA members provided multiple references to his presentation throughout the remainder of the conference as he left a positive impact that lasted for days. His “two people in one shirt improvisation” with a surprised member had everyone laughing to the point of tears. Zablocki’s message fit well with NCRA’s commitment for renewed volunteerism to lift the association into its 20th anniversary celebration in 2012. The association’s founding and charter members provided a commitment of both time and financial contributions to help establish NCRA in 1992. As that milestone is approached, NCRA is recommitting to the industry by promoting greater committee projects and emphasis to energize the membership after a couple of trying years during the aftermath of the mortgage meltdown. A close second in popularity (based on the speaker scores provided at the end of the session) was Rob Strand, an economist from the American Bankers Association (ABA) who joined NCRA for the second straight year–back by popular demand. His entertaining and no-nonsense approach to the economy in general and specifically its impact on the housing industry, has been rated the highest of any economist to address NCRA over the past decade! The participants at NCRA’s conference thought a lot of all of the speakers as they all were well-received and obtained high marks for their presentations. Barrett Burns, president and chief executive officer of VantageScore Solutions provided an enlightening look into the VantageScore program and where they are headed after their first five years in the credit scoring world and specifically clearing the FICO legal challenges. While FICO has dominated the mortgage industry, Vantage has made huge inroads into all other aspects of credit scoring and is sure to turn up in the mortgage process in the future. From the federal government, NCRA featured three speakers this year. The first, from the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Assistant Director Corey Stone addressed the group on the CFPB’s progress and plans. From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Tony Rodriguez spoke to the group twice, once as an individual speaker and then again as part of a panel discussion. Closing out the federal government speakers was HUD’s Louisiana director speaking to the members about the requirements for housing authority background checks in a changing marketplace.
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