PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla., Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Financial Institution (FI) regulatory environment is often referred to as a minefield for community and even larger regional financial institutions. From independent studies, the economic collapse of 2008 was directly related to FI practices and government intervention that forced institutions of all sizes to rely on less than credible valuation service alternatives, many of which were incapable of providing reasonable and responsible estimates of collateral value. The result was a massive asset overvaluation causing primary and secondary mortgage markets to fail and limiting the market's ability to function. This collapse brought about additional regulatory requirements that further hamper FI operations today.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151215/296039LOGO
After months of successful Beta testing with national financial institutions participating, FICAP v1.0 is now ready for general release to hundreds of banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and other mortgage lenders desperately seeking a solution to the ever present financial institution regulatory nightmare. FICAP is an acronym for "Financial Institution Compliant Appraisal Practice." This web-based service application is the brainchild of executives and compliance officers who lead the Designated Appraiser Coalition (DAC), a national organization of 400+ valuation service professionals who are also designated members of the Appraisal Institute®.
Greg Johnson, MAI, SR/WA, a Florida commercial real estate appraiser and DAC Founding Member serves as Chief Services Administrator for the DAC and FICAP projects. According to Johnson, "FICAP is our response to the ongoing and increasingly misunderstood bevy of federal regulations imposed on financial institutions. Although some large national banks spend millions to develop and support their own technology at significant cost to their customers; smaller community and even large regional financial institutions don't have the resources to develop and deploy the technology systems required to efficiently conform with regulatory requirements. This often forces them to choose less desirable, higher risk valuation service management options, including appraisal management companies (AMC's). One of the big problems for financial institutions that rely on lower quality solutions is loss of process and management control. Improperly valued collateral is devastating to any financial institution. As professionals, we saw the opportunity to assist our mortgage lending colleagues and created FICAP as the solution to resolve their risk and compliance issues."
Also provided is an experienced and highly qualified cadre of FICAP Compliance Officers that serve to assist each client with complete system setup and training, together with compliance related assistance to help clients establish or update their policy and procedure guidelines. FICAP's Chief Compliance Officer, Cheryl B. Bella, MAI, AI-GRS plays a major role in bringing the FICAP system from concept to reality and maintaining its compliance leadership capabilities. One of the leading compliance consultants in the country, Cheryl's experience with several major financial institutions, establishing their in-house review departments, gave her the process skills needed to help build the FICAP system from the ground up. "The genius behind the FICAP system is in how it efficiently streamlines the appraisal and review management process, while maintaining functional regulatory compliance and the necessary degree of separation between the financial institution and the appraiser," says Bella. "System cost is structured so that use of FICAP can be free to the financial institution client. The response from our beta test clients was so positive and full of gratitude that we know FICAP is the most cost effective, winning solution for financial institutions at all levels," added Bella.
More information about the FICAP system is available on the organization's websites:
FICAP website | www.ficapusa.com.
DAC website | www.valuelynk.com.
If you would like more information or to schedule a demonstration with any of the FICAP team, call James Breitbeil at (813) 786-8284 or email James at [email protected].
Media Contact:
Cheryl Bella, MAI, AI-GRS
Tel: (225) 933-7971
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ficapusa.com
SOURCE FICAP
Share this article