Session Descriptions
 
Opening General Session
8:05 am - 8:45 am

William Kooper, MPA, Vice President of State Government Affairs and Industry Relations - Mortgage Bankers Association

MBA Update and Opportunities for Advocacy Engagement
 
2021 has been a year of much change in the politics and policy that effect the real estate finance industry. This session will feature a presentation from the national Mortgage Bankers Association about the latest industry advocacy issues at the federal and state levels. Remarks will also include a discussion of the Mortgage Action Alliance and ways to become engaged in support of industry priorities in Washington, DC and Madison and other state capitals around the country.
General Session 1
8:45 am - 9:45 am

Scott Happ, CEO - Optimal Blue

Technology in the Mortgage Industry

Better update your resume! Robots will take over Mortgage Lending by 2021.

Well maybe not robots, but Scott Happ, CEO, Optimal Blue will share his views on just how technology will impact Mortgage Lending and your job in the very near future. Advancements in mortgage technology including competitive insight, secondary marketing, vendor connectivity and social media compliance will change the way you run your business in 2020 and beyond. You can sit back and let technology creep up on you or you can meet it head-on with this forward looking presentation.
General Session 2
10:30 am - 11:15 am

Kirk G. Willison, VP, Government & Industry Relations - Arch Mortgage Insurance Company

A Good House Is Hard To Find
 

Kirk Willison, Arch MI’s lead Washington advocate, offers his appraisal of the nation’s housing economy and housing policy challenges during a time of unprecedented demand for homes and limited supply. What are the economic indicators and policy changes that will likely play the greatest role in the success or failure of your lending institution? Find out in this session.


Breakout Session 1A
11:15 am - 12:15 pm 

Technology Breakout - Optimal Blue

Increase Profits, Create Efficiencies, Better Serve Borrowers With Secondary Marketing Automation

Join Jeremy Marino, Vice President of Sales at Optimal Blue, in this informative session to learn how today’s lenders are increasing profitability, discovering dramatic workflow efficiencies, and exceeding borrower expectations by fully automating their secondary marketing function. In this session, Jeremy will overview Optimal Blue’s Product & Pricing, Hedge Analytics, and Loan Trading solutions and share the advantages they are bringing to over 950 successful mortgage lenders every day.  Additionally, Jeremy will outline how Optimal Blue helps break down integration barriers with your mortgage technology systems, share key considerations when implementing a secondary marketing automation platform, and discuss best practices for competing in today’s lending market.
Breakout Session 1B
11:15 am - 12:15pm 


Affordable Housing Panel Discussion
 
Whether you sell to the GSEs, sell to WHEDA or other investors, retain loans in portfolio, or do all of the above, there’s an increased focus on how to best serve populations and neighborhoods that have historically been underserved. In order to be truly successful, Affordable Housing lending initiatives must go beyond a set of underwriting guidelines and involve community partnerships, homebuyer engagement and a focus on breaking down barriers to homeownership and helping borrowers reach their potential.
 
The 2021 WMBA Affordable Housing Panel features two individuals who’ve spent significant portions of their careers with a focus on addressing affordable housing and community lending challenges. They will address Milwaukee’s newly released Collective Housing Plan, with a focus on potential initiatives to increase homeownership, and broader mortgage finance industry trends shaping the current focus on helping lower-income and minority households achieve homeownership toward the goal of closing persistent homeownership gaps. This session is ideal for banks looking to better understand initiatives that will enhance Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance, and/or any lender that is looking for meaningful and creative options to improve their overall affordable housing options, prudently increase loan volume, and contribute to their organization’s ESG story.
 
Lunch General Session
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

David Belman, President - Belman Homes

Challenges to Housing Affordability
Breakout Session 2A
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

Managing Remote Staff Effectively


Managing the bathrobe and slippers crowd.
 
Let’s be honest. We all envision offsite employees as sitting around in their bathrobes and slippers all day, with kids, pets and all sorts of distractions as they do the work we pay them for. While that vision may or may not be true, this panel discussion will discuss the realities of managing offsite employees. Specific topics will include; identifying the right candidates, managing your brand, productivity, accountability, ground rules and management tips. If you are currently managing staff working from home or are considering it, you need to join us for this eye-opening discussion.
Breakout Session 2B
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm


Servicing Panel Discussion

Session description coming soon.
Breakout Session 2C
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm

Ginger Bell, Founder - Edumarketing

Sales Trainer Preesentation

“Alexa, find me a Loan Officer in Madison, Wisconsin.”
 
Ginger Bell, nationally renowned speaker and best-selling author will join us for a presentation designed to help both veteran and social media newbies understand the vast opportunities presented by a well-planned social media strategy.  You will learn how to compete with the big national players with major brand recognition and budgets, why voice search is becoming the norm for homebuyers and how some old school communication and marketing are making a comeback.
Breakout Session 3A
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm

Ginger Bell, Founder - Edumarketing

Sales Trainer Preesentation

Online videos are a great idea…but where do I start?
 
In the workshop following her presentation, Ginger will show us how to get started using online videos. Her tips and strategies will help us, easily and affordably, create, our own videos using equipment that most of us already have in our homes and offices.
Breakout Session 3B
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm

Tian Liu, Chief Economist - Genworth Mortgage Insurance

Economist Presentation

Demand, Demographics, Challenges and Opportunities – An Economist's Opinion
 
Join Tian Liu, Chief Economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance as he provides insight into the current economic environment and its implications on interest rates and housing demand. Mr. Liu will give his thoughts on the current supply constraints and what the future may hold for Wisconsin’s economy and housing market.
Closing Session
4:00 pm - 4:15 pm

Mike Theo, President & CEO - Wisconsin Realtors Association

What’s up with Wisconsin Real Estate?
 
How can you conclude a Real Estate and Finance Conference without taking a closer look at what’s most important to all of us…our local Wisconsin markets? Mike Theo, President & CEO of the Wisconsin Realtors Association will help us wrap up the day with his view of where we are and what we can expect from Wisconsin real estate across the state.

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