Susan Artim

29 years in mortgage lending Operations and Underwriting with over 15 years in Leadership roles. As my career has evolved I’ve become passionate about creating process improvements and efficiency while still maintaining a team and supporting sales. I’ve had the opportunity to wear many hats and sable in different aspects of the business that serve as transferable skills. I have held my CHUMS since 1998 and proficient with conventional, FHA/VA and non-QM products. 

VP, NATIONAL UNDERWRITING OPERATIONS | April 2016 to Present
● Provide strategic leadership and guidance to a diverse, national underwriting team for the wholesale channel consisting of 250 employees while aligning organizational strategies with objectives, maximizing production, and making high-level decisions for the company
● Responsible for overseeing service level agreements while achieving and maintaining high quality standards to increase brand awareness and gain market share
● Enhance policy and procedure development by working with Credit Policy to launch new products, complete guideline changes, and implement operational changes while remaining current with emerging technologies, industry trends, and regulatory compliance requirements
● Prove continual insight and creativity to develop comprehensive training programs designed to set underwriters up for success in their individual roles
● Articulate, preserve, and enforce document control practices to protect data integrity while creating a streamlined database
● Instrumental in advancing the organization’s mission through engaging in cross-functional collaboration with channel leaders to implement cohesive changes across all channels
● Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for all aspects of Mortgage Underwriting, Project Management, Operations Management, and Risk Management while providing innovative solutions to enhance existing systems and underwriting processes
● Oversee multiple special projects to include complete condition set overhaul to apply to LOS platform and support the Broker portal in an efficient manner
● Provide additional training, mentoring, and resources to entry-level Underwriters and Managers in order to drive results and increase the bottom line
● Responsible for building and expanding wholesale risk team to conduct second level reviews, test case reviews, target and full file audits, and complete annual recertification
● Play an integral part in maintaining clean audits through serving as the department’s representative for agency audits and impaired asset remediation
WHOLESALE BRANCH OPERATIONS MANAGER | August 2014 to April 2016
● Oversaw all aspects of Setup, Underwriting, Account Managers and Closing to create economies of scale while creating and implementing new policies for all departments
● Fostered positive and productive relationships with third-party vendors to complete a dynamic range of time-sensitive contract underwriting projects, manage credit policies, and enforce quality control measures in alignment with company guidelines
● Partnered with SVP of Operations to enhance business development through coordinating and implementing leadership hiring, department infrastructure, and product & state roll out while adhering to tight deadlines and strict budget parameters
● Maximized employee engagement by setting clear objectives, evaluating performance, and providing constructive feedback
    
   M A N A GE ME N T C O M PE T E N C I E S
Delegation Cross-Functional Leadership Evaluation & Assessment Hiring, Training & Coaching Human Capital Management Policy & Procedure
Development
Conflict Management
Decision Making
Team Building
N O T A BL E
H I G H L I G HT S
Possess over 25 years of relevant experience in mortgage lending with a primary focus on Strategic Leadership, Underwriting and Operations Management
Developed a skills-based routing system to streamline operations
Created a successful Underwriter Academy program designed to promote career growth and personal development in the underwriting business
Implemented standardized conditions to enhance policy and procedure development, maximize employee engagement and productivity, and drive results
Experienced in driving business growth as a change agent, pipeline management expert, visionary, and global thinker while launching a myriad of process improvement initiatives that positively impact people and organizations
 P R O F E S S I O N A L EX P E R I E N CE C O N T I N U E D VP, QUALITY | August 2013 to July 2014
● Enforced and maintained high quality control standards by providing direct oversight of Pre-Fund Quality Control for all channels while always maintaining brand integrity
● Improved operational efficiency by streamlining the audit process in its entirety while partnering with Risk Management and Credit Policy to ensure all procedure guidelines aligned with the agency’s requirements
● Strengthened communication and negotiation capabilities by coordinating and leading business calls with channel leaders to create tangible action plans to successfully execute a myriad of process and quality improvement initiatives
● Oversaw all aspects of appraisal review quality, order management and department service level agreements to ensure daily operations continued to run without interruption
REGIONAL UNDERWRITING MANAGER | May 2013 to August 2013
● Supervised a team of 10 Underwriters by delegating assignments, maintaining daily workflow, and ensuring HARP loan underwriting guidelines were consistently followed to exceed quotas
● Ensured compliance with all lending laws and regulations while negotiating terms and
conditions with clients in alignment with guidelines
● Utilized multifaceted skill set to oversee pipeline management, file assignment, service level
agreements, quality control, production and post remediation defects while identifying and resolving discrepancies with a sense of urgency and precision
Bank of America/Countrywide |Brea, CA | 1996 to 2013
REGIONAL UNDERWRITING MANAGER - LOSS MITIGATION | 2011 to 2013
● Exemplified excellent leadership capabilities through supervising 35 high-performance Legacy Asset Servicing Underwriters across CA and NV while demonstrating capability to excel in both fast-paced, individual and team-oriented settings
● Provided comprehensive training while quickly adapting to new challenges in an effort to preserve home ownership
● Provided ongoing support for onboarding, training and onsite initiatives for over 500 Loss Mitigation Underwriters through developing strategic vendor relations
BRANCH OPERATIONS MANAGER - RETAIL | 2005 to 2011
● Played a key role in streamlining branch operations by partnering with various departments to complete various processing, underwriting, closing, inline audit remediation and post remediation responsibilities while providing world-class customer service
● Managed service level agreements, payroll, staffing, and productivity while providing direct support to the Beverly Hills start up site to achieve successful business outcomes
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT | 2003 to 2005
● Collaborated with top-producing Retail Loan Officer to manage sales pipeline and generate leads while maintaining close communication with clients to increase client loyalty and gain referral-based business
● Strengthened analytical and critical thinking skills through reviewing confidential records with strong attention to detail to pre-qualify applicants for loans and refinances
● Partnered with leadership to assist in the successful startup of the Santa Monica Retail site by conducting loan boarding, new hire system training and providing operational support
UNDERWRITER | 1998 to 2003
● Performed income verifications and appraisal reviews to determine eligibility while protecting client confidentiality
● Analyzed credit reports, calculated loan ratios, and matched clients with various loan products based on individual needs, goals, and budget to ensure best fit
PROCESSOR | 1996 to 1998
 

Some college, no degree