Digital Mortgage Direct Page

The newly revealed victims were affected by the previously disclosed cyberattack, which went undetected for 41 days between September and December.

StellarFi, Lamine Zarrad’s new startup, covers consumers' utility and other bills when they hit a cash-flow crunch. It then reports their repayments to the credit bureaus.

The transaction formalizes the relationship started by a January investment in both companies by LLR Partners.

Jim Blachek is the CEO of Dynamic Benefit Solutions.

High mortgage rates and high prices are starting to slow down the market. Still, tight inventory is keeping values high.

Tracey is the director for small commercial underwriting at Verisk. She is responsible for the strategy and execution of small commercial and casualty underwriting products, focused on powering automated underwriting and digital transformation in the industry.

Deb Smallwood, Senior Partner at Strategy Meets Action, a ReSource Pro Company, is widely recognized as an industry thought leader who is known for her “big strategic thinking with pragmatic approaches to transformation.” Deb challenges the status quo of insurance and influences the industry to reimage the business of insurance for the digital connected world.

Deb’s passion is to advise carriers and MGA’s to create transformation strategies and plans by bringing clarity to the possibilities of change and innovation. For over 30 years, Deb has helped hundreds of clients transform their businesses driving high business value and success. Deb’s deep expertise is commercial lines underwriting transformation and how best to leverage customer experience, digital enablement and transformational technologies and data.

Prior to launching Strategy Meets Action, Deb held a variety of leadership roles including VP of the insurance practice at Tower Group, Chief Transformation Officer (CIO) at Insurance Company of the West (ICW), Partner at KPMG LLP, and Head of Commercial Lines Application Development & Maintenance at Liberty Mutual.

Deb is often asked to contribute to major insurance publications and is also a frequent keynote speaker at leading industry conferences.

Edward Webb currently serves as BPM’s advisory partner, offering over 35 years of experience in consulting and financial management, including specific experience in transaction advisory services for both healthy and stressed companies. A published author and speaker, he currently leads the Corporate Finance Consulting Group at BPM and sits on the firm's Management Committee. He holds a doctorate in business administration with an emphasis in ownership transition from Temple University, as well as an MBA with a focus on finance from Indiana University. He was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia before moving his family to California. He may be reached at ewebb@bpmcpa.com.

The two megabanks said that their capital requirements will rise in the wake of Federal Reserve stress tests, putting downward pressure on their distributions to shareholders. Meanwhile, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and others announced plans to raise their dividends.

Hafize Gaye Erkan, whose surprise departure from First Republic Bank disrupted the lender’s succession plans earlier this year, will become chief executive officer of Greystone as the closely held commercial-property lender expands into wealth management and private banking.