If you wish to become a certified loss mitigation specialist, who are in much demand these days, then you must know what it takes to become one.
With the economic meltdown in America, the demand for loss mitigation specialists has increased like never before. Many banks are hiring qualified, experienced, and competent specialists, as it is a position of utmost responsibility. As the name suggests, their primary job is to analyze and mitigate the loss of the bank. They are one of the important parts of any bank, as they help the bank to save money, and in turn, earn a lot of profit. Their job is tough, and they are respected for their efforts, knowledge, and skills.
Job Description
They are hired by banks. Banks give money to borrowers with specific interest rates, by which they make profit. However, not all the borrowers are responsible or capable individuals and so, they do not, or just cannot pay back the money they owe. Here comes the loss mitigation specialist, whose job is to help the bank avoid any financial loss that could happen due to incapable or delinquent account holders.
He not only has to prevent the potential loss but also has to come up with recovery strategies and measures, in case if it arises. He also has to deal with individual account holders, and try to increase financial gains by suggesting debtors the various ways of paying back the mortgage loan. To come up with viable solutions, he must have good knowledge of the industry and the market. His ultimate goal should be minimizing the loss of the company.
Duties
The specialists have to be good at multitasking. The nature of their job involves handling multiple responsibilities at one time. Following are some of their duties:
- Analyzing the financial status of the bank
- Monitoring the financial transactions of account holders
- Observing the accounts of all the clients
- Doing the quality check and monitoring performance metrics
- Supervising the daily financial activities of the bank
- Designing proactive strategies to avoid losses
- Providing solutions for mortgage payments and recovering
- Identifying training and development needs of the bank
- Filing bankruptcy cases, closing accounts; and dealing with delinquent accounts, mortgage lenders, and servicing loans
- Updating with new government rules and regulations regarding banking
Knowledge and Skills
To make a career in this field, one must have the following skills:
- He should have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
- He must also possess good negotiation skills.
- He must possess good analytical abilities.
- He needs to have an eye for detail.
- Should be knowledgeable about mortgage business
- Should know how to turn the delinquency into a short sale agreement, foreclosure, or a favorable loan modification
- Should be familiar with relevant software
- Must be ready to work under stressful situations
- He should also be flexible to adapt to changes.
If you have the above qualities, and think you can deliver a good performance as a professional, then this field is for you. There are many institutes, which provide training for the same; make sure that you check the quality and authenticity of the institute, before you enroll for the course. Generally, a diploma in loss mitigation, and a few years of experience in the field are enough to grab a career opportunity and a lucrative job in a reputed bank. Their average salary is around USD 55,000 per annum.