CREF TRACK: Best Practices for Determining Underlying MSR Assumptions
Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSRs) play a substantial role on the balance sheets of many commercial real estate firms, yet their valuation is heavily dependent on complex, assumption-driven models. This session convenes leading industry experts to unpack the key assumptions driving commercial MSR valuations and examine how shifts in those variables impact reported values. Attendees gain actionable insights into building robust and defensible support for assumptions, aligning inputs with market realities, identifying the most sensitive valuation drivers, and establishing documentation practices that stand up to audit and regulatory review.
Speakers
Moderator
Joseph Santone is a senior vice president managing the Corporate Finance function at Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. In this role he is responsible for corporate treasury, payroll, budgeting and forecasting, internal management reporting, valuation of the company’s servicing portfolio, and analysis of strategic initiatives. Mr. Santone has been with Berkadia and its predecessor companies in various roles within accounting, finance, and servicing for 25 years. Prior to joining Berkadia he was a financial auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Santone earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware and is a Certified Public Accountant. Berkadia Commercial Mortgage provides Investment Sales, Mortgage Banking, and Loan Servicing to the commercial real estate market. Berkadia is a top originator with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD. Berkadia is the largest non-bank commercial real estate loan servicer nationally.
Speakers
Emily is a principal with more than fourteen years of public accounting experience. She specializes in serving clients in the financial services industry and has significant experience performing and supervising financial statement audits, agency compliance engagements, internal audits, model validations, and other accounting engagements for those clients, including mortgage companies, banks, credit unions, consumer specialty finance, and leasing companies. As a member of Plante Moran’s professional standards group, she focuses on the firm's commitment to quality and works internally and externally to assist peers and clients with implementation of complex accounting matters. Emily holds an M.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University.
Rob has been directly involved in the valuation process for residential and commercial/multifamily mortgage servicing and whole loan portfolios over the past 28 years at MIAC. Through regular interaction with both buyers and sellers of mortgage-related assets, Mr. Fear has tremendous insight into the various assumptions and pricing methodologies that are currently being utilized in the marketplace, and he advises clients on transactions involving mortgage servicing and whole loan portfolios. In addition, he is responsible for generating new valuation, brokerage, and risk management advisory business and provides his expertise to a wide variety of institutions involved in residential and commercial mortgage origination, servicing, trading, risk management, and accounting. Mr. Fear has also played an integral role in the development of MIAC’s proprietary servicing and whole loan valuation models, specifically relating to the behavior and verification of the cash flows.
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