OREANDA-NEWS. S&P Global Ratings today affirmed its ABOVE AVERAGE ranking of Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. (DMI) as a residential primary servicer. The outlook for the ranking is stable.

Our ranking reflects the company's multiple lines of defense, experienced management and staff, continued investment in technology and operational improvements, a significant focus on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) through 16 hours of annual training and required certification, and comprehensive policies and procedures. The ranking also considers the lack of a 100% quality review of loss mitigation denial decisions and review of income and expense system inputs used to calculate eligibility for loss mitigation solutions. In addition, medium-rated vendors only receive formal performance scorecards on an annual basis, which we generally see more frequently at other servicers we monitor. Lastly, DMI monitors less calls for customer-facing phone agents than its peers.

We also reviewed recent audits and reports from DMI's lines of defense, which, in our view, detailed only minor findings, demonstrated thorough identification, and documented the findings and necessary corrective actions. There were also no findings noted in DMI's external audits, including the 2015 Regulation AB, uniform single attestation program (USAP) report, and the statement on standards for attestation engagements 16 (SSAE 16) report.

Since our prior review (see Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. ABOVE AVERAGE Residential Mortgage Primary Servicer Ranking Affirmed; Outlook Is Stable, published Aug. 12, 2015), DMI has made the following key changes:It implemented operational enhancements to the customer service quality call monitoring process;It hired a new industry-experienced quality control manager;It implemented changes to its borrower website to enhance the borrower experience;It altered its loss mitigation process to assign the SPOC when the customer submits at least one document;It implemented enhancements for client communications and interactions;It created an annual information security awareness week focused on employee education and awareness;It revised its vendor management policy framework and moved the due diligence and some monitoring responsibilities from the business units to an enterprise level control function within the quality assurance area;It expanded report creation and data mining opportunities for its clients;It implemented a new training system to track both online and offline training classes and hours; andIt launched additional staff and management development training programs. Our outlook for the ranking is stable. DMI maintains a comprehensive internal control environment, experienced management and staff, and continued investment in technology and operational improvements. In our view, the management team is committed to the growth and operational improvement of the company's subservicing business. We believe that DMI will remain a proficient residential primary mortgage subservicer supported by its solid technology environment, experienced management team, and internal control environment.