Project and Engagement Experiences

Cedar Capital Consulting Group

Project and Engagement Experiences

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We collaboratively work to create objective solutions to the leading issues by:

Developing and assessing policy
Creating and executing business and IT strategy
Designing, re-engineering, and implementing Financial Service processes
Gathering and defining requirements
Architecting emergency management plans
Providing QA and operational oversight.

Our project experiences and solutions include (* indicates spotlighted project):

Developing and assessing policy

* Analyzed impact of specific government agency policy changes on GSE seller servicers and GSE investors.

* Developed and implemented regional bank hedge accounting policy.

* Evaluated the impact of privacy laws and regulations recommending an appropriate GSE governance structure.

* Defined policy and processes for anti-money laundering compliance. Re-mediated European Entity clients interacting with auditors and regulators.

* Advised foreign government housing officials on the development of primary mortgage market and possible development of secondary mortgage market.

* Defined and implemented management supervision policy for global business lines meeting local Regulator requirements.

* Interpreted policy and implemented new regulatory processes related to Equity trading - Reg SHO and NMS.

* Defined and implemented Investment Bank Loan Trading mark to market policy.

Creating and executing business and IT strategy

* Advised hedge funds on complete mortgage market life cycle. The assessment included origination, underwriting, servicing, valuation, the state of the secondary market, and an outlook of the secondary mortgage.

* Developed residential loan portfolio strategy including assessment of holding or selling into Secondary markets.

* Expanded GSE trading desk early funding offerings that improved secondary mortgage market competitiveness.

* Assisted a major GSE IT organization in implementing COBIT and ITIL in response to Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.

* Evaluated investment bank expenses against business need to reduce direct operating expenses (non-comp) by $25 million.

* Led business profitability review for mature business, more than doubling returns in a period of declining fees.

* Designed and created new banking business lines, generating revenues from $10 to over $100 million.

* Evaluated, advised and purchased businesses as strategic investments from $10 - 150 million.

* Developed and refined a profitable capital product portfolio in excess of $2B targeted at the largest residential homebuilders.

* Organized foreign government conference of financial officials, academics and bankers on the development of a mortgage market.

* IT application portfolio and platform review.

Designing, re-engineering, and implementing Financial Service processes

Risk Management and Mitigation

* Implemented GSE loan level credit loss accounting processes that enabled analysis of actual results by loss type and driver which dramatically increased credit loss understanding.

* Developed GSE loss mitigation evaluation tools and foreclosure avoidance alternatives to help maximize returns from troubled loan portfolios.

* Developed nationwide asset valuation process for assessing unique real estate asset collaterals for complex financial transactions.

* Redesigned GSE loss forecasting models and processes leveraging underlying loan data that supplemented traditional “recent trend” characteristics.

Sales, Pricing and New Product Development

* Developed a GSE single-family loan profitability reporting data warehouse to analyze actual results against credit and float models used for pricing and purchasing loans.

* Improved secondary mortgage marketing processes to allow for the hedging of interest rate risk with security sales to Wall Street and other large institutional investors.

* Defined and implemented IT and Operations processes for several new Investment Banking businesses.

* Developed Internet model for retail and wholesale loan distribution channels.

* Developed processes and procedures for delivery of real estate capital products to the investment market.

Operations

* Created a new GSE debt security issuance platform reducing cycle-time and improving operational efficiency.

* Expanded GSE derivative types and related hedges to reduce corporate finance funding costs.

* Created a nationwide Originator development program based on tenure and aptitude.

* Created portfolio management proprietary software.

* Created a GSE mortgage insurance process to identify and track multiple loan level claims. Enabled MI company access (via portal) to aid contract reconciliation.

* Designed a large and geographically disperse training architecture for regulatory inspectors.

Compliance, Regulation and Controls

* Defined and re-engineered Derivative Operations and IT processes that enhanced automation and control.

* Reengineered a major securities regulator including the innovative use of leading technologies.

* Specified and implemented computer-assisted techniques to comprehensively evaluate the design of GSE internal controls and the accuracy of financial statement balances.

* Developed broker early warning oversight software applications including advanced detection and surveillance systems leveraging sophisticated statistical models, financial data capture, regulatory form filing, a field examination workbench, and churning detection processes.

Gathering and defining requirements

* Developed a GSE loss event-tracking model assessing operating capital requirements within the Basel II capital adequacy framework.

* Evaluated, designed and implemented a commercial bank’s integrated front-end mortgage origination/processing system.

* Implemented multiple secondary mortgage marketing, pricing, and fraud systems.

* Defined requirements, documented workflow and implemented an automated annual Code of Conduct questionnaire serving over 3,000 GSE employees. Advised the Finance organization on the structure and governance of the resulting enterprise-wide risk and control framework.

* Gathered and defined requirements for a project management and timekeeping system for a 150-person department. Researched alternatives, recommended solutions and implemented a development plan.

* Developed text mining and document scoring techniques into compliance technology tool sets.

* Facilitated the design and development of integrated financial process and data models for major corporations preparing for an unregulated environment.

* Team members for a GSE developed Lender Reporting System.

* Developed GSE cash allocation system automating business unit transaction assignments and improving the Federal Reserve cash reconciliation process.

* Integrated a major billing, cost accounting, rate setting and reporting system into a new Oracle financial ERP system.

* Defined processes, performed fit-gap analysis and identified alternatives for a major Federal Agency Oracle Projects implementation.

* Developed interface architecture to process branch level transactions through the GL and cost accounting systems for a major commercial bank.

Architecting emergency management plans

* Led disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Executed plans during 9/11 and the East Coast Power Outage.

* Developed banking and security industry BCP and DR plans over a 10-year period. Exercised plans during 9/11, East Coast Power Outage, Hurricane Katrina, Chicago floods and the San Francisco Earthquake.

* Reviewed GSE company-wide business continuity plans and made recommendations to enable end-to-end recovery of key systems, platforms, and applications.

* Post 9/11 Emergency Management Planning.

Providing QA and operational oversight

* Assisted US Treasury Office of Financial Stability in evaluation of the TARP program’s financial reporting, management reporting, and internal controls.

* Defined and improved GSE operating controls and designed foreclosed loan disposition strategies, which reduced losses by 75% over five years.

* Restated GSE GAAP financials, including development of complex new systems, valuations and disclosures for FAS 91, FAS 140, FIN 45, FAS 157 and SOP 03-3.

* Defined Operational Risk points for SOX and Basel II reporting, ensuring efficient use of capital.

* Implemented GSE Sarbanes-Oxley process flows and control assessments, eliminating all material internal control deficiencies.

* Developed a risk-based analysis system delivering alerts on financial regulation compliance.

* Developed a system that identifies high-risk securities firms and branches.

* Designed a risk-based inspection program based on Basel II principles for a South American securities regulator that reduced operating costs 30%.

* Designed a broker-dealer financial data collection and surveillance product for a Middle Eastern regulator.

* Developed and issued market trends analysis and forecasting for portfolio and conventional loan performance, risk analysis and loan loss reserves.

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CCCGroup@verizon.net

Cedar Capital Consulting Group

1600 Tysons Boulevard, 8th Floor

McLean, VA 22102

(703) 622-1490

Cedar Capital Consulting Group is a Management Consulting Group and not a CPA firm, and does not provide attest services, audits, or other engagements in accordance with the AICPA's Statements on Auditing Standards.