During the mortgage crisis, financial institutions were dealing with fragmented and inconsistent approaches to helping their customers in need.
Attempts to put customers on internal hardship programs, at times, were not sufficient, namely because it was only solving for one account.
Financial institutions with whom Bridgeforce worked during the crisis were instructing their agents to avoid offering advice on credit management since that was not their core business and they did not want to invite liability risk. Yet, intake financial assessments were still necessary in order to right-fit treatment options (e.g. short-term/ long-term hardship loan modifications).
Bridgeforce developed the Playbook for Consumer Credit Counseling
A relevant component of this approach included a program to work with consumer credit counseling agencies where appropriate, recognizing the importance of providing consumers with all opportunities to be successful in paying off obligations while recovering from the hardships the financial crisis had on them. Bridgeforce subject matter experts, both at Bridgeforce and during their tenure while working for some of these financial institutions, implemented solutions to achieve these objectives.
Bridgeforce led rapid response solutions for loss prevention for over $2 trillion in loans across several lenders during the Great Recession. As part of this effort, Bridgeforce drew on collective experience to design and execute strategies that took a holistic view of each individual consumer’s unique situation.
Called to Capitol Hill
Because of the Bridgeforce reputation throughout the industry, members of the Bridgeforce leadership team, including co-founder, John Sanders, visited Capitol Hill to meet with several members of Senate staff by invitation. This was to provide insights and strategies that could inform the broader policymaking as legislatures worked to navigate the crisis at a national level.
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