Experienced servicing executives are in high demand during the current cycle, and for large vendors such as the First American Corp. (FAF), the experience of seasoned professionals is a critical part of competing in the suddenly-super-hot default servicing sector. The real estate information and services giant’s information and outsourcing solutions segment said Tuesday that it had brought former JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) managing director James Miller on board as managing director of operations for all of the segment’s default-related businesses. Miller will manage the operations of First American Outsourcing and Technology Solution’s seven businesses, which include National Default Outsourcing, National Claims Outsourcing, Loss Mitigation Services, Loan Production Solutions, Real Estate Owned (REO) Servicing, Default Technologies and Global Offshore Services, the company said in a press statement Tuesday morning. Miller is a well-known industry executive, and has spent 25 years in the servicing sector. He most recently managed default operations for JP Morgan Chase’s Mortgage Servicing Division for the past three years, and oversaw the integration of servicing operations after the merger between Chase and Bank One. He also is an experienced loss mitigation manager, and led the development of Chase’s “The Way Forward” loss mitigation program. JP Morgan had not announced Miller’s departure, so his arrival at First American came as a surprise to a few sources that spoke with HousingWire Tuesday morning. Calls to JPM to determine who is now managing the banking giant’s servicing operations were not immediately returned. For First American, the arrival of Miller signals a shift in default services strategy at the company towards solutions that can work with troubled borrowers; like many competitors, First American has been refocusing much of its services around loss mitigation and analytics that can help streamline the servicing process. “Servicers are facing massive and complex challenges in the areas of loss mitigation, loan modification and foreclosure prevention,” said Miller. “At the same time, they are under enormous pressure from regulators, state governments, investors, bankruptcy courts and advocacy groups.” Write to Paul Jackson at [email protected]. Disclosure: The author held various put option contracts on JPM when this story was published; no other relevant direct holdings. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments. HW reporters and writers follow a strict disclosure policy, the first in the mortgage trade.

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