BofA's new president of consumer real estate.

FLOYD ROBINSON, THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE CONSUMER REAL estate division at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America (BofA), quipped that his new hobby is learning more about the mortgage banking industry. Robinson, who formerly was president of Bank of America's Dealer Financial Services in Jacksonville, Florida, replaced Kevin Shannon this past September. Shannon has moved over to become the new enterprise credit risk executive. Mortgage Banking had a chance to catch up with Robinson after he moved his family to Charlotte.

In his new job, Robinson will have a huge operation to run--Bank of America serves 33 million consumers with 5,700 retail banking offices providing consumer and commercial banking in 29 states and the District of Columbia. He will oversee the bank's mortgage-related activities and continue to drive the company's efforts to become the preferred mortgage and home-equity provider.

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"No company is better-positioned to serve the mortgage and home-equity needs of our customers," said Robinson, who points to Bank of America's powerful brand and unmatched nationwide distribution. He doesn't view his role as bringing new priorities to this business, but rather continuing the evolution of the business. Robinson's top three priorities in his new role will be to improve customer service and satisfaction, become the low-cost producer of consumer loans and deliver shareholder value.

Robinson's first priority is to improve customer service and customer satisfaction. "The differentiation in this highly competitive and commoditized business will come through the consistent delivery of a superior customer experience," said Robinson, who raved about the recent J.D. Powers and Associates 2005 Home Mortgage Study. The customer service study, based on responses from more than 11,000 home mortgage customers, showed that Bank of America jumped to fifth place in 2005 in origination satisfaction (it was in 12th place in 2004) and fourth place in servicing satisfaction (it was in 11th place in 2004).

Cendant and Bank of America made the most substantial year-over-year improvement, according to the study. However, for the third consecutive year, USAA still ranked the highest in overall customer satisfaction in the home mortgage space.

Robinson's second priority is to focus on lowering the costs of the loan process so that Bank of America can pass the savings along to consumers. Robinson says the key to lower costs is creating efficiencies in all aspects of operations through improved technology. In addition, Robinson will continue to apply Six Sigma, a discipline that focuses on product and service excellence to create a culture that seeks perfection.

"Six Sigma will enable Bank of America to make the breakthrough improvements in customer satisfaction and shareholder value that we must achieve to reach our goal of becoming one of the world's most admired companies. That's why I'm committed to using it as a performance management discipline throughout our company," said Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive officer and president.

A third top priority is to live up to Bank of America's high expectations on delivering shareholder value. "I will focus relentlessly on driving the management disciplines necessary to ensure that our consumer real estate business contributes fully to the shareholder goals of Bank of America," said Robinson. "This means we will meet our commitments [plans based on projected growth, income, etc.] and deliver consistent returns in support of the growth culture of Bank of America." However, this might be a challenge in the current mortgage business environment. Industry economists such as the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's) Chief Economist Doug Duncan are forecasting the refinancing market will drop off sharply this year, despite a purchase market that will remain strong.

According to 2003 reported earnings, the consumer real estate division contributed more than 15 percent of Bank of America's total earnings. Yet in 2004 and 2005, Bank of America is expecting to operate in a significantly different mortgage market, with considerably lower customer demand than in the record origination year of 2003. Nevertheless, Robinson expects his division to become a significant contributor to growth in terms of customer acquisition and income.

We asked if Bank of America is satisfied with being consistently among the top five of mortgage originators without being No. I. (Recent origination numbers from National Mortgage News' Web site even show the company slipping to seventh place for third-quarter 2004.)

"We are not interested in making Bank of America the No. 1 mortgage provider for the sake of being No. 1, nor are we focused on our ranking in the industry," said Robinson. "With the power of the Bank of America brand and our unmatched coast-to-coast franchise, we have no excuse to be anything less than a major player in this important industry." The expectations for Robinson couldn't be greater, especially as the industry shifts toward focusing on emerging markets.

"We are particularly confident that no financial services company, and particularly no home finance provider, [has] dedicated more resources to [serving and reaching] out to multicultural consumers," said Robinson. "As a result, Bank of America makes a higher percentage of home loans to multicultural borrowers--more than one in every four. Our consumer banking franchise spans the fastest-growing areas of the United States, which, largely due to emerging markets, will grow at nearly twice the pace of the rest of the country," said Robinson.

He is proud of the fact that Bank of America has worked with key consumer groups such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now Inc. (ACORN) Housing Corporation, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) and others. This is illustrated by Bank of America's partnership, announced in January, with NACA--the largest such commitment ever for NACA. The $6 billion partnership will help provide mortgages nationwide to moderate- and low-income borrowers through the country's first-ever paperless mortgage application and underwriting process, developed by NACA. "We are where business is going in the 21st century," Robinson said.

Robinson has had an extensive business career, serving as president of Fleet Credit Corporation; equipment division president of USL Capital, a Ford Financial Services Group company; and president and chief executive officer of LDI Corporation, a technology company. He is also a member of Bank of America's management operating committee and diversity advisory council.

When Robinson is not busy learning about the industry, he loves to read, exercise and travel with his wife, Gwyn, and their four adult daughters.