Laura Smith joined Newmark in 2017 and currently serves as Senior Managing Director, Head of Servicing, in the company’s Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania office. Smith has a diverse industry background with over 28 years of experience in Servicing Operations, Offshore and Outsource platform development, Marketing, Project Management, Process Improvements, and a strong involvement in the industry through the Mortgage Bankers Association. She has experience with many portfolio types including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Life Company, CMBS, Construction, Bridge and HUD. Smith works closely with many investors providing input and suggestions on insurance requirement revisions.
In her current role, Smith is responsible for managing various servicing groups including Investor Services, Portfolio Management, Insurance, Insurance Claims, Tax, Escrow Analysis, New Loan Boarding, UCC’s, and Limited Sub Servicing for a $71B portfolio encompassing 3,700 loans. In her capacity at Newmark, she also supports the originations team reviewing insurance waivers, insurable value exceptions, and provides guidance surrounding insurance issues and exceptions. Additionally, she has industry experience speaking as a moderator or panelist in Mortgage Bankers Events from 2017 – 2022. In this role, she has co-authored several industry white papers – Natural Disasters and Catastrophe Insurance, Insurance Waiver Guide, and The Impact of the Hardening Insurance Market.
Throughout her career, Smith has been responsible for managing a wide variety of the servicing teams including offshore teams – Insurance, Tax, Escrow Analysis, PPA’s, Escrow Disbursements, Workflow, UCC, New Loan Boarding, Servicing Data Center, Data Warehouse, and Accounts Payable Groups. Smith also co-developed and a proprietary Insurance Compliance Tracking tool.
Professional Affiliations/Certifications
- Licensed Life, Health, Property and Casualty Agent
- Prior Chair, Mortgage Bankers Association Servicer Council
- Co-Chair, Mortgage Bankers Association Insurance Regulatory Committee
- Mortgage Bankers Association Future Leader
- Mortgage Bankers Association, CMS Level I & II
Education
Smith holds a B.S. in Marketing from Penn State University, a Masters of Education from Arcadia University, and a Masters of Business Administration from LaSalle University.