Howard Hanna Earns ASIL Status
Howard Hanna Earns ASIL Status
Tony Thompson, Founder & CEO of NAMMBA presented the ASIL award to Annie Hanna Cestra at HannaCon, held earlier this month in Las Vegas. Many of Howard Hanna’s Ellicottville’s agents were in attendance.
PITTSBURGH, PA. - NAMMBA is proud to announce that their partner, Howard Hanna Financial Services, is the first lender to earn the NAMMBA certification accreditation and can now proudly display its status as an Accredited Social Impact Lender (ASIL). J. Tony Thompson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NAMMBA, presented the award at the organization’s biennial conference, HannaCon 2022 - Stronger Together.
F. Duffy Hanna, President of Howard Hanna Financial Services, knew that he wanted to bring the whole company together to create a more diverse, competitive workforce and a more diverse client base. “Every industry leader has read the data trends. The employee base of the industry is retiring out of the business in massive waves and the growing client demographic is coming from historically underserved markets. It was time for a dynamic shift and Hanna wanted to be at the forefront.
“These are the current and future markets for us,” Hanna continued. “Whether it's the single female market, the black and Latinx market, and/or the LGBTQ+ community, that’s part of our employee base as well and it’s growing. We had to identify how to make an impact within those markets. If you miss this, you're missing a whole segment of the industry to sell your product to, whatever you're selling, and to be viewed as an inclusive employer. So, it is ultimately a good business move.”
While Hanna was looking for a solution that would serve his CRA goals (Community Reinvestment Act), NAMMBA was busy crafting a program that did just that.
ASIL is a 12-month accreditation program (that can be done sooner with increased dedication) that helps companies reach their goals by combining their desire to be a force for good within the communities they serve, along with their need to improve their revenue and profit margins. Only 5% of all lenders will be eligible for certification. And not every company is willing to make a commitment to the program.
A four-pronged approach, ASIL helps lenders see their past and present, and helps them create their future with policy and company culture assessments, data on current market trends and future forecasting, training and coaching, and finally a plan for execution.
In 2021, Howard Hanna Financial Services took the plunge and signed up to go through the accreditation process. With an open mind, they eagerly learned where their strengths and weaknesses were and understood where changes needed to happen to make Howard Hanna Financial Services more resilient, more inclusive and diverse, and ultimately, better prepared for the changes and challenges that the mortgage industry is facing in the next 20 years.
“Howard Hanna Financial Services took the step that so many companies are afraid to take … they decided that they were going to walk the walk, instead of sitting in a board room and just talk the talk,” says Thompson. “They have done a lot of work in the last six months, and I couldn’t be prouder to award them with their ASIL seal of approval. They can now tell all their clients that they are a force for good in the mortgage lending industry, instead of a force that is just out there to make a buck.”
“The ASIL Certification Process has helped us identify places and people we can work with and find opportunities that exist out there that perhaps we weren't looking for. It’s already opening our employees’ eyes and hearts to doing things differently,” said Hanna. “I can’t wait to look back two to three years from now to see how much we have grown as a company from taking on this important work.”
If you are interested in learning more about how the ASIL program can help your company reach its goals for LMI/CRA and DEI and then leverage those goals to turn a stronger, healthier profit, visit www.nammba.org/asil or email J. Tony Thompson at tony.thompson@nammba.org.