Michael Tano, CMB, CRO, ARU, AMP
Chief Operating Officer
ABWIN Mortgage Corporation
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

About Michael:
I am currently responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. My responsibilities include dealing with secondary market issues, monitoring our warehouse line to insure files are shipped in a timely manner and insuring that pended files are promptly taken care to insure that we are maximizing our profitability, training and coaching our sales staff, doing spot checks on loans in process to ensure compliance with company guidelines and federal law, staffing and recruitment of all positions to insure that we are running to optimum levels to insure we are meeting our customer standards as well as maximizing profit, performing quality control checks on files, and monitoring files with closing to insure they are cleared from underwriting to closing in the appropriate time frame. I have been in the Mortgage Industry for close to six years and also have the AMP, CRO, and ARU designations as well. I currently live in Navarre, FL with my wife Lindy and our nine year old daughter, Mackenzie.

CMB Motivation and Challenges:
I have been a CMB for a month. I found out about the designation early in my career and decided I wanted to works towards it because I would learn a lot of valuable information along the way... and I did. It was challenging as I came in during an "up cycle" of the business and it was insanely busy. Finding time to study and further the educational and participation portion was tough. Somehow I made it all work. I also started when I was a newbie, so I did not have a lot of the experience that some of the other candidates had. I think I faced a much steeper learning curve.

Career Impact:
It has certainly taught me a lot about the industry from a 10,000 foot level. Most people are comfortable with the area they are in (i.e. origination, secondary marketing, etc). The CMB makes you go outside those areas and understand the business in its totality. There are a lot of moving parts in out industry. Furthermore, I think I am one of the younger designees, so it gives me a lot more credibility with some of the most respected people in our field. To know that I am in the top one percent of all people in the entire industry is a humbling feeling. I am in the club with leaders like Rob Couch, Griff Straw, Regina Lowery, John Robbins (to name a few). How great is that? It certainly gives a person a bit more confidence when facing the world. There are not a lot of people industry wide who have put in the time, dedication, and tears to achieve this designation.

What advice do you have for those interested in obtaining the CMB Designation?
What are you waiting for? Jump into it and do not let up until you get it. I went after it for five straight years, a lot of industry vets do not need to put in near as much. Do not let the "I am too busy" mentality to hold you back. Make it a priority and take the plunge.

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