Merri Hope Thompson Email and Phone Number

I am a Louisiana licensed attorney and currently hold the position of VP of the Republic Finance Legal &Compliance Department. When I started as in-house counsel with Republic Finance in 2015, there were 2 team members in the Department - myself and one other. Since 2015, we have grown the Department to the point that it now consists of 29 team members: 11 attorneys, 6 legal support staff and 12 compliance team members. Republic Finance is a consumer lender in the financial industry, which is one of the most regulated industries in the United States. In my role, I am responsible for overseeing the compliance with both state and federal laws in the following areas: lending and credit insurance licensing requirements; loan origination and equal credit opportunity requirements; fair lending requirements; loan servicing and advanced collections; telemarketing requirements; and credit reporting requirements, just to name a few. Republic Finance is a company on the move! In the past 18 months we have expanded into 5 new states. I led the Legal & Compliance team in charge of all new state expansions. On the technical side, Republic Finance has launched an online lending platform, developed a customer portal where its customers can make payments and find out account information, and developed electronic loan closing capabilities. I was the lead attorney on those projects and played an integral role in their creation. In addition to the legal and regulatory guidance that I provide for the Company, I also manage a team of attorneys and legal support staff . As a manager, I onboard and train new attorneys; conduct annual performance reviews; work with outside legal counsel to routinely review and update the Company's Compliance Management System; review annual Company compliance training modules; and develop and manage outside legal counsel contacts in each new state.