Former President of MERS
R.K. Arnold serves as President & CEO of MERSCORP, Inc. and its subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. He joined MERS at its inception in 1996, and served as Senior Vice President & General Counsel until his promotion to President in 1998. He is a member of the MERS Board of Directors. His team has built MERS into the central electronic registry for the mortgage finance industry. Â R.K. officially retired in 2011.
MERS achieved profitability in 2001 and now registers more than half the mortgage loans originated in the United States. The company’s goal is a 100% market share nationwide. MERS enables its members to eliminate the need to record assignments by acting as a placeholder for all its members in the local land records. This reduces unnecessary paperwork and makes buying a home more efficient and less expensive. MERS registers loans in every county in every state and serves both the residential and commercial markets. Most recently, the company launched the MERS® eRegistry, which tracks electronic promissory notes and represents the future of mortgage lending.
As General Counsel, R.K. managed the successful effort to gain regulatory approval for MERS to serve as original mortgagee of record on uniform security instruments. He orchestrated approval of the Rules Governing Membership in MERS and played a major role in defining the business requirements for development of the MERS® System. Before joining MERS, he served as Vice President & Corporate Counsel at AT&T Universal Card, practiced law with Holloway, Dobson, Hudson & Bachman, and held management positions with USAA and Johnson & Johnson.
R.K. is a former U.S. Army Ranger. He and his wife, Lynne, are both from Oklahoma. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Oklahoma, an M.B.A. from the University of Dallas and a J.D. from Oklahoma City University.