Chase Bank has donated $100,000 to Hope LoanPort, the nonprofit manager of a Web-based tool housing counselors use to help distressed borrowers apply for mortgage modifications.
The grant will fund additional development and adoption of the Web portal, which Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counselors use to submit modification documents they assist borrowers in completing. The technology is used by 448 agencies in 47 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico in partnership with 12 servicing shops, including Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit is an offshoot of the Hope Now Alliance, a consortium of HUD, the government-sponsored enterprises and private sector mortgage industry participants that collaborate on finding solutions to improve loss mitigation efforts and reduce foreclosures, including a proprietary modification program used by servicer participants.
Hope Now’s technology committee developed the LoanPort program in 2009, utilizing a private-label version of the RxOffice suite of software, developed by Columbia, Md.-based IndiSoft. LoanPort was later spun off into its own nonprofit. Servicers fund the program by paying fees to access the portal, which is provided for free to counselors and borrowers.
The Chase grant follows a $200,000 donation by mortgage insurer Radian Guaranty in September.
