MERS Adds 50 Millionth Loan

MERS, the electronic registry for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights, has registered its 50 millionth loan.The milestone comes nine years after MERS pioneered its "MERS as original mortgagee" process, enhancing the registry by eliminating the need for an initial assignment to MERS. R.K. Arnold, president and chief executive officer of MERS, said the MOM process has allowed lenders and servicers to streamline their operations and reduce costs. "Having 50 million loans registered since then is gratifying, especially when we realize that reducing lender costs to originate loans benefits borrowers, especially first-time homeowners," he said. MERS eliminates the need to prepare and record paper assignments when mortgage companies sell loans or servicing rights. MERS estimates that lenders save at least $25 for each loan that is registered on the system. Currently, some 3,000 participating lenders register an average of 25,000 loans on MERS each day, the company said. MERS can be found on the Web at http://www.mersinc.org.