Select Portfolio Servicing turns to CoreLogic for tax, flood services

CoreLogic has formed a business partnership with Select Portfolio Servicing involving tax, flood and portfolio monitoring, the data company announced Monday.

A cloud-based digital property tax platform connecting agencies, servicers and collectors aims to improve the handling of payments and cash management in connection with these services, according to CoreLogic.

When asked whether the partnership involved a technology vendor or an outsourcing relationship, Jay Kingsley, president of mortgage solutions at CoreLogic, said in an email it will involve the delivery of "tax and flood via staff augmentation services" using automation.

"Our staff augmentation model includes automation that builds and updates tax lines, [disburses] from escrow accounts and updates research cases," Kingsley said.

Implementation has begun so that SPS can use CoreLogic's services as quickly as possible and the servicer is considering possible other uses for the information and technology vendor's data, Kingsley said.

Tax, flood and portfolio monitoring have become increasingly important for servicers to manage accurately and with financial acumen.

Insurers have been retreating from some flood-prone markets like Florida, and mortgage banking businesses that are struggling with profitability have been increasingly wary of potentially costly tax-lien issues caused by delinquencies.

Direct access to tax data through CoreLogic's system is designed to reduce the delinquencies that could lead to such concerns, according to Kingsley.

The automation could potentially strengthen Select Portfolio Servicing's business profile at a time when it's been said to be up for sale.

SPS Chief Servicing Officer Kevin Warren had not responded to an inquiry about the status of the company's ownership or the CoreLogic partnership at deadline. UBS reported Monday that the government-assisted acquisition of SPS corporate parent Credit Suisse was complete.

Credit Suisse has generally been in downsizing mode amid the financial challenges that led to the UBS acquisition and it recently announced that it'll be shutting down a U.S. mortgage-backed securities unit active in the to-be-announced market, according to Bloomberg.

Late last year, Credit Suisse sold a significant part of its securitized products group and affiliated businesses to Apollo Global Management. The majority of the group's assets and professionals transitioned Atlas SP Partners.

The investment bank has been a key provider of financing vehicles to nonbank mortgage companies in the United States such as PennyMac Financial Services, with some of these transitioning to Atlas.