Truist Ventures makes investment in regulatory fintech Azimuth GRC

Technology platform Azimuth GRC, a provider of automated regulatory compliance testing to mortgage servicers and lenders, announced it had secured a strategic investment from Truist Ventures. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The latest deal comes just a few months after the Jacksonville, Florida-based software company completed a Series A funding round which included investments from Mosaik Partners and Detroit Venture Partners, an enterprise within the Rock family of businesses that includes Rocket Cos. Prior to the latest announcement, Azimuth GRC had raised approximately $9 million, said founder and CEO Rohin Tagra in an interview with National Mortgage News.

Tagra expects to use the newly raised capital to add further capabilities to Azimuth’s products, such as its Validator tool, which tests an entire portfolio of loans to reduce risk and ensure compliance with federal laws, including the CARES Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau servicing module.

“What we will leverage this to do is to continue to add more tests at the state level,” he said. “We've got federal testing. Now we're going to start bringing in state testing.”

“Azimuth’s technology enables automation of a historically paper-based system, driving efficiency while creating a more equitable experience for clients,” said Vanessa Vreeland, head of Truist Ventures, in a press release. Truist Ventures is the VC funding division of Truist Bank.

Founded in 2017, Azimuth aims to streamline a process that has been largely manual in the past, allowing clients to test full portfolios instead of sample sets. Among its customers are a leading subservicer, as well as top 10 independent mortgage banks.

Azimuth recently made several hires, including a chief technology officer, Stephen Garrett, and chief of staff, Jijosh Varkey. As it scales its products, Azimuth is also planning to use its funding to grow in the near future through the addition of client implementation specialists, data analysts and other professionals to bolster customer acquisition. With approximately 30 staff and contractors currently located around the world, Tagra expects to double that number in 2022.

“We've come up with taking the laws, mapping the data elements that are needed from the servicing systems like Black Knight’s MSP or Sagent’s, taking those data elements in and running through a portfolio,” Tagra said. He anticipates servicing transfers to increase in the coming year, as well as the likelihood of rising foreclosures due to the heightened volume of homeowners exiting forbearance, which will require tools to ensure timelines and foreclosure referrals are met.

Changes at the CFPB, with a new director focused on enforcement, also drive the need for stronger compliance. “There is a very high expectation that there's going to be zero errors around CARES Act, foreclosure moratoriums, around credit-bureau reporting, around impacting customers and their ability to access capital or being treated fairly,” Tagra said.

Tagra added that the latest investment also sets Azimuth up for later moves to serve business sectors outside of mortgage. But in 2022, the company remains focused on product lines within banking.

“The way our platform is built is to scale to any industry, any product,” Tagra said. “It's already set for auto, credit card, consumer banking, and then, from there, health care. So a partnership with a bank like Truist gives us the opportunity to work with them and scale the platform on these other lines.”