Data and information management

Software startups say bringing borrowers, builders and lenders onto one digital platform can remove some of the risks lenders faced during the crisis.

The 2020 budget would add the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FSOC to congressional appropriations, charge lenders for FHA upgrades and require universities to have skin in the game on student loans.

Freddie Mac is broadly offering instant representation and warranty relief for automatically validated self-employment income following a test of the concept last year.

The Money Source has filed three provisional patent applications as part of its efforts to develop new innovations in mortgage servicing, including the use of blockchain technology.

The root of the credit reporting sector’s problems may be its dominance by a handful of big firms, lawmakers from both parties said at a hearing.

A security breach that left 24 million mortgage documents unprotected on a server is rekindling concerns about the risks posed by fourth parties.

The bank says it has restored access, but it hasn’t explained how a fire-suppression system at one facility could cause a nationwide outage across all of its channels, or how its system as a whole could have been left so vulnerable to the incident.

A significant percentage of consumers are willing to turn to technology companies for their financial needs, including applying for a mortgage, although they have trust issues with them, a Fannie Mae report said.

Fixing the housing finance system is "the last piece of unaddressed business from the financial crisis," according to a summary of to-do items released by the Banking Committee's chairman.

A security lapse left millions of mortgage records exposed online without proper data protections, according to security researchers.

MGIC Investment Corp. responded to the broad-based roll out of "black box" pricing engines from the other mortgage insurers by bringing its version to market.

Radian Group has acquired Five Bridges Advisors, further cementing the new focus of its mortgage and title services business.

Radian and Essent will make their "black box" mortgage insurance pricing methods live on Jan. 21, leaving MGIC as the only company yet to announce its adoption.

Fintechs must be held to the same standards as regulated financial institutions, a letter from the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions stated that used Zillow's entrance into the mortgage business as an example.

Private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners has purchased mortgage and property information provider Attom Data Solutions from Renovo Capital and Rosewood Private Investments.

A new marketing tool lets consumers start the mortgage prequalification process by sending a text message, providing would-be borrowers with credit and loan program details and offering lenders a low-cost source of leads.

With its bolstered fundraising cache, the Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee should hold an increased influence over the industry's policy and regulation issues in the coming year.

Maria Vullo is stepping down as head of New York's banking and insurance regulator after three years in which she created a national model for cybersecurity regulations at banks and fought back against federal attempts to chip away at payday-lending rules.

Plaid, which moves consumer data between financial institutions and fintechs, could expand overseas as part of a broad growth plan, according to a venture investor.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee concluded that last year’s massive data breach at Equifax was fully preventable, but stopped short of recommending new laws aimed at averting future hacks. Democrats called the final report a “missed opportunity.”