Data and information management

Equifax continues work to add new security features and restore full access to The Work Number following a report highlighting potential security vulnerabilities in a browser-based portal of its employment verification service.

The nonbinding guidance, which followed a nearly yearlong inquiry about industry practices, said consumers should have greater ability to obtain information about their financial data, among other principles.

First American Mortgage Solutions is offering new data and technology support for appraisers aimed at reducing turn times for valuations and, in turn, closing times for lenders.

Recently exposed security vulnerabilities in an Equifax tool used extensively in the mortgage industry are raising new questions about the reliability and veracity of the beleaguered credit bureau's employment verification service.

The legislative response to the Equifax breach is increasingly bipartisan, but will congressional proposals actually reduce the threat to consumers?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not affected by a hacking incident against the accounting giant Deloitte, the companies said Tuesday, after a British newspaper alleged a server containing emails from government agencies was compromised.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray is using the Equifax breach to suggest the CFPB be given power to examine credit reporting agencies for potential cybersecurity lapses.

Some banks are looking at how to translate the complicated and document-heavy mortgage lending process into the digital world of voice-interactive personal assistants.

Title insurance underwriter FNF Group broadened its offerings to real estate brokers through the purchase of a majority interest in SkySlope, which operates a digital real estate transaction management platform.

Richard Smith came to Capitol Hill this week to speak about the massive breach at Equifax, but it was clear Tuesday that he will be defending the entire credit reporting industry.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., plans to reintroduce legislation requiring the IRS to fast-track income verification, which proponents say could reduce the financial industry's dependence on credit bureaus.

Docutech is integrating its Solex e-closing product with Simplifile's communication technology that connects lenders, settlement agents and county recording offices.

Equifax observed an increasingly well-worn ritual of scandal-ridden firms by jettisoning CEO Richard Smith: apologize, promise to do better in the future, and sacrifice your top executive in the hopes it will ward off action by Congress and regulators.

Inevitably, Equifax’s CEO Richard Smith has left his post. For the credit bureau's sake, let's hope it has a long-term plan that's better than promoting from within.

Richard Smith has resigned from the embattled Atlanta credit reporting company and will be replaced by Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., a seven-year company veteran. Board member Mark Feidler, a former telecom executive, was named nonexecutive chairman.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is broadening her probe into the data breach to look at whether the company should have disclosed the breach sooner and if it plans to claw back compensation.

The hearings before the Senate Banking Committee have high stakes for both companies, as lawmakers are expected to ask the CEOs whether they should be fired.

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal would limit how much Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data is released to the public in an effort to protect consumer privacy.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wells Fargo’s treatment of customers was “egregious and unacceptable," hinting that more regulatory action was likely.

Digital mortgages transform the customer experience with slick user interfaces and data integrations that streamline the process of getting a borrower hooked up with a lender. Now it's time to disrupt the rest of the process.