Data and information management

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.”

Wire fraud is considered a consumer and title agent issue, but the millions of dollars it's diverting from home purchase transactions make it an issue mortgage lenders need to address, too.

Fintech adoption among real estate and title agents is accelerating, though their optimism on the housing market has tanked, according to First American Financial Corp.

Private mortgage insurers are moving away from traditional rate cards in favor of more granular risk-based pricing to make their products more competitive and efficient for lenders.

Ellie Mae plans to more quickly adapt to an evolving digital mortgage landscape with Amazon's help rebuilding from the inside-out.

Lenders are constantly looking for ways they can streamline their operations and produce savings for themselves and their borrowers in order to compete in a leaner market this year.

Black Knight added to its mortgage loan data product offerings by acquiring Ernst Publishing, an Albany, N.Y.-based provider of recording fee, transfer tax and title premium fee information.