Mortgage technology

1010data, a provider of data warehouse and business intelligence for mortgage-backed securities market participants and others, has secured a $35 million equity investment from Norwest Venture Partners. The investment will allow 1010data to add to its marketing and sales efforts, according to Joel Kaplan, president, CEO and co-founder of 1010data. The investment gives NVP a minority stake in the company. In addition, Jon Kossow of NVP will join 1010data's board of directors. NVP is an investment firm that manages more than $3.7 billion in capital. It has offices in Palo Alto, Calif.; Mumbai and Bangaluru, India; and Herzelia, Israel.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is moving to help financial institutions rapidly comply with the Federal Reserve Board's upcoming changes to Regulation E with the launch of a new online resource center. The Reg E changes require institutions like mortgage servicers for example, to gain approval from consumers before charging overdraft fees on one-time debit card or ATM transactions. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has created an online resource center to help institutions comply with Reg E revisions that take effect July 1 for new accounts and Aug. 15 for existing ones. The company has also launched Reg E Opt-in Manager, a solution that allows institutions to expedite generation and electronic delivery of opt-in notices to consumers for consent.

Austin, Texas-based mortgage accounting vendor Mortgage Banking Solutions has merged with San Diego-based Abacus Accounting Services. Abacus offers bookkeeping services to mortgage banks in the western U.S. MBS now offers bookkeeping services in addition to their CFO2Go product suite. The technology can now fully support outsourced bookkeeping activity with remote secure servers.

Embrace Home Loans, Newport, R.I., is moving its Internet origination division, which is comprised of 50 employees, to an 18,000 square foot building located in Providence, R.I. "As a company, Embrace Home Loans has experienced significant growth," said Kurt Noyce, president. "Most recently we've added several new retail branches along the Eastern Seaboard, and completed a substantial acquisition to further increase our geographic footprint. We are proud of the work we've accomplished and are pleased to be able to add additional office space right here in our local economy. The addition of a new building in Providence not only provides a space for our growing Internet origination division, but also provides the ability for our company to add more local jobs in the future."

REA Accelerated Marketing Group, an online bidding platform, is partnering with short sale technology provider National Quick Sale. Short sales have been gaining in popularity but suffer from a delayed approval process. By putting the short sale up for auction the property gets more visibility and true market value can be assessed based on how much borrowers are willing to pay for the property vs. relying solely on a BPO or other type of valuation, the two companies said. At the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference in San Diego, Jim Satterwhite, EVP at National Quick Sale, said, "We have created a platform that brings all parties together. This is the type of synergy the industry needs to get things moving."

SecondMarket, a New York-based secondary market for illiquid assets such as private-label residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, has raised $15 million from Asian investors. The investors include Li Ka Shing Foundation, a charitable foundation founded by the Asian entrepreneur that is its namesake. The other investor is Dunearn Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd. Each of the investors put $7.5 million into the New York company. Proceeds from the investment are slated for use in further scaling the SecondMarket's platform and infrastructure in preparation for its upcoming expansion into the Asian markets.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., a provider of FAS 157 fair market valuations, mortgage risk hedging and accounting solutions, has rolled out phase I of its new corporate website, which is designed to make it easier for mortgage market participants to find information. Valuation experts at MIAC have been publishing a wealth of information and posting it online for over a decade. The new site will make this material more accessible to the industry. Specifically, the new site separates content areas by business channel, making it easier for customers to navigate directly to the content they are interested in. For example, MIAC's Generic Servicing Assets are available for download into MIAC Analytics and viewable on the website.

AssetPlanUSA, a nationwide provider of foreclosure alternative solutions, and DepotPoint, a provider of default management workflow solutions, have joined forces to work with servicers and lenders to help expedite the short sale process. AssetPlanUSA plans to use DepotPoint's technology to help its clients and their borrowers effectively achieve short sales. Starting on April 5, 2010, the U.S. government will begin providing incentives to servicers who help borrowers facing foreclosure exit their homes gracefully outside the foreclosure process, thereby lessening the negative impact on the borrower's credit score compared to a foreclosure. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides relocation assistance for borrowers choosing foreclosure alternatives, allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sale terms before listing their property, and pays servicers cash incentives to cover administration and processing costs. DepotPoint provides default management technology for the distressed property market. The company's TrackPoint Platform incorporates an enterprise-class, Web-based workflow engine and tracking system for managing default transactions, including short sales.

RealEC Technologies Inc. has launched new income verification services to its RealEC Collaborative Partner Network, the RealEC Exchange. The income verification suite, provided by Lender Processing Services' Applied Analytics group, enables lenders to validate a borrower's identity and verify the accuracy of income information provided during the application process. The borrower's income is confirmed directly with the Internal Revenue Service by uploading the signed IRS 4506-T form electronically through the RealEC interface. LPS Applied Analytics then securely delivers a report from the IRS.

PeoplesBank has given its members access for mobile banking and payment services through the iPhone, courtesy of technology provided by Online Resources Corp. The Massachusetts-based $1.5 billion asset bank is now one of fewer than 50 U.S. financial institutions that currently offer the iPhone application through the App Store or iTunes. PeoplesBank has used Online Resources' full suite of retail and business Internet banking and bill payment services since 1999. An extension of these online services, the new iPhone application allows users to view account balances, transaction history, schedule same day transfers, pay bills, and send and receive secure in-session messages. PeoplesBank customers register online for mobile access and download the iPhone application, which also works on iPad and iPod touch devices.

LoanMarket.net, an online auction website specializing in residential and commercial loans, has hired mortgage banking veteran David Akre as a managing director. Mr. Akre co-founded New York Mortgage Trust, a mortgage lending and investing REIT that went public back in 2004. During his career, he also worked in secondary marketing and sales at Thornburg Mortgage, Santa Fe. Based in Irvine, Calif., LoanMarket is privately held. The company has been selling performing, subperforming and delinquent notes for almost a year.

A la mode, Oklahoma City, has released "The Appraisal Fee Reference," a monthly guide to what independent appraisers charge nationwide. The software vendor/publisher says the AFR will help lenders/servicers with compliance issues especially in regard to new Federal Housing Administration appraisal guidelines. FHA now requires lenders to ensure that appraisers are paid reasonable and customary fees, independent of what might be added on by an appraisal management company. The AFR provides the median appraisal fees for each of the 3,221 counties in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

In his first major initiative since taking the helm at PHH Corp., Jerome Selitto laid out his strategy for transforming the nation's largest private label lender/servicer into a leaner, more profitable company — including a major cut in expenses. On a conference call Tuesday, Mr. Selitto, who became chief executive in October, said he plans to slash expenses by $100 million to $120 million annually. The effort will include combining back offices and upgrading technology. Selitto came to PHH "with a mandate from the board to turn this underperforming company into a high performer," said Steve DeLaney, a managing director and mortgage finance research analyst at JMP Securities. "He's sending the message that he's cleaning up and that he's going to do whatever it takes to make the company profitable." According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report, PHH Mortgage ranks eighth among lenders nationwide, and ninth among servicers.

BrokerPriceOpinion.com, Westminster, Colo., has created a "Next Generation BPO (V3)" platform for its valuation service. The company said the new platform represents a fundamental shift in the philosophy for how it provides BPOs. The focus is primarily on data analysis rather than data capture and delivery. Walt Coats, president, said, "Our software automatically evaluates and scores all comp sale and listing data provided by the broker. It was designed to analyze the data for accuracy and/or fraud, and to provide immediate feedback for brokers and analysts." Enhancements to this platform, scheduled to introduced in Phase II of the roll out in the second quarter of this year, include the ability to access local market data and incorporate it into both new and existing products. Clients will be able to gain insight into local markets and make better, more informed business decisions, adding to increased profitability, the company said.

NetMore, a mortgage banking firm based in Walla Walla, Wash., has hired Comergence Compliance Monitoring as a third-party due diligence provider to keep an eye on its correspondent lenders. CCM will manage all reviews and monitor third-party originators that source loans to the company. CCM is based in Orange, Calif. NetMore, a nonbank, said it is "committed to working with the highest quality mortgage brokers in the industry in a 'friction free' manner."

Banking and mortgage regulators have developed a new file format that will allow for electronic examinations of mortgage originators. The new format, called the Licensee Examination File, is designed for use by mortgage loan originators, software providers and consultants and provides a standardized way to prepare loan portfolio data for online submission to state regulators. Documentation on the new format will be available on the "RCCertify" website which will have a ".org" address and launch on Feb. 22. The LEF was created by the CSBS/AARMR Multistate Mortgage Committee and unveiled at the NMLS User Conference in San Diego. The electronic transmission of data is part of the MMC's enhanced supervision of mortgage entities under the CSBS/AARMR Nationwide Cooperative Protocol and Agreement for Mortgage Supervision. Beginning last year and continuing through 2010 the MMC has been and plans to be conducting pilot examinations using ComplianceAnalyzer software provided by ComplianceEase. Lenders are expected to provide loan portfolio data uploads to state regulators by 2011. John Prendergast, chief risk officer for the Massachusetts Division of Banking and the chair of the MMC said, "Our vision of an improved examination process through the use of new technology has been in the works for several months, but one of our main challenges has been the inability of lender systems to feed data directly to the regulator in a form that is readable by the ComplianceAnalyzer program." This new format rectifies that, he said.

Service 1st Valuation and Settlement Services Inc. has joined the Ellie Mae Network. Connectivity to the network is integrated in Ellie Mae's Encompass360 mortgage management software, which is used by mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, community banks, credit unions and national and regional lenders across the United States. As a result of the Service 1st integration, Service 1st will be available as an independent appraiser on the Ellie Mae Network and available to all users of Encompass360.

Wells Fargo Funding has authorized the use of Docu Prep's EESS product for digital signing documents. The Entire Electronic Signature Solution is Docu Prep's newest signing technology. The company's EESS product gives customers the ability to customize their document sets, and provides them with electronic signatures and delivery, as well as integrated management with reporting capabilities. Docu Prep is the 15th approved vendor by Wells for e-signing.

Equity National has released PACEplus, a predictive valuation tool intended to combine data and human analysis to ensure a more accurate measurement of a distressed property's true market value. Specifically, PACEplus combines quantitative data collection and analysis with human evaluation. The tool uses public and private housing, economic, and market data. The human element is still present, however, as this information then undergoes analysis, combining expert human review and field data collection, a questionnaire and photos.

DebtMarket of Los Angeles, which operates an online marketplace for trading whole loans, has officially named Stuart McFarland, a former Fannie Mae chief financial officer, as a top advisor to the firm. The company said Mr. McFarland will serve as a special advisor for capital and federal markets. The company also named Jim Jones and Bob Feller to its board. During his long career in mortgages, Mr. McFarland has worked for GE Capital Asset Management, and Pedestal, an early B2B online trading platform. Mr. Jones is a former CEO of GMAC's Residential Capital Corp. unit and Mr. Feller is a former CEO of Capmark Financial Group, a company that recently went through bankruptcy. Mr. McFarland first began working with DebtMarket late last year.