Mortgage technology

Citing declining market conditions, Portellus Inc., Irvine, Calif., has announced plans to wind down its mortgage technology business unit and sell the unit's supporting technology assets.Portellus said, however, that arrangements have been made to preserve the company's multipurpose business rules management system, which will continue to be sold via licensing agreements into other vertical markets. "After assessing the market's technology buying landscape over the next 18 to 24 months, Portellus elected to discontinue its mortgage business and instead focus efforts on more promising BRMS prospects," the company said. Portellus said it is divesting itself of its mortgage technology operations and plans to hold an auction for its intellectual property and other assets. Portellus' mortgage technology framework includes: a Web-based loan origination system; a product and pricing engine; an automated underwriting system; an integration services hub; and point-of-sale portals for the broker, retail, and correspondent lending channels. The company can be found online at http://www.portellus.com.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Xerox Corp. plans to buy e-collaboration vendor Advectis, Atlanta, for $32 million.Xerox’s expertise in document outsourcing and related services is what led the company to Advectis, a privately owned business. Advectis' Web-based BlitzDocs Collaboration Suite helps lenders, brokers, and investors manage the process needed to underwrite, audit, collaborate, deliver and archive loan documents electronically. "We're looking to help clients reduce costs and transform their business by offering a better experience for both end-users and operations," said John Kelly, president of Xerox Global Services North America. "Xerox's expertise in automating document processes is an ideal fit with Advectis' BlitzDocs paperless solution for mortgages." Xerox's all-cash purchase of Advectis also includes an additional performance-based supplement to the sale price. The acquisition is expected to close in the next 30 days. All Advectis employees will be retained. Xerox's document technology and services portfolio includes consulting and outsourcing services, records management, digital imaging, e-discovery for litigation support, and managed services in more than 160 countries.

MISMO, the not-for-profit data standards subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has relaunched its website, touting updated content, search options, navigation, and design features.MISMO said the new features include: an updated search engine; more-intuitive navigation; updated content on MISMO (the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization) and technology issues; a new user login system that allows MISMO to use the MBA's single sign-on capability for all MBA websites; and the ability to sign up for multiple listserves simultaneously. MISMO can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

The mortgage market will continue to undergo a reshuffling over the next year, and "innovation and execution" will be the keys to success, according to Fiserv president and chief executive Jeff Yabuki.Speaking at the company's annual client conference in Nashville, Tenn., Mr. Yabuki said alternative-A, subprime, and nonconventional borrowers are not going to go away, but how mortgage lenders lend to them will have to change. He joked that Fiserv launched its 2.0 effort last year just in time for the industry to go through lending 2.0. Existing conditions will cause the emergence of new leaders and the disappearance of old ones as the market corrects, he said. The keys to ensuring that a lending institution emerges as a leader will be "innovation and execution," Mr. Yabuki said. Fiserv intends to give lenders more control to define their business practices by introducing new scripting functionality, embracing open architecture, and helping them consolidate into one unified system. Lenders that execute well over the next year will be the next leaders, Mr. Yabuki predicted. "Everything is going to be fine," he said in talking about the health of the mortgage industry in the long term. Mr. Yabuki advised lenders to just "get back to work."

BearingPoint Inc., a management and technology consulting firm based in McLean, Va., has announced tools aimed at helping lenders manage growing portfolio risks before they result in loan defaults and foreclosures.BearingPoint's Credit Navigation Tools provide capabilities to help evaluate portfolio risk and manage and improve lending processes, the company said. "The industry is demanding tighter control of their loans through improvements to what has largely been an inexact process," said Christopher Formant, executive vice president of BearingPoint's Global Financial Services. "To help manage the immediate needs of banks and lenders, we can put a set of tools in place that will help deliver cost and process improvements in the context of the current crisis." The company can be found online at http://www.bearingpoint.com.

Enterprise lending software vendor Mortgage Cadence Inc., Denver, has added Michael Hammond to its executive team as chief marketing officer.Mr. Hammond has nearly 15 years of experience in brand building, product launches, and developing marketing and sales strategies. Before joining Mortgage Cadence, he worked as vice president of business strategy for Martopia, a mortgage marketing and public relations firm. Mr. Hammond previously worked for nine years as director of sales and marketing for loan origination system vendor Dynatek. In addition, Mr. Hammond is one of only 50 individuals to earn the Certified Mortgage Technologist designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage Cadence can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagecadence.com.

Financial Industry Computer Systems Inc., Dallas, has added a new mortgage insurance interface to its residential mortgage loan origination system, Loan Producer.The mortgage insurance interface enables lenders to quickly and easily submit data to receive mortgage insurance commitments and updates for primary insurance request, FICS said. The interface is designed to provide lenders using the Loan Producer system with a means to send mortgage insurance applications directly from Loan Producer to any MI provider that offers a Web service that complies with the Mortgage Insurance Application Request and Response requirements of the Mortgage Industry Standards and Maintenance Organization. Mortgage insurance providers will then automatically process the request and send status updates, along with the commitment and certificate of insurance, back to Loan Producer. FICS can be found on the Web at http://www.loanware.com.

Kroll Factual Data, a Loveland, Colo.-based provider of business information to mortgage lenders and others, has announced an expansion of its risk assessment services with the introduction of FullFacts.The service assesses the risk of misrepresentation by brokers, appraisers, loan officers, closing agents, and other participants in the mortgage loan process. "FullFacts comprehensively identifies loan party collusion, conflict of interest, and non-arm's-length transactions for every participant involved in a mortgage loan" and determines whether any participant is included on exclusionary and compliance lists, said Jeff Gentry, vice president of Kroll Factual Data. "To streamline your workflow, Kroll Factual Data can upload your own internal exclusionary list into the FullFacts participant risk analysis." Kroll Factual Data can be found online at http://www.krollfactualdata.com.

Artemis Enterprises, Chicago, has released a solution for storing and managing shared enterprise content and contact information called Artemis.Artemis, the company's flagship collaborative cross-enterprise information management software solution is a Web-based technology that functions as a collaborative enterprise information management solution and as a portal for companies to share and disseminate information, enabling businesses to store, access, distribute and share critical information, both within their organizations and with outside vendors, clients and partners. A hosted Software as a Service solution, Artemis provides companies with a centralized repository and management solution for internal company and third-party partner contact data, and updates shared contact information on behalf of user-members. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.ArtemisInfo.com.

Carteret Mortgage will deploy credit analysis technology to all its 300 branches to raise the bar on doing quality originations.Specifically, Carteret will use Market Kinetix's patent-pending credit analysis software solution Deal Maker Score. The application provides step-by-step directions to raise a borrower's credit score. A mortgage originator downloads the borrower's credit findings to the product, and the program produces a customized set of recommendations, which show a borrower how to raise their credit score by the target number of points designated by the loan officer. Carteret can be found on the Web at http://www.CarteretMortgage.com.

The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America has launched a redesigned, interactive Spanish-language website designed to promote the benefits of private mortgage insurance, including the fact that premiums are now tax-deductible for the first time for many borrowers.Private MI premiums are now fully tax deductible for borrowers who buy or refinance a home if their adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less, MICA said. Families with incomes above $100,000 (up to $109,000) will be eligible for a reduced deduction. "By highlighting the affordable, predictable, cancelable, and tax deductible benefits of a loan with private MI, our redesigned Spanish-language website will provide consumers, loan originators and real estate agents with a valuable tool to make informed decisions and recommendations," said Suzanne C. Hutchinson, executive vice president of MICA. The new website can be found at http://www.privatemi.com/enespanol.

Offering useful insights into the realm of consumer-direct, Web-based mortgage lending, Mortgagebot LLC, Mequon, Wis., has announced the release of its Benchmarks 2007 study of online lending practices.The study showed that a quarter of the lenders studied "now originate more than half of their loan volume via the online channel." Research participants include 25 of the top 100 banks and thrifts and 40 of the top 100 credit unions. Confirming trends and "debunking" some myths, the study offers detailed data analysis of loan product and decisioning statistics, online borrower behavior and website usage, lender website configuration and marketing, and more. The study showed that online loan seekers tend to be young, affluent, and creditworthy, with an average income above $85,000 and an average credit score above 700. The study is based on a comprehensive survey and analysis of the online lending practices and procedures at more than 3,600 mortgage lending websites maintained for Mortgagebot's more than 700 clients nationwide. The company can be found online at http://www.mortgagebot.com.

Midsize and large homes are showing steeper declines in value over the past year than smaller single-family residences, according to Zillow.com, an online real estate community based in Seattle.Zillow's quarterly national home value report found that home values fell only 0.1% in the second quarter and were 2.8% lower than in the second quarter of 2006. But midsize and large homes lost value on a year-over-year basis at the rate of 3.1% and 2.8%, respectively, while small homes fell only 1.0%. "The U.S. real estate market still appears quite anemic, at best, with many markets still doing poorly, especially those in South Florida and Southern California," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics. "The one ray of home this period is that we've not seen another quarter-over-quarter decline as we've experienced in the past two quarters. The significantly poorer performance of condos and larger single-family homes suggests that prices for these housing sectors are still not in accord with current demand." Zillow can be found online at http://www.zillow.com.

Mike Perlman has been named executive vice president for operations and technology at Freddie Mac.Mr. Perlman will be responsible for managing the largest segment of Freddie Mac's business operations, including all its mortgage origination and servicing, investment and capital markets operations, and information systems divisions. He was most recently a managing director at Morgan Stanley and developed the operations and technology infrastructure supporting its Fixed Income and Global Operations divisions, Freddie Mac said. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 1997, Mr. Perlman had been a founding partner at AT&T Solutions' Financial Services Group and a partner in the Washington, D.C. and New York offices of Deloitte & Touche.

Todd Moncrief has joined Advectis Inc., an Atlanta-based electronic collaboration and workflow vendor, as vice president of business development.Mr. Moncrief has more than 14 years of experience in mortgage lending and technology systems. In his new position, Mr. Moncrief will be responsible for the development and management of Advectis' BlitzDocs networked provider and partner relationships, as well as creating product strategy for BlitzDocs Collaboration Suite and Advectis' electronic mortgage initiatives. Mr. Moncrief is coming to Advectis from Fiserv Lending Solutions, where he was the national sales executive for electronic lending. Prior to Fiserv, he was vice president of sales and business development at SwiftView, which was acquired by eLynx. Advectis can be found on the Web at http://www.advectis.com.

Unite Here, a New York-based labor union, has launched a website that it terms "an open resource on the subprime lending crisis and the nation's No. 1 subprime lender, Countrywide Financial Corp."Unite Here, which says it represents over 450,000 North American members, said it has also sent a survey to 1,500 borrowers who took out Countrywide adjustable-rate mortgages. The union said it will use the survey to research customers' experience, including knowledge of the terms of loans at the time they were made. The new website can be found at http://www.eyeoncountrywide.info, and the union can be found at http://www.unitehere.org.

First American Credco, a provider of specialty credit (and part of First Advantage Corp.), and First American CoreLogic have announced the introduction of ThirdParty Manager and Professional Screening Services as part of a line of mortgage lender origination and channel management tools.First American CoreLogic said its ThirdParty Manager streamlines the submission of broker data, as well as the due diligence, management, and monitoring of wholesale channel brokers via an online wizard. It also provides integrated due-diligence data and management tools for lenders to manage their overall broker relationships. First American Credco's Professional Screening Services, which includes broker and third-party screening and license monitoring, has been integrated with ThirdParty Manager. These services enable lenders to certify new originators, recertify third-party contractors, and perform a complete audit on their broker base as needed. "The integration of First Advantage's due diligence management capabilities and First American's solutions helps effectively manage risk and mortgage fraud, a growing issue affecting our lender customers, as well as the consumer," said Kathy Manzione, president of First American Credco. The companies can be found online at http://www.credco.com and http://www.facorelogic.com.

Keynoting the REConnect Conference in San Francisco, LendingTree founder Doug Lebda predicted that the survivors of the current mortgage liquidity crunch will grow bigger and stronger.While mortgage lenders may not want to become part of a conglomerate -- as his company did when he sold it to Barry Diller's IAC -- he said LendingTree itself has thrived under the IAC umbrella. Mr. Lebda reassured lenders that LendingTree will remain more of a marketplace facilitator than a competitor to mortgage lenders. He said its slice of the mortgage origination market will remain tiny as LendingTree concentrates on building business on the real estate side. LendingTree can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com.

In a win for the Internet-based loan origination system model, Metavante Corp. has announced that Platinum Home Mortgage, Rolling Meadows, Ill., is upgrading to Metavante's online Mortgage Loan Origination Studio Software.Platinum president Bill Giambrone, a Metavante client since 2002, said the company chose moving to a Web-based mortgage LOS "to improve loan officer productivity and increase sales, while reducing the cost of maintaining client-server software on our employees' desktops." He said MLOS was one of the most feature-rich browser-based applications available. MLOS offers to help eliminate the high cost of distributing and maintaining desktop software on its originators' computers and reduce the risk associated with applications installed on laptops. Platinum can be found online at http://www.ephmc.com, and Metavante can be found at http://www.metavante.com.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis, has named Ken Newton executive vice president of banking content.Mr. Newton will be responsible for the company's overall growth in the banking, credit union, indirect lending, and mortgage markets. Prior to this promotion, Mr. Newton served as the vice president and chief operations officer for WKFS, where he led the operational aspects of the organization's manufacturing, customer support, product distribution, and enterprise systems. He also led the implementation of Lean Six Sigma across the company. WKFS can be found on the Web at http://www.wolterskluwerfs.com.