Mortgage technology

Dorado Corp., a mortgage technology provider based in San Mateo, Calif., has entered a strategic alliance with First Canadian Title.Under the agreement between the two companies, First Canadian Title will be the exclusive distributor of Dorado's Enterprise Lending System to mortgage lenders and banks in Canada, and the Canadian company will not distribute any other companies' loan origination technology. "Dorado's on-demand loan origination technology is a complementary component to Canadian Title's end-to-end integrated lending solution," said David Wybrow, senior vice president of First Canadian Title.

Large lenders eager to leverage service-oriented architecture to extend their return on investment from legacy systems, take note: Los Gatos Calif.-based Fiorano Software Inc. has announced a collaboration with mainframe integration specialist GT Software, Atlanta.Technical support staff from GT Software will facilitate enterprise integration of mainframe assets for customers of Fiorano SOA 2007, the companies said. The collaboration is intended "to simplify SOA-based integration in extremely complex environments, enabling developers to establish services more easily and integrate mainframe data of all types into the Fiorano platform," they said. The platform utilizes 60 pre-built business components and data adapters to build fully functional workflows, addressing the mortgage-creation process from first application to post-closing and delivery. The companies can be found online at http://www.fiorano.com and http://www.gtsoftware.com.

Jess Hartmann has been named president of Mortgage Coach, a provider of mortgage planning software based in Irvine, Calif.Mr. Hartmann was most recently the chief executive officer of ISD Corp., a software development and services firm. Before joining ISD, he was the senior vice president and chief information officer at New Horizons, which Mortgage Coach said is the largest information technology training company in the world. The company pointed to Mr. Hartmann's "proven track record" of expanding companies and said it plans to use his expertise "to further penetrate the mortgage market and capitalize on the vast potential caused by the growing trend toward mortgage planning." Mortgage Coach can be found online at http://www.mortgagecoach.com.

Irvine, Calif.-based Mortgage Coach and Strategic Equity, Bellevue, Wash., have teamed up to create Equity Optimizer, a Web-based tool to help teach borrowers the importance of mortgage planning rather than simply acquiring a loan based on interest rates and fees.Equity Optimizer is based on Mortgage Coach's Marketing Machine, and features Steven Marshall's six-step scripted process to guide mortgage planners in the initial stages of educating potential borrowers on the principles of mortgage planning. Mr. Marshall is a mortgage planner and the founder of Strategic Equity. The program also features the tools already available on the Mortgage Coach Marketing Machine system, featuring the Personalized Mortgage Plan, the Annual Equity Review, and the Periodic Mortgage Review. Each of the products is supported by advice-delivery tools and printable marketing pieces that include explanations of Mortgage Coach's patented reports. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagecoach.com and http://www.strategicequity.com.

In response to growing demand for reverse mortgages, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis, is equipping lenders with a new line of electronic documents they can use to help comply with regulatory requirements tied to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.A HECM, the most common form of reverse mortgage in the United States, allows borrowers aged 62 or older to convert the equity in their homes into income through a lump sum, monthly payments, or a line of credit offered by lenders. The WKFS line of electronic upfront disclosures and closing documents for HECMs allows lenders doing business in the top 10 states underwriting HECMs to create compliant document packages. The top 10 states are: California, Florida, Texas, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The company plans to expand its HECM document line to other states based upon lender demand. WKFS can be found on the Web at http://www.wolterskluwerfs.com.

Former Guardian Mortgage Services executive Mary Kladde has gone out on her own to form Titan Lenders Corp., a closing, post-closing, and mortgage fulfillment services provider based in Denver.Titan services will act as a variable-cost alternative for mortgage bankers, brokers, and investors to increase their loan-closing capacity while reducing risk, errors, and overhead costs, the company said. Titan offers an established service model, extensive industry experience, and customized solutions automated by Cerberyx, a contemporary Web-based technology platform designed specifically for its processes, according to the company. Built upon the eSys Technologies platform for managing cost and increasing productivity for next-generation lenders, Titan's Cerberyx application is a Web-based information management tool providing a window into a lender's entire pipeline from application through sale of the loan.

RealEC Technologies Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced that its business-to-business exchange has surpassed 31 million orders processed since its 1998 launch.The company also announced it has surpassed 2,000 participating lenders (including 17 of the top 20). On a monthly basis, the RealEC Collaborative Partner Network now processes more than 300,000 loans, 600,000 orders, 2 million documents, and 7 million "unique loan fulfillment events." Jointly owned by Fidelity National Information Services, Stewart Title Co., and LandAmerica Financial Group, the RealEC Exchange now bills itself as the industry's largest interconnected network of lenders and settlement service providers. The company can be found online at http://www.realec.com.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the acquisition of Applied Financial Technology, a provider of risk analytics, analysis, and data for the mortgage industry.The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Fidelity said AFT's qualitative analytics can be fully integrated into various third-party systems and are used by brokers, banks, and investors to price, fund, trade, and hedge mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. "The importance of the analytic component that AFT will provide to FIS customers cannot be overemphasized," said Greg Whitworth, president of FIS Loan Portfolio Solutions. "In today's environment, lenders, loan servicers, and investors alike must incorporate meaningful analytics in the pricing and ongoing evaluation of loan performance." The company can be found online at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

Byte Software has launched a new software development kit designed to make it easier for companies to integrate to their loan origination software.The SDK will allow Byte clients and third parties to develop customized applications between BytePro and BytePro Enterprise, the company reported at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual conference in Seattle. Specifically, software engineers will be able to import or export data in and out of BytePro using industry standards, including Fannie Mae and MISMO file formats. Custom add-ins can also be inserted directly within BytePro menus to allow users to complete core tasks without having to leave the application. Kirkland, Wash.-based Byte Software can be found on the Web at http://www.bytesoftware.com.

Jamison Law Group, Los Angeles, has announced the launch of Credit CRM, an out-of-the-box software and training system designed to empower mortgage originators to offer credit repair services to Americans with poor credit.Credit CRM includes full credit training as well as a credit and sales software system, unlimited telephone support, and a full Internet-based marketing system. Credit CRM is offered to businesses and individual entrepreneurs who are looking to start a credit repair business, and is often used as a supplemental business opportunity for mortgage professionals. The system provides Web-based sales management modules, over 20 hours of credit repair training, and a full marketing program. The announcement came at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual conference in Seattle. Jamison Law Group can be found on the Web at http://www.jamisonlawgroup.com.

In a move to enable affiliated credit reporting agencies to help borrowers raise their credit scores, Credit Systems Design has announced that it will make the credit analysis system Deal Maker Score available to its broad base of credit reporting company clients.The announcement came at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual conference in Seattle. CSD's affiliated credit reporting agencies service the mortgage industry's lenders and brokers on CSD's UltraAMPS mortgage processing system. By providing access to Deal Maker Score, CSD said it is making it easy for mortgage originators to show borrowers how they can raise their credit scores to a target score. CSD, which provides the technology that enables credit reporting companies to deliver merged credit reports to their clients, can be found online at http://www.creditsystemsdesign.com.

Proposed legislation to mandate that mortgage professionals sign off on borrower suitability as a solution to curbing predatory practices "won't work in the real world," the new president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, George Hanzimanolis, has told the NAMB annual conference in Seattle.Mr. Hanzimanolis commended politicians for trying to come up with a solution for the problem, but says requiring brokers to sign off on borrower suitability is just not the answer. "When the broker takes an application, they have a limited amount of information on the borrower," Mr. Hanzimanolis said. "There are too many unknowns for anyone to determine long-term suitability. How am I supposed to predict if the borrower will maintain employment, won't get a divorce, won't suffer a death in the family, won't become unexpectedly sick? This is sexy on the Hill, but it won't work in the real world." The NAMB can be found online at http://www.namb.org.

Reverse mortgage specialist Lender Lead Solutions, Melville, N.Y., has announced the launch of its Reverse Mentoring Program, offering on-site training and additional advisory services to help mortgage brokers develop reverse mortgage operations.According to the announcement at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' annual convention in Seattle, the curriculum will include "content to address the unique aspects of the senior marketplace and the reverse mortgage product, including in-depth review of all legal, compliance, and quality control procedures." The program will also include sales training focused on the special requirements of selling to seniors and the need for outside counseling, plus comprehensive instruction on loan flow, processing, settlement, underwriting, appraising, closing and funding, post-closing, and servicing functions using the company's STORM wholesale technology platform. Lender Lead Solutions can be found online at http://www.lenderleadsolutions.com.

Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae has released Encompass 3.0, an upgrade of its Encompass Mortgage Management Solution that enables two-way communication with borrowers and vendors, handles more loan programs, and integrates with more third-party technology.In addition, Ellie Mae said the product is now fully integrated with Encompass WebCenter, a tool that provides users with a scalable and search-engine-friendly website and a secure online business center that originators can use to generate leads and to communicate and collaborate with borrowers and partners. Encompass 3.0 supports more third-party technology platforms, like the newest versions of several systems by Microsoft, ACT!, and Adobe, Ellie Mae said. Furthermore, the upgrade can handle a larger array of loan programs, including piggyback loans and more payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage products. Compliance auditing for high-cost and predatory loans is now completely automated within Encompass 3.0, Ellie Mae said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

NYLX Inc., a mortgage technology provider based in Mt. Arlington, N.J., has released BrokerToolz, an all-in-one product-eligibility and pricing engine that allows mortgage brokers to price and make loan decisions instantly with the click of a mouse, according to the company.The Web-based BrokerToolz allows brokers to select and price loans on-demand around the clock, eliminating rate sheets. BrokerToolz qualifies loan scenarios against multilender guidelines and price adjusters to display fully adjusted rates, and it prices and ranks the results to maximize transaction profits, NYLX said. The product "offers lead management, eligibility, loan pricing and best execution via the Internet," NYLX president John Alexander said. "... The surprising part is, this multifeature functionality is available at a very affordable price." NYLX can be found online at http://www.nylx.com.

Homebuyers considering different mortgage products can now use an online mortgage calculator to compare the monthly payments and equity buildup of different loan products, thanks to the Federal Reserve Board."We have created a tool that will allow consumers to look ahead to see how much equity they will build and what their mortgage payments will be three, five, seven, or 10 years down the road with different mortgage products," Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said. The calculator can be used on 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, interest-only fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, interest-only ARMs, and payment-option ARMs. "These comparisons should encourage more consumers to shop around and compare mortgage offers," the Fed governor said. The Mortgage Comparison Calculator is on the Fed's website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/mortcalc/

MortgageHub, a Norcross, Ga.-based provider of technology for the mortgage industry, has released TCL Lite, a version of its TCL (The Construction Lender) construction lending software that is tailored for smaller lenders.TCL Lite uses the same basic functions as the original system, but streamlines it to provide only those functions that smaller lenders require, and allows users to upgrade to the full TCL system with minimal effort, MortgageHub said. "TCL Lite is extremely easy to implement and use but still provides all the controls required for budgeting, cash management, and management information," said Dave Demster, president of MortgageHub's Mortgage Products Division. "Smaller lenders get a cost-effective, yet powerful solution that fits their needs today, while also providing the expandability to accommodate their growth in the future." The company can be found online at http://www.mortgagehub.com.

A new United Kingdom mortgage website is seeking to set itself apart by offering a consumer/borrower focus it says the majority of its competitors lack."Unlike comparison-only and lead generating platforms, FancyAMortgage.co.uk offerings in-depth information on mortgage products with advantages, disadvantages, and product comparisons," the Web-based company said. In addition to mortgage product overviews, the site offers information on individual mortgage lenders and related information on fees, brokers, and services. The site can be found at http://www.fancyamortgage.co.uk.

Portland, Maine-based Quantrix has announced that it is providing a modeling interface for risk-analytics provider Andrew Davidson and Co.The partnership between Quantrix and ADCo will deploy the Quantrix Modeler as the interface for ADCo's new LoanDynamics Mortgage Credit Model to serve fixed-income investors in the mortgage-based securities industry. The model incorporates historical data from approximately eight million loans by 144 issuers over 15 years to analyze borrower behavior and predict mortgage loan dynamics. The Quantrix LoanDynamics Interface enables mortgage credit analysts to analyze loan data, define interest rate and housing price scenarios, and model any combination of loans and scenarios with Quantrix Modeler. According to the announcement, customers receive a turnkey solution that includes ADCo's LoanDynamics Model, Quantrix Modeler licenses, and the Quantrix LoanDynamics Interface. The companies can be found online at http://www.quantrix.com and http://www.ad-co.com.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based LSI, a division of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., has launched ClosingStream 1.1, a Web-based closing solution for mortgage refinance and home equity lending transactions.The ClosingStream 1.1 deployment includes enhanced borrower authentication, borrower security, document delivery, and improved document question-and-answer segments, LSI said. With ClosingStream, LSI controls the entire title and closing process, eliminating the need to coordinate with several third-party providers. At the scheduled closing time, the borrower securely logs on to the ClosingStream website and dials a toll-free number to connect with an LSI closing representative, the company said. Using ClosingStream's online meeting application, the representative thoroughly covers each loan document to ensure that the borrower understands all the details. LSI said recent post-pilot consumer surveys of regular Internet users reported a 97% satisfaction rating when using ClosingStream to close their mortgage transactions. FNIS can be found on the Web at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.