Mortgage technology

Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae has launched Encompass Banker Edition, a version of its Encompass Mortgage Automation System designed specifically for mortgage bankers.Encompass Banker Edition incorporates both front-end customer relationship management and loan processing capabilities along with the back-end loan fulfillment functionalities required by small to midsize correspondent mortgage lenders, mortgage bankers, community bankers, and credit unions. The new product leverages the customer relationship management, loan origination, loan processing, electronic document management, business intelligence, and integrated settlement services network capabilities of Encompass Professional edition, Ellie Mae said. To meet the back-end needs of mortgage bankers and lenders, Encompass Banker Edition incorporates an integrated loan fulfillment solution that includes underwriting, closing, funding, secondary marketing, and shipping. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

To further solidify its position in mortgage technology, IBM has announced an agreement to acquire New Jersey-based Palisades Technology Partners, a privately held provider of services and technology to the mortgage lending industry.The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of the year. PTP provides strategic consulting, systems integration, and a comprehensive Web-based multichannel lending platform. The firm's clients include five of the world's top 10 lenders. IBM said the acquisition leverages PTP's place as an established provider of mortgage lending solutions, its industry expertise, and its process know-how to enhance IBM's ability to provide "transformational solutions" for the finance and banking industries. Based on a service-oriented architecture, PTP's Impact Lending Suite operates on an open architecture that offers lenders the flexibility to embed their own business policies and existing technology within a standard processing platform, IBM said. The companies can be found online at http://www.ibm.com and http://www.ptpusa.com.

Del Mar Database, a unit of Fiserv Inc., has announced the introduction of SourceTrac, a customizable consumer-direct lending portal that allows lenders to provide better customer service to borrowers and improve lead generation capabilities.SourceTrac is integrated with DataTrac, Del Mar's flagship product, the company announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Chicago. The company said SourceTrac enables small to medium-size lenders to compete for business against larger, more technologically sophisticated lenders. The portal can be used for online mortgage loan applications and for communicating with borrowers during the loan process. The company can be found online at http://www.delmardb.com.

Fidelity National Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla., introduced its new PropertyTaxDirect online service Oct. 23 at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Chicago.Eric Swenson, president of Fidelity National's mortgage outsourcing and information services division, said the new product is available to the escrow officer at the point of sale. The closer can get an instantaneous quote guaranteeing the customer receives correct tax district data at closing. This makes for a happy borrower, and that leads to repeat business, Mr. Swenson said. In a statement, FNIS tax services president Bill McCreary said tax service data previously had to be obtained manually. With the new system, information such as "the number of 'escrow months to collect' based on servicing requirements" can be obtained, he said. The information then flows seamlessly into the servicing system. PropertyTaxDirect is in an XML format and can integrate with any stand-alone loan origination system, Fidelity said. FNIS can be found online at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

Experian Group Ltd., Costa Mesa, Calif., has brought its Hunter fraud detection product to the United States, the company announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Chicago.The product has been available in the United Kingdom for the past 10 years. It was originally developed to combat mortgage fraud, but has expanded to other credit applications as well, KC Akerman, senior product manager of Experian Fraud Solutions, told MortgageWire. It has not been introduced in the United States until now because Experian redesigned it from a client-based application, and it is now available as a hosted application. Its primary use is to catch application fraud in the prefunding stage by looking for red flags using a customized rules engine. It can use both shared and third-party data that the user has access to, Ms. Akerman said. In the U.K., she noted, users of Hunter share data findings with each other as part of their fraud prevention efforts.

AllRegs, an online publisher of reference information for the residential mortgage lending industry, has launched AllRegs Academy, an education division that will offer classroom and Web-based courses, audio conferences, and MortgageMentor practical guides.Companies can purchase an annual site subscription to the program except for classroom courses, for which students register individually, the Eaton, Minn.-based company said. AllRegs Academy's offerings include: classroom courses featuring expert instruction, peer interaction, and the use of AllRegs regulatory analyses; distance learning, offering self-study and instructor-led online courses beginning in winter 2007; audio conferences consisting of a 90-minute conference call led by industry experts; and MortgageMentor, searchable online how-to guides on a given topic with direct links to the regulations. The company can be found online at http://www.allregs.com.

TeraVendo, Bellevue, Wash., has announced that its LoanAce LOS software has reached the 1,000-user mark among mortgage originators, less than three months after LoanAce debuted Aug. 1.LoanAce, which leverages the Microsoft .NET development environment, is offered free to users. The revenue model is based on transactions with its loan fulfillment partners. TeraVendo said it has revamped its LoanAce support division by increasing information technology and customer-support staff. The system currently features one-click title ordering and integrated leads. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.teravendo.com.

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack has announced itself the first company to support seamless electronic loan delivery to EMC Mortgage Corp., Lewisville, Texas.With a single click, correspondent lenders can now use the VirPack Direct application to make single and multiple loan deliveries to EMC for underwriting, flow and bulk deliveries, and transmission of trailing documents, according to VirPack. First Guaranty Mortgage Corp., McLean, Va., the first mutual client to perform delivery, pronounced itself "thrilled" with the results. First Guaranty was quoted in the announcement as being "on track to save in excess of $1.5 million in the first year using VirPack." VirPack, which can be installed and in production in as little as four days, boasts savings in excess of $120 per loan for its users. It can be found online at http://www.virpack.com, and EMC can be found at http://www.emcmortgage.com.

Conshohocken, Pa.-based MortgageHub, a mortgage industry Web services platform provider, has hired David Demster as president of its Mortgage Products Division and Mike Whitson as senior partner in its Services Division.Mr. Demster is charged with overseeing and managing the company's mortgage technology products, including its Web-based wholesale, correspondent, and retail lending systems; its product, pricing, and decisioning engines; and its warehouse lending system. Before joining MortgageHub, Mr. Demster served as vice president of the Mortgage Business Unit of Fair Isaac Corp., where he directed all business operations. Mr. Whitson will focus on managing and developing the company's service offerings, with a focus on strategy consulting and contracting services for the mortgage industry. MortgageHub can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagehub.com.

A nationwide class-action lawsuit has been filed against LendingTree LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Home Loan Center Inc., alleging that they have engaged in unfair business practices and false advertising.The suit, filed by the law firm of Teuton, Loewy & Parker LLP in Orange County Superior Court, notes that LendingTree's slogan is: "When banks compete, you win." With this slogan, LendingTree styles itself as an online lending exchange that connects borrowers to a network of lenders that allegedly "compete" for the borrowers' business, the suit says. However, the suit alleges that in thousands of cases there is no such competition and that LendingTree uses its website and false advertising to generate leads for its wholly owned direct-lending division. The lawsuit further alleges that LendingTree secretly diverts many LendingTree.com leads to its subsidiary, where unsuspecting borrowers are sold loans at inflated prices based on the materially false representation that "competition" has occurred among lenders. Rebecca Anderson, a spokeswoman for Lending Tree, said the suit arose out of the termination of a "disgruntled LendingTree employee who was let go after working with the company for nine months."

LeadPoint, an online leads exchange marketplace with offices in Los Angeles and London, has obtained $2 million in series C financing from the European Founders Fund, a venture investment company.LeadPoint said it will use the funding to drive growth in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. "We believe LeadPoint could be the next Ebay or Google in the B2B Internet space," said Oliver Samwer, principal of the European Founders Fund. "What is revolutionary about LeadPoint is that it brings an auction-style model to the lead generation business. Buyers can bid for the specific types of leads they are looking for and lead sellers can reach the broadest possible range of pre-screened buyers in one location, making the entire lead-gen value chain more efficient and profitable for all parties involved." Founded in 2004, LeadPoint is the world's largest online leads exchange marketplace, according to the company, and has traded over 900,000 leads in 2006. It be found online at http://www.leadpoint.com.

The U.S. Rural Housing Service is in the last stages of perfecting an automated underwriting system that should be available to all lenders in January 2007.The guaranteed underwriting system can provide approvals on RHS-guaranteed single-family loans in 30 seconds, according to RHS Administrator Russell Davis. After a lender submits the application data, GUS pulls a credit report and runs it through the scorecard. GUS also has unique features to make sure borrowers meet RHS income limits and the property is located in a rural area. GUS uses geographic information system mapping software to pinpoint the location of the property. Since Aug. 1, eight lenders have originated 133 RHS loans using GUS, and more lenders are being added to the pilot program. "GUS is a premier, high-quality system," Mr. Davis said. "It will be much easier for borrowers to shop, and we believe we have a very attractive product."

Greystone Residential Funding Inc., a mortgage banking company based in Middleton, Wis., has announced an alliance with PCLender.com, a Honolulu-based mortgage technology provider, aimed at assisting credit unions and community banks.Greystone said PCLender's loan origination system is "distinctive, well-defined, and easy to use" and its application service provider system offers financial institutions "a practical alternative" to buying and implementing technology systems themselves. "Through this alliance, we will be able to provide a streamlined front-to-back technology solution with seamless third-party vendor integration," said Dan Rotert, Greystone's president and chief executive officer. The companies can be found online at http://www.greystonerf.com and http://www.pclender.com.

Chase has selected Fidelity National Information Services Inc.'s Mortgage Servicing Package to replace and upgrade multiple legacy software platforms for servicing its $600 billion portfolio.Chase services its own loan portfolio and provides servicing for third-party loans. FNIS said Chase will replace and upgrade the systems over the next two years to streamline business processes and provide faster rollout and better support for new products. The updated system is expected to reduce costs, handle larger volumes, and improve disaster recovery capability. A leading mortgage lender, Chase originated $128 billion in mortgage loans and $54 billion in home equity lines and loans in 2005. It also purchases servicing rights to mortgage portfolios. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FNIS said its Mortgage Servicing Package automates all areas of mortgage servicing, including loan setup and maintenance, cashiering, escrow administration, investor accounting, and regulatory reporting. FNIS can be found online at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

A new website designed to allow consumers to shop for mortgage loans anonymously and to chat live with more than 100 mortgage companies has been unveiled by LAL Enterprises Inc., Hermosa Beach, Calif.The website, LoanAgentsLive.com, is described as a chat-based "mortgage shopping mall" that enables a visitor to select a state, get a list of mortgage lenders, and view a link next to each company's display ad that shows whether a loan officer at the brokerage is available for a live chat. LAL Enterprises said preliminary results from a beta test indicate that consumers are four times more likely to initiate a chat with a mortgage consultant than to fill out an online application. To ensure the safety of visitors, all chats are conducted over a secure server, and LoanAgentsLive.com conducts background checks and personal interviews with all listed brokerage firms "to exclude those with a history of predatory lending," the company said. The website can be found online at http://www.loanagentslive.com.

Inland Real Estate Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Oak Brook, Ill., has been added to the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index.The company is also a constituent of the S&P REIT Composite Index. Inland can be found on the Web at http://www.inlandrealestate.com.

Stewart Information Services Corp., Houston, has announced the formation of Stewart Lender Services as a re-branded operating division.Kevin Gugenheim, who previously served as president and chief operating officer of Stewart Mortgage Information, has been named president of the new division. Stewart Lender Services will use electronic order entry and vendor management technology platforms such as RealEC, which will be integrated with Stewart's fully deployed technology applications, including the AIM title production system, SureClose online transaction management, and the PropertyInfo.com real estate information Web portal. "Our new name more aptly describes our comprehensive suite of products and services that we provide to our mortgage lender customers and our attitude of service that drives every member of our team," Mr. Gugenheim said. The new division can be found online at http://www.stewartlenderservices.com.

Cincinnati-based eLynx Ltd., a provider of secure Web services, has announced the acquisition of SwiftView Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based technology provider that helps companies capture, view, deliver, and print electronic documents.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. American Capital Strategies Ltd., whose portfolio includes eLynx and more than 180 other companies in a wide range of industries, will provide equity and debt financing for the transaction. The combined companies will offer a comprehensive range of services, including electronic and paper fulfillment, electronic disclosures, electronic signatures, electronic loan folders, and investor delivery, eLynx said. "The eLynx and SwiftView organizations are highly complementary to one another," said Phil Huff, president and chief executive officer of eLynx. "These synergies will enable us to rapidly advance e-business innovation and set the standard across financial services and a broad range of industries." The companies can be found online at http://www.elynx.com and http://www.swiftview.com.

MRG Document Technologies, Dallas, has announced a partnership with ProLender Solutions Inc., a San Diego-based software provider to the mortgage industry, aimed at streamlining the loan closing process.The alliance links ProLender, ProLender's loan origination system, with MRG's Miracle DocPrep platform and fully automates the ordering of loan closing documents, according to MRG. "The interface developed by ProLender is a comprehensive 'push-button' system that compiles loan data and directly links to the MRG server, which yields a faster closing process," MRG said. The companies can be found online at http://www.mrgdocs.com and http://www.prolender.com.

Homecomings Financial, a Minneapolis-based wholesale funding lender, says its mortgage brokers are now one step closer to a completely paperless mortgage process with the adoption of new Advectis BlitzDocs technology.Homecomings has selected BlitzDocs as its Web-based imaging system, which is now supporting more than 60% of the wholesaler's loan applications. BlitzDocs offers a secure collaborative electronic loan folder that is accessible simultaneously by the broker, underwriter, and account executive, Homecomings said. With each new application, the broker creates a loan folder, uploads, scans, or faxes in the documents, and submits the file to the branch for underwriting. The branch underwrites the loan and requests any additional conditions from the broker. When the broker submits new documents, the underwriting staff is automatically notified, eliminating delays and miscommunication in tracking down missing conditions, the company said. Homecomings Financial can be found on the Web at http://www.hfwholesale.com.