Mortgage technology

Jacksonville, Fla.-based WellFound Decade has merged with Lydian Data Services, Boca Raton, Fla., to form Lydian Technology Group.WellFound Decade is an integration and architecture company that services some of the top mortgage lenders. Lydian Data Services offers end-to-end outsourced systems with a specialty in conduit services and closed-loan review for top mortgage aggregators and Wall Street companies. The marriage of the two companies will allow Lydian Technology Group to "reduce the fragmentation by doing data normalization," William Decker, chairman and chief executive officer of Lydian Data, told MortgageWire. "We've had to normalize the data for our institutional investor clients for some time now. WellFound Decade is a step ahead in their ability to do data extraction. We can now be a receiver of the data, and WellFound Decade can go out and get that data to us." As part of the merger, WellFound Decade's president, Brian Fitzpatrick, and its CEO, Paul Gain, will retain their positions in Lydian Technology. (For more details, see the March 13 issue of National Mortgage News.)

Sun National Bank, Vineland, N.J., has announced the launch of a residential mortgage subsidiary, Sun Home Loans Inc., and its entry into the podcasting arena as a way of educating consumers about the mortgage process.Sun Home Loans will offer traditional and nontraditional mortgages, including two private programs -- SunPromise and SunKeys -- aimed at providing affordable mortgages for low- and moderate-income households. "Given New Jersey's current housing environment, we wanted to give consumers a very focused approach to obtaining a mortgage that best fits their specific needs," said Thomas A. Bracken, president and chief executive officer of Sun National. The bank's specialized subsidiary will make it a "one-stop mortgage resource," he said. Podcasting, which enables consumers to download audio files onto their computers or MP3 players, is "our way of stepping up to the times and giving consumers what they want, when they want it," said Brian G. Myers, president of Sun Home Loans. The bank can be found online at http://www.subnb.com.

LoopNet, an online commercial real estate marketplace, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.The San Francisco-based company said the number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined. LoopNet enables commercial real estate brokers, and other agents, to list properties for sale or lease. In addition, the company provides technology and information services to enable commercial real estate organizations to manage their online listings and property marketing. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.loopnet.com.

The Property Records Industry Association and the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization have announced what they termed a "landmark alliance" that creates a seamless "plug and play" between PRIA and MISMO standards to streamline the property recordation process.PRIA president Mark Monacelli said the alliance marries his organization's recording standard with MISMO's closing standards. MISMO president Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said "systemic changes" in the capital markets increase the need for efficient data interchange. "This alliance with PRIA spans both the commercial and residential industries and will provide both sectors with the framework for the efficient electronic delivery of public property records," Mr. Duncan said. MISMO, which was created by the MBA in 1999, is the standards development body for the real estate finance industry. PRIA and MISMO can be found online at http://www.pria.us and http://www.mismo.org.

At their 2006 Summit in Las Vegas John Bryant, SVP of banking at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, said that banking is one of two growth areas for the company this year, with the mortgage space being the most profitable division within the banking umbrella.In 2005 the WKFS brand was introduced, the company integrated its back-office operations, acquired doc prep vendor Entyre, launched new products such as SMART Doc delivery to Freddie Mac and a bilingual initiative, and adopted a Six Sigma approach. In 2006 Mr. Bryant shared three goals: first, the company intends to continue to invest in its existing brands; second, WKFS plans to increase its mortgage technology portfolio by embarking on several acquisitions and strategic partnerships; and lastly, WKFS will integrate its systems to allow for a more seamless environment to allow for more cross selling opportunities.

Horsham, Pa.-based GMAC Bank's wholesale lending unit launched a Web application called Get Scenario, available to its broker and correspondent customers, which enables users to enter loan level data attributes and almost instantly receive a list of eligible products for sale through GMAC Bank.Get Scenario was also designed for enhanced ease and efficiency in the loan registration process. First, GMAC Bank correspondents and brokers login to http://www.gmacbankwholesale.com. Second, users enter a few pieces of their customer's loan information, and a requested final rate or final price. From there, the Get Scenario application will provide a list of eligible products, which users can click on to get more information. Users then click on the price and are provided detailed pricing and loan attribute detail. Further, if GMAC Bank customers are not sure if the recommended product is the best option for their borrowers, they can alter the data and view another potential set of products. Lastly, when users find the product for their borrower they are most satisfied with, they can register and lock the loan directly from the application.

Interthinx, a provider of fraud prevention and decision support tools for the mortgage industry based in Calabasas, Calif., has integrated its fraud prevention systems with VueCentric’s loan origination system, Mortgage Dashboard.This partnership enables VueCentric to offer customers a seamless integration with Interthinx for automatic screening for potential fraudulent activity. Specifically, VueCentric integrated Interthinx’s DISSCO product, an electronic fraud prevention tool. Also, the interface includes Interthinx’s PredProtect, an anti-predatory solution that scores loan data elements against all predatory lending laws currently in effect, and HCLSM, a Web-based tool that scores loans in real time for federal, state and local conditions to identify high cost. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.interthinx.com and http://www.vuecentric.com.

Sacramento-based CoreLogic has adapted its HistoryPro application to help speed up insurance claims posted by victims of Katrina and Rita.In recent months, Gulf Coast homeowners have filed some 239,000 flood insurance claims from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the estimated $23 billion that is to be paid through the National Flood Insurance Program greatly exceeds its yearly premium collections of $2 billion. Faced with this situation, mortgage lenders needed a unified approach to gathering data to access their loan reserves and respond to the Housing Policy Council’s need for data. In response, CoreLogic, a provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention solutions, has developed a program that analyzes the appropriate data and displays it visually utilizing geographic information systems. Lenders provide property address information for potentially impacted properties, which is then run through CoreLogic’s HistoryPro collateral evaluation tool. The data stream is geographically coded from there to create an exact location on a map and overlay any known boundary condition such as FEMA disaster zones, flood levels, storm surge, etc. and is returned by CoreLogic to the lender and the HPC. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.corelogic.com.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has released its first data standard for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry.The release of version 1.0 of the Commercial Servicing Transfer Standard is the first of many planned for the industry, MISMO said. It was chosen to be MISMO's first commercial standard "because it answers the industry's need for a standardized way to move large amounts of data and improve what is currently a labor-intensive process," the organization said. MISMO said its data standards will ultimately "reduce costs, streamline processes, improve accuracy, increase data transparency, and boost investor confidence in mortgages as an asset class." MISMO can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Fannie Mae and Thomson TradeWeb, a fixed-income trading network based in Orlando, Fla., have announced the introduction of technology that will enable institutional investors to directly access and trade Fannie Mae's Discount Notes online through authorized dealers.Robert Dolecki, director of short-term funding at Fannie Mae, said the move offers investors a "significantly easier" way to view and trade the government-sponsored enterprise's Discount Notes. "Additionally, the technology will increase the liquidity and transparency of our short-term securities," Mr. Dolecki said. The companies can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com and http://www.tradeweb.com.

Arlington Capital Mortgage Corp., Bensalem, Pa., has picked Archive Systems' ASPEN 360 Software-as-a-Service system to create a central repository to give its branches online access to loan documents.The SaaS system means Arlington will require no software, hardware, or infrastructure to use the system. Arlington Capital personnel will scan and upload loan documents via ASPEN 360's Scanning Gateway technology. Arlington will also use the system to provide direct access to investors looking to purchase loans. Fairfield, N.J.-based Archive Systems provides DPO (document process outsourcing) services. The companies can be found online at http://www.thinkarlington.com/ac and http://www.archivesystems.com.

ANTs Software Inc., Burlingame, Calif., has announced the launch of the SFG Bancorp system, which offers to reduce a one- to three-day loan application process to a single 22-minute phone call.SFG, a real estate brokerage and direct mortgage lender based in Pleasanton, Calif., has adopted the ANTs data server to create an integrated mortgage lending system the company touts as slashing the total cost of ownership by 90% compared with that of competing systems. The ANTs Data Server 3.4 serves as the central repository for all customer data. ANTs partnered with sfaFinity Inc., San Jose, Calif., to integrate its customer relationship management capabilities with the ANTs Data Server. SFG Bancorp's resulting SWEEP system is projected to support 1,200 simultaneous users (local or remote via the Internet) and 90 million database records by the end of 2006. The companies can be found online at http://www.ants.com, http://www.sfgbancorp.com/content.aspx, and http://www.sfafinity.com.

Valuation technology company eAppraiseIT LLC, Poway, Calif., has announced the acquisition of Network Appraisal Services, Kalamazoo, Mich.The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. NAS manages appraiser networks for national and regional lenders and develops online systems that help them comply with regulations by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to prevent directed appraisals. NAS executives will remain with the company, which will retain its name and operate as an independent subsidiary of eAppraiseIT, the company said. "NAS expands the range of services that we are able to deliver to the lending community," said Anthony Merlo, president of eAppraiseIT. "It allows us to better serve retail-focused lenders who maintain their own network of appraisers, and it will also help our other clients implement safeguards that help remove bias from the appraiser selection process." The company can be found on the Internet at http://www.eappraiseit.com.

Flagstar Bank, Troy, Mich., has announced the integration of its Digital Document Transfer platform with BeesPath Inc.'s RecordsDirect to create what it calls the first system to extend image delivery services to closing agents in the mortgage industry.The two products work together to provide "virtually immediate delivery and processing" of closed loan documents and to enable closing agents to share the benefits enjoyed by lenders and investors, Flagstar said. "Today, unsigned loan documents are being delivered electronically to closing agent before a loan closes," said Todd Hougaard, president of Richmond, Utah-based BeesPath. "This integration allows signed documents to be delivered electronically post-closing." The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.flagstar.com and http://www.beespath.com.

Joseph McCartin, chief information officer at National City, recently told a crowd at the 9th Annual SourceMedia Technology Conference that his institution is implementing technology so that live people only have to touch a loan in exceptional cases.The goal is to eliminate redundant tasks and develop a system that electronically processes a loan without human intervention unless a problem arises. The goal is to make loan officers experts in mortgage lending instead of just paper pushers. The answer, according to Mr. McCartin, is for the lender to isolate each part of the lending process as a service that can be called up automatically with a business rule. Implementing service-oriented architecture was a big trend at the Miami Beach conference, and was identified by all the lender speakers as the future of mortgage technology and a high priority at their lending institutions.

GMAC Commercial Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., is touting its strategy to use technology as an enabler for outsourcing at the 9th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami Beach, Fla.Galen Hain, vice president of software development at GMACCM, noted that outsourcing goes by several names and is a politically charged topic. Nevertheless, outsourcing is a necessity, he said. GMACCM has avoided huge layoffs by using technology to create a model that upper management owns and manages. The lender has repositioned staff into other areas of the business, transitioning its technology coders to technology architects, for example. Mr. Hain said these employees are now more important to GMACCM, given their expertise in creating a service-oriented platform to make outsourcing more seamless for the lender.

NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online bank, has reported a mortgage-related net loss of $180,000 ($0.00 per share) for 2005, compared with net income of $4.2 million ($0.09 per share) in 2004, although the company did record a profitable fourth quarter.Net income for the fourth quarter totaled $895,000 ($0.02 per share), compared with a net loss of $17.7 million ($0.38 per share) a year earlier, NetBank reported. The production of conforming mortgages totaled $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter, a decline of 14.7% from that of the third quarter, and the production of nonconforming mortgages totaled $807 million, a decline of 8.6%, the company reported. "As we had reported throughout the year, our mortgage operations were under pressure due to a highly competitive pricing environment," said Douglas K. Freeman, NetBank's chairman and chief executive officer. "This pressure, although not surprising, was simply more irrational than anticipated, particularly within the nonconforming business where our revenue margins dropped an average of 64 basis points during the year. Our mortgage operations went from a positive pretax contribution of $21.1 million a year ago to a pretax loss of $17.7 million this year." The company can be found online at http://www.netbank.com.

"What's out there that we can buy right now?" was the question Freddie Mac's Ed Albrigo threw out to attendees in his keynote address opening the 9th Annual Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami.Mr. Albrigo, vice president in charge of Freddie Mac's enterprise planning office, said the government-sponsored enterprise was prepared to purchase out-of-the-box technology solutions that minimize needed customization. He said Freddie Mac, like the mortgage lenders it serves, needs to come quickly to market with new products at a time when the capital markets are awash in funds. That means, he said, that Freddie Mac no longer has the luxury of involving itself in lengthy projects requiring a high degree of customization. He said the mortgage industry as a whole is governed today by three realities: consolidation, fierce competition, and compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory pressures. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

David Barkley of Freddie Mac has been re-elected to chair the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, and Adam Hall of IndyMac Bank and Lisa Bolelli of First American Real Estate Information Services have been re-elected vice-chairs.The committee also elected Chip Register of NetBank Inc. to membership on the panel, and re-elected the following members: Dave Bodi of Midland Loan Services, Joanne Denver of Babson Capital Management, Paul Wills of Equifax Information Services, Todd Luhtanen of Dynatek, Craig Foote of Fidelity Information Services, and Tim Anderson of Dexma. The Governance Committee consists of 20 MISMO subscriber organizations that serve two-year terms, with half the seats up for election each year. MISMO, which was established by the Mortgage Bankers Association, develops electronic commerce standards for the mortgage industry. Its Governance Committee provides oversight for the organization's administration and policy development. The organization can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Minneapolis-based Prime Alliance Solutions Inc., a partnership between technology vendor Dexma and Boeing Employees' Credit Union, has reported handling over 140,000 loans (about $25 billion in loan volume) last year, a 34% increase from the previous year's level.The Prime Alliance technology system now extends to more than 1,300 credit unions that are part of the Prime Alliance consortium. According to the Fannie Mae Mortgage Focus 2005 study, the average cost per closed loan among low-cost/high-productivity credit unions within Prime Alliance stood at $469 -- nearly one-third the average origination cost ($1,206) in other retail credit unions and less than one-fifth of the average cost ($2,703) in the typical retail lender. Dexma can be found on the Web at http://www.dexma.com.