Mortgage technology

Charlotte, NC-based Financial ServiceSolutions LLC, a joint venture founded this year by Bank of America and Fidelity National Financial, has announced an agreement under which Accenture will be the primary sales and marketing channel and the preferred integrator for FSS.The agreement calls for Accenture to acquire an unstipulated "small" equity interest in FSS, which offers mortgage origination and fulfillment outsourcing services and technology to large and mid-tier lenders. Financial ServiceSolutions will become Accenture's exclusive offering for business process outsourcing in the United States. Accenture will also provide FSS with consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. The FSS ProcessPro systems help lenders manage the mortgage application process from application and underwriting to closing and funding, including processing and third-party vendor management.

In a deal touted as giving lender customers greater access to consumers, Charlotte, N.C.-based LendingTree has announced the completion of its acquisition of former competitor GetSmart.com and the GetSmart brand from Providian Financial Corp.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. LendingTree said it will continue to maintain relationships with more than 100 lenders participating in the GetSmart exchange and will offer the GetSmart platform to the more than 200 lenders currently on the LendingTree exchange. LendingTree was acquired in August 2003 by IAC/InterActiveCorp, formerly USA Interactive. LendingTree facilitates loans to consumers, including home mortgage, home equity, automobile, personal, debt consolidation, and credit cards. IAC/InterActiveCorp consists of LendingTree and businesses such as Expedia Inc., Hotels.com, Ticketmaster, and Citysearch, among others. The companies can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com, http://www.getsmart.com, and http://www.providian.com.

Epic Financial Corp., Newport Beach, Calif., and Paramco Financial Group, Denver, have announced an alliance with Datalogic International to develop a proprietary Voice Over Internet Protocol video conferencing system for the mortgage industry.Epic's technology division led the effort, bringing in Paramco as a partner and Datalogic for research-and-development initiatives and to use its VoIP platform to deploy the system, the companies said. Once the video conferencing system is fully developed, Epic and Paramco will deploy it to their mortgage subsidiaries, such as Epic's Key Mortgage Corp. and Paramco's Royal Federal Inc., they said. "VoIP Video Conferencing is something we have envisioned for a number of years, but now with advancements in technology and the help of Datalogic, we can bring this solution to fruition," said Epic president William Parker. Epic can be found online at http://www.4epic.com and Paramco can be found at http://www.paramco.net.

Qvault has announced nationwide support of the Status Sweep collaboration tool for Calyx Point loan origination software that lets Calyx Point users enable their existing Point software for the Web without hardware or software changes.Status Sweep includes online pipeline management, automatic e-mail notifications of loan activity to borrowers and partners, and customized interfaces for staff and borrowers to view loan information and collaborate online from any Web browser. Operating on an application service provider basis, Status Sweep "sweeps" active borrower files on an hourly basis and then securely posts the information on customized websites for management, loan officers, and processors to view critical information. Borrowers also can log into the system and view detailed loan status information.

No Red Tape Mortgage, Sherman Oaks, Calif., has announced the launch of its U-Close automated loan management system, which it says enables brokers to manage and close jumbo loans on the Internet through any loan origination system with two clicks.The system allows the comparison of thousands of jumbo programs and pricing variations, all with interest-only options, and it enables brokers to get pre-approvals and pre-locks in seconds, the company said. Loan packages can be delivered to No Red Tape by mail or by scanning and faxing the entire package into Blitzdocs, with next-day decision guaranteed on loans up to $2 million. Blitzdocs digitizes and archives documents for use and review in a virtual, online folder. No Red Tape said its U-Close processors then organize, deliver, underwrite, audit, archive, and share loan documents using that e-folder. Brokers are able to securely access and view the loan folder and also fax or scan conditions directly into the file in real time. The company can be found online at http://www.noredtape.com.

Beanstalk Networks, West Palm Beach, Fla., has announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Fiserv Lending Solutions, Lake Mary, Fla., to integrate OpenClose MTG (from Beanstalk's mortgage technology division) with Fiserv loan origination and processing software to automate lenders' wholesale operations.The integration will enable the exchange of new application data and the communication of loan status between OpenClose Wholesale MTG and UniFi PRO Mortgage eX. It will also provide for future integration with Fiserv easyLender, Beanstalk said. The agreement supplants a previous Fiserv alliance with the now-defunct OpenClose platform, for which the technology is now licensed by Beanstalk.

In the wake of persistent rumors of an alliance, LION Inc., Seattle, has announced the acquisition of "certain assets" of Freddie Mac subsidiary Ignition Mortgage Technology Solutions.LION said it has acquired Ignition's Loan Finder, Lock Point Xtra, Loan Officer Plus, and Pipeline Tools software products, plus Ignition's rights under certain contracts and accounts receivable. The company said the acquisition will enable it "to expand its product offering and its ability to target both small and large mortgage originators" with a turnkey origination and management solution. The bulk of the assets named were developed by Tuttle and Co. and were folded by Freddie Mac into Ignition after the demise of its HomeAdvisors Technologies initiative with Microsoft. Lockpoint Xtra is the electronic rate-lock technology behind Freddie Mac's Goldcash Xtra.

ARC Systems, Austin, Texas, and Guardian Mortgage Documents, Lakewood, Colo., have joined forces to offer a home equity line-of-credit system that combines lenders' credit criteria with an automated underwriting and document-preparation process.The HELOC Solution Suite is a Web-based application that allows users to enter all the information needed to make a decision on a home equity loan, the companies said. The application, customized to the lender's specifications, offers a Desktop Underwriter file format upload feature. The application service provider system requires no purchase of software or hardware. Only a desktop personal computer with a high-speed Internet connection and a Web browser is needed, ARC and Guardian said. The companies can be found online at http://www.arcsystems.com and http://www.gmdinfo.com.

The mortgage industry has embraced the concept of having websites but has fallen short of actually embracing the Internet, according to Joseph Kennedy, president and chief operating officer of E-Loan Inc., Dublin, Calif.Mr. Kennedy made his comments at Thomson Media's 5th Annual Mortgage EC conference in Las Vegas. During his presentation, he drew parallels to the automotive and travel industries and concluded that the mortgage industry is using the Web more like the former than the latter. Car dealers use the Web as a source of leads, he said, but ignore the real need of their customers: accurate pricing information. The tourist business, in contrast, has changed its methods and given Web visitors the information they need to close the deal. "Our product is information-based," Mr. Kennedy said. "It is absolutely perfect for the Web. Borrowers are embracing the Internet, and eventually so must we as an industry." E-Loan can be found online at http://www.eloan.com.

The technology to create all-electronic mortgages already exists and is currently in use by Countrywide Financial Corp., according to CFC's chief information officer and managing director, Richard Jones.Mr. Jones made his comments to attendees at Thomson Media's 5th Annual Mortgage EC conference in Las Vegas. "The technology to do this has been around for a long time," he said. But he added that two things stand in the way of AE transactions' entrance into the mainstream: customers have been slow to embrace them, and the documents have yet to be tested in a court of law. Countrywide, based in Calabasas, Calif., is building an electronic loan storage facility to store the all-electronic loans it originates and buys from correspondents. Mr. Jones did not speculate on how soon the AE mortgage would become widely accepted. Countrywide can be found on the Web at http://www.countrywide.com.

Electronic mortgages may one day be commonplace, but the industry "will never get totally away from paper," says Gabe Minton, vice president of technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association.Speaking at the MBA's annual Legal Issues in Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami Beach, Fla., Mr. Minton said "paper will always have to be an option," if only because some local jurisdictions will never step completely into the 21st century. He also cited the conservative nature of lenders, many of whom are slow to change, and the desire of some consumers to continue to do things the old-fashioned way. Only about 75 attorneys and information technology professionals are attending the meeting. Nevertheless, the MBA still plans to devote "more and more attention" to the legalities of the emerging e-mortgage sector, according to director Rod Alba. "People working in this arena are either experts in technology or experts in the law," Mr. Alba said. "But very few are experts in both."

Entyre, a document provider based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced that XL Dynamics, Cerritos, Calif., has selected Entyre's eMortgage-X4 mortgage closing documentation system to use with the XL Dynamics MortgageSoft Online end-to-end loan origination system.Earlier this year, Entyre introduced its enterprise-class Web-based eMortgage-X4 product to offer lenders a private-branded, "plug and play" system that easily interfaces with legacy systems. MortgageSoft OnLine integrates loan origination, closing, servicing, secondary marketing, settlement, shipping, and insuring with real-time data access via the Internet. Entyre can be found online at http://www.entyre.com.

Dorado Corp., San Mateo, Calif., has announced a diversification of its Web-based ChannelMaster product offerings to better serve the needs of the underserved, minority, and low-income borrowers nationwide.Dorado said it will help lenders provide bundled affordable housing services through point-of-sale access to real estate settlement packages. Among the ChannelMaster users are Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and The First American Corp. First American is using the new website capabilities to offer discount packages of products for underserved borrowers "previously denied access by traditional scoring systems." It also plans to use ChannelMaster to introduce Californians to new affordable housing bundled products that include a credit report, title insurance, settlement services, flood certification, and home warranty. Meanwhile, Dorado is providing a Spanish-language version of its website that provides point-of-sale access to Countrywide loan officers serving minority and lower-income borrowers.

Nashua, N.H.-based GuideMark has a released a multifeatured Wholesale Mortgage Broker Relationship System that incorporates customer relationship management features to integrate customer interaction with financial transactions.According to the company, the system was developed in collaboration with executives, managers, and producers at wholesale mortgage institutions such as National City Bank. GuideMark said the system yields the following benefits: increased net income, higher loan-to-closing conversion ratios, improved market share with existing brokers, more effective sales calls, and open doors for targeted cross-selling. In the early stages of broker training, the pilot launch with National City produced positive comments from account executives and participating brokers, the company said. GuideMark can be found online at http://www.guidemark.com.

Affinity Technology Group Inc., Columbia, S.C., has announced that Household International Inc. has filed a declaratory judgment action against Affinity's patent licensing subsidiary, decisioning.com, in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del.The Household complaint requests a ruling that Household is not infringing upon any of decisioning.com's patents and that these patents are not valid. An Affinity official said the company is evaluating whether to pursue action in Delaware or to challenge Household's suit. Affinity, through decisioning.com, owns a portfolio of patents that cover the automated processing and establishment of loans, financial accounts, and credit accounts through an applicant-directed remote interface, such as a personal computer or terminal touch screen. In September, Affinity filed a complaint against Ameritrade Holding Corp. alleging that Ameritrade's "Express Application" feature, which allows applicants to open and fund accounts online, infringes on one of the company's patents.

David Aach has been named chief operating officer of Palisades Technology Partners, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a supplier of software and application development services to the mortgage industry.In addition to managing the company's day-to-day operations, Mr. Aach will focus on direct sales and alliance strategies to support the company's continued growth, Palisades said. Mr. Aach has more than 28 years of mortgage technology and sales experience. Before joining Palisades, he served as national sales manager for John Harland Financial Solutions, and strategic account manager for Corillian. Mr. Aach also served as vice president of mortgage systems for Citicorp Mortgage, where he was instrumental in rolling out the first loan origination system to use laser-printed mortgage documents, Palisades said. The company can be found online at http://www.ptpusa.com.

E*Trade Financial Corp., Menlo Park, Calif., has launched Fair Compare, a Web-based mortgage shopping tool that it says allows consumers to objectively and anonymously compare the total package price of any lender's mortgage offer with a similar loan product offered by E*Trade Mortgage.E*Trade said the product was developed in response to anticipated changes in the mortgage interest rate environment, primarily to address two frustrations many consumers encounter when shopping for a mortgage: inability to compare pricing on an "apples-to-apples" basis and difficulty in obtaining a firm, all-inclusive quote that will not change before closing. According to Robert Bernabe, head of E*Trade Financial's retail mortgage lending operation, the tool will help consumers better understand the lending process. "This consultative approach is something that has been missing in the industry for some time," he said. "The consumer should have an offer upfront that is firm and that allows them to know what they are getting into. This helps them go into that with their eyes wide open." E*Trade can be found on the Internet at http://www.etrade.com.

GreenPoint Mortgage, Novato, Calif., a national nonconforming lender, has successfully deployed the Empower! loan origination software offered by Fidelity Business Systems Group, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc. located in Jacksonville, Fla.GreenPoint will use the software in all its origination and delivery channels, the company said. The lender specializes in alternative-A loans and closed more than $33 billion worth of the product in 2002. Fidelity Empower! was deployed to over 2,500 end users at GreenPoint. Additionally, the Empower! loan origination software system has been integrated with GreenPoint's loan servicing platform, which is provided by Fidelity Information Services. The successful conversion involved the migration of 1.17 million loans, representing 407 million rows of database information. Fidelity Empower! can be found on the Internet at http://www.empower.fnis.com.

Close to half of all mortgage broker lending in the United Kingdom -- which represents 19% of total U.K. lending -- is done online, according to a recent study.The study by TowerGroup and Frank Eve Consulting Ltd. shows that "real-time, Web-based technology has become indispensable for lenders to efficiently manage mortgage intermediary (mortgage broker) relationships, and for intermediaries to adapt to new Financial Services Authority regulation." Tower Group can be found online at http://www.towergroup.com.

Online Documents Inc., Concord, Calif., has announced an inter-connection agreement that will enable lenders using its software and services to upload electronic mortgage documents directly to the BCE Emergis electronic lending platform.Online president Joan Ingham said electronic documents meeting the specifications of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization "are immediately available to Online's customers with a simple mouse click from any of our current document solutions.... This cooperative arrangement between Stewart, Online, and BCE Emergis offers lenders a turnkey method to move quickly to the forefront of the paperless mortgage revolution." Online Documents, a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., can be found online at http://www.onlinedocuments.com.