Mortgage technology

Minneapolis-based GMAC Residential Funding Corp. has announced the redesign of its Internet portal based on feedback from its customers.Dan Bettenburg, RFC's executive vice president of e-commerce, said in an interview with MortgageWire that 80% of RFC's customers use at least one of the tools in the portal. With the updated site, lenders that sell to RFC will be able to access loan performance data. This provides a good basis for RFC and the lender to discuss opportunities to increase business and where the challenges are as well, Mr. Bettenburg said. With lenders looking to broaden their product menu as interest rates rise, using this technology helps to mitigate the risk of getting into new products, he said. The announcement was made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. The RFC website can be found at http://www.gmacresidentialfunding.com.

Austin, Texas-based ARC Systems has signed a contract with Franklin Financial Group through its Franklin Direct division in Scottsdale, Ariz., to develop an automated underwriting application customized to the lender's diverse nonconforming product line.ARC said it will create the software for the division, which will operate west of the Mississippi in 2004, with expansion east of the river in 2005. Eventually, this contract will see all of the lender's products underwritten by the software ARC develops. The announcement was made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. ARC Systems can be found online at http://www.arcsystems.com.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Wausau Mortgage Corp. has implemented the Web Posting Service provided by eLynx Ltd., Cincinnati, to allow for electronic delivery of residential mortgage documents.The lender had previously used eLynx's Desktop Connect product but has upgraded to the firm's Enterprise Connect offering, which will allow for document packages to be sent automatically without human intervention. Wausau Mortgage originates about $150 million in residential mortgages each month. The announcement was made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. The companies can be found online at http://www.wausaumortgage.com and http://www.elynx.com.

Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group, Columbia, S.C., is implementing automated underwriting software developed by Commerce Velocity, Irvine, Calif.Commerce Velocity's Underwriter evaluates risks based on loan application data and underwrites loans using lender-determined rules. The tool also serves as a product engine, matching borrowers to suitable loan products within seconds. The initial implementation of the software will serve to automate the underwriting of RBMG's alternative-A loans and is expected to be completed by the end of November. The announcement was made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. Commerce Velocity can be found on the Internet at http://www.cvelocity.com. RBMG is a subsidiary of NetBank Inc., which can be found at http://www.netbank.com.

Del Mar Database, San Diego, has released the newest version of its WebTrac offering, which offers remote access to its flagship software DataTrac.The new version of WebTrac increases the amount and type of loan information that can be shared electronically and expands the types of devices that can be used to access that information to include Web-enabled cell phones and personal digital assistants. The company says this expansion into mobile technology is the first step in a process to re-engineer the application program interfaces the company provides for external systems to tap in to the DataTrac software. The announcement was made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. The company's website address is http://www.delmardb.com.

Veros Software, Irvine, Calif., has announced the introduction of a new fraud detection scoring tool, the VeroValue Transaction Quality Score.The TQ Score is a numeric indicator used for detecting nonstandard residential property transfers in order to determine the likelihood of "flipping," fraud, or other suspicious activity, Veros said. "The TQ Score was built with our customers and automated decisioning in mind, on a 1-to-100 scale allowing immediate recognition of potential collateral fraud," said Darius Bozorgi, president and chief executive officer of Veros. The company said the score, in conjunction with Veros' proprietary analytics, "goes far beyond the common approach" of counting and flagging property ownership transfers by "dynamically" analyzing details such as area and regional price trends, value differentials, and irregular transfer conditions. Veros can be found online at http://www.verovalue.com.

The LoanQuest Residential Lending System provided by MortgageFlex Systems Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has been successfully interfaced to Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector online tools. LoanQuest is reportedly the first loan origination system to complete this interface."MortgageFlex is always one of the first companies to step forward when we need vendor adoption of new products and services, and the company is very familiar with Freddie Mac and our technology," said Patricia McClung, Freddie's vice president for Loan Prospector. The interface allows users to more seamlessly access Loan Prospector tools through the LOS. MortgageFlex also announced that Alliance Capital Partners, a privately held mortgage banking firm based in Jacksonville, Fla., has chosen LoanQuest RLS for originating, underwriting, closing, and delivering loans. LoanQuest RLS boasts user-defined menus, built-in security, and a field-edit capability, allowing the system to be tailored to specific user groups and security levels, the company said. The announcements were made at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgageflex.com and http://www.freddiemac.com.

Entyre, Ann Arbor, Mich., a nationwide provider of Web-based mortgage closing documents, has formed a strategic partnership with Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Digital Dialogue, a provider of automated Internet lending and call center systems to credit unions.Through this partnership, loan data approved through Digital Dialogue's online credit-decisioning tool can be imported directly into Entyre's eMortgage-X4 closing documents system so that closing packages can be created. The companies can be found online at http://www.entyre.com and http://www.digital-dialogue.com.

San Mateo, Calif.-based Dorado has just announced a flurry of new partners, clients and product enhancements at the MBA convention in San Diego, all underlining its claim to pre-eminence in providing Web services to the mortgage industry.The new clients announced by Dorado were Commercial Federal Bank and Northern Lights Mortgage. Greenpoint Mortgage, already a Dorado customer, signed on to use Dorado's Web services platform. The most timely of the announcements was Dorado's new partnership with Docutech to enable Northern Lights to order good-faith estimates, Truth-in-Lending disclosures, and other initial documents through a Web service via Dorado's ChannelMaster and Docutech's ConformX to create either traditional or SMART docs compliant with standards set by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. Dorado's .MOR Web Services platform also offers ConformX as a stand-alone Web service that can be integrated directly into any configuration of existing legacy systems. Dorado's website address is http://www.dorado.com. Docutech can be found at http://www.dtdocs.com.

Data Warehouse Corp. has announced a partnership with ABN Amro to create a lead-generation website for approved brokers of InterFirst Wholesale Lending.Data Warehouse unveiled the website at the annual MBA convention in San Diego, billing it as the first of its kind offered to wholesale lenders. The site provides InterFirst brokers with a direct marketing resource center that enables them to analyze campaign profitability and improve pull-through rates as well as generate leads, Data Warehouse said. The website offers direct marketing lead generation services for all channels, including direct mail, teleservices, and database marketing, and complies with current telemarketing and Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations. InterFirst said the service will be especially useful to brokers in helping them weather current changes in the mortgage market. Data Warehouse can be found on the Web at http://www.dwcsolutions.com.

Decade Systems Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., is offering its TEDI data integration technology system to the commercial mortgage industry, taking advantage of the industry's progress in developing data standards through the Mortgage Industry Standard Maintenance Organization.The MISMO standards provide specifications for the transfer of data between all sectors of the residential and commercial mortgage industry, using Extensible Markup Language. Decade, a systems integration company, said it expects to use the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's MISMO standards to provide better business connectivity for commercial mortgage lenders and their software vendors, the company said at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. "The commercial mortgage industry is beginning to embrace a networked business model, where information transparency and data consistency are keys to confidence for trading partners and investors alike," said Daniel Szparaga, director of the MBA's commercial/multifamily business group. "By taking advantage of aspects of residential technology innovation and modifying them to meet commercial needs, commercial mortgage professionals can leverage technology through MISMO to rapidly develop connectivity between partners -- producing a seamless fit."

Dynatek Inc., Livonia, Mich., will integrate customer identification and reporting capabilities from VMP Fraud Management Solutions into its loan origination system, MORvision.A product of VMP Mortgage Solutions, St. Cloud, Minn., a Bankers Systems company, VMP Fraud Management Solutions are provided through Bankers Systems' Patriot Act Connection and are designed to help mortgage lending institutions prevent fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing while complying with the expanded due-diligence requirements of the USA Patriot Act. The integration will be made possible using Dynatek's Plug-In technology, which provides for a seamless interface from MORvision to the PAC. The PAC links directly to a suite of identity verification tools such as IDFlag for Mortgage, which enables lenders to verify consumer and business application information through a quick and easy-to-use process. VMP's electronic lending documents were previously integrated into MORvision. The announcement was made at the MBA convention in San Diego. The companies can be found online at http://www.dynatek.com and http://www.vmpforms.com.

Fiserv Lending Solutions, Lake Mary, Fla., a business unit of Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc., has released its UniFi PRO Mortgage eX loan origination system, a solution for managing loan origination, processing, and closing across the enterprise aimed at larger, multichannel lenders.The platform is built around Fiserv's Enterprise Intelligence Automation concept, designed to help lenders collect better data and make better lending decisions. Billed as a comprehensive "integration conduit," UniFi PRO Mortgage eX accepts loan data from a wide range of loan origination channels, supports multiple deployment methods, and can be interfaced with other business systems. According to the company, the new LOS can automate virtually any business process with its rules-based decisioning and task engine. The release was announced at the MBA convention in San Diego. Fiserv's website address is http://www.fiserv.com.

Dexma Inc., Minneapolis, has launched Home Equity Advantage, a Web-based platform designed to reduce the cost of originating home equity loans and lines of credit by 30% to 50%.The tool, unveiled at the MBA convention in San Diego, is a highly configurable platform built around the lender's own brand, products, pricing and underwriting guidelines. The streamlined application captures only the information needed to suggest a home equity or HELOC product to the homeowner. Credit and an AVM are ordered electronically in real-time. The entire process, from logging on to a loan decision, takes less than five minutes, the company said. The platform can be rapidly deployed as an add-on to Dexma's products or it can be attached to another platform. Dexma's website address is http://www.dexma.com.

TransUnion, Chicago, has acquired Huntsville, Ala.-based Banton Technologies, which it will now integrate into TransUnion Settlement Solutions Inc., Wilmington, Del., the company announced at the 90th annual MBA Convention & Expo in San Diego.TransUnion did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, but said that it now owns 100% of the automated valuation developer and all its employees are now employees of TransUnion. The acquisition adds Banton's ValueWizard AVM, a proprietary technology for determining the value of residential properties nationwide, and ValueWizard Interactive, a desktop solution that offers analyst or appraiser support to enhance valuation accuracy, to TransUnion's residential lending process systems. TransUnion Settlement Solutions already acts as a reseller for a number of automated valuation models, and those relationships are not expected to change. TransUnion Settlement Solutions can be found on the Internet at http://transunionssi.com.

Fidelity Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla., has announced that it will spend millions over the next few years to re-architect the core servicing system it purchased from Alltel earlier this year.Fidelity says it purchased the system with the understanding that it would "make it more powerful for our customers." A main precept of this re-architected servicing system will be to put the majority of the servicing functionality in the core system and eliminate the need for add-on workflow products, the company said. Fidelity, which currently services 46% of the outstanding mortgage loans in the United States, recently invested more than $16 million in state-of-the-art infrastructure as a first step in this process. Beginning in 2004, Fidelity plans to roll out the re-architected system in phases, with deliverables every several months. The first rollout will include enhanced data services capability. FIS can be found on the Web at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

ServiceMagic, a Golden, Colo.-based online marketplace for homeowners, has announced the launch of ServiceMagic Lending and a joint venture with Cornerstone Mortgage to bring the new service to its website visitors.ServiceMagic Lending, which will link consumers to prescreened lenders, will enable banks and mortgage brokers to take advantage of "the inherent efficiencies" of ServiceMagic's Web-based marketing platform, the company said. "Currently, over a million homeowners per year request home improvement and real estate services valued in excess of $3 billion via ServiceMagic," said Rodney Rice, a co-founder ServiceMagic. "The addition of lending services was the next step in our efforts to provide consumers a comprehensive solution for purchasing, financing, and improving their homes." The company said Cornerstone, a wholly owned subsidiary of First National Bank of Omaha, has more than three million website visitors a month. ServiceMagic can be found online at http://www.servicemagic.com.

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., and Providian Financial Corp., San Francisco, have announced that LendingTree has agreed to acquire from Providian the brand name and certain assets of GetSmart.com, which offers mortgage, home equity, and other consumer loans.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lending Tree said it expects to maintain the relationships with the more than 100 lenders who participate in the GetSmart network, and to offer the GetSmart platform to the more than 200 lenders on the LendingTree exchange. Doug Lebda, the founder and chief executive officer of LendingTree, said the acquisition "fits with LendingTree's core business strategy of connecting consumers with lenders and Realtors." Warren Wilcox, Providian's vice chairman of marketing and strategic planning, said GetSmart is a brand that "on a stand-alone basis, is a nonstrategic asset for Providian." The companies can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com, http://www.providian.com, and http://www.getsmart.com.

Netupdate Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has formed an alliance with the School of Mortgage Lending, also of Bellevue, under which Netupdate's point-of-sale technology will be paired with the school's training materials to offer comparisons of loan products as part of the curriculum.The combined product is designed to provide an information management resource for loan officers who, the School of Mortgage Lending contends, have become more like financial advisers than loan consultants. "By including technology in the curriculum, our materials more quickly elevate the proficiency of the modern-day loan officer," said Susan Williams, president and chief executive officer of the School of Mortgage Lending, whose system combines computer-based and correspondence training. Netupdate specializes in helping companies extend business applications onto the Internet. The organizations can be found online at http://www.netupdate.com and http://www.schoolofmortgagelending.com.

Cogent Road Inc., San Diego, and ComplianceEase, San Francisco, have launched a new service that will offer Cogent Road's customers predatory lending and regulatory compliance auditing technology.The new product, PCAudit, is a fully automated pre- and post-close risk management system that audits individual loans or bulk portfolios against various criteria. Cogent Road's technology connects lenders to their third-party sources to provide "systematic audit control" on every wholesale origination before making a purchase, the companies said. "One of the most important challenges for lenders today is to understand the anti-predatory-lending and numerous other regulatory compliance initiatives like the USA Patriot Act and to understand the way in which they will impact their business," said David Girling, executive vice president of ComplianceEase, a division of LogicEase Solutions. The companies can be found online at http://www.cogentroad.com and http://www.complianceease.com.