Technology

Mortgage lenders of all sizes are expected to increase their technology spending by 15% this year to $4.11 billion, according to the new MORTECH study.

The debate on regulating how ISPs manage online use has largely been focused on the online activities of consumers, but mortgage executives and their technology vendors believe the regulation of Internet access could affect the daily operations of the lending industry as well, leaving smaller players with fewer financial resources at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to loan processing speed and costs.

The use of "cloud computing" by real estate brokerages is on the rise. With brokers, agents and support staff using cloud services like Gmail and Google Docs, they're also looking to expand that use to consumer-facing applications.

Mortgage Technology Magazine: January 2011M&A — Tech firm investments and acquisitions pick upLOS for Little Guy — Vendors find new customers in small lendersE-Mortgage — New open technology could promote adoptionQuality Control — Q&A with ARMCO CEO Avi Naider

Property valuation technology developer Veros said its VeroSELECT valuation management platform has been updated to interface with the Uniform Collateral Data Portal, the still-pending technology platform the government-sponsored enterprises will use to accept appraisal data on mortgages they purchase.

Credit Union Mortgage Association (CUMA) has closed its first HarmonyLoan, a mortgage that allows consumers to reset their interest rate with the click of a mouse, foregoing additional closing costs and lengthy processing.

Fannie Mae’s latest homeowner outreach program is a website with links to resources and information for borrowers who want to avoid foreclosure.

Chase Bank has donated $100,000 to Hope LoanPort, the nonprofit manager of a Web-based tool housing counselors use to help distressed borrowers apply for mortgage modifications.

After officially announcing late Tuesday that it completed the purchase of the MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates U.S. and U.K. property information business, San Francisco-based private equity group TPG Capital appointed a longtime Wolters Kluwer CEO to run its new acquisition.

Mortgage technology developer Ellie Mae purchased the intellectual property, technology and other assets of Mortgage Pricing Systems, developer of the Loan Eligibility and Pricing, or LEAP, mortgage product and pricing engine.