Technology

First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., in preparation for the split of its title and information services businesses into separate publicly traded companies, has named Anand K. Nallathambi as chief executive and Buddy Piszel as chief financial officer of its information solutions group. Mr. Nallathambi, who was appointed president and chief operating officer of the ISG in December, will continue to serve in those capacities. Mr. Piszel will continue to serve as the parent company's chief financial officer. The company's Financial Services Group will commence a search for Mr. Piszel's replacement as its chief financial officer. The target date for the split is June 1. Mr. Nallathambi previously served as chief executive and president of First Advantage Corp., which, until November 2009, was a majority-owned public subsidiary of the company and a business segment within the Information Solutions Group. Mr. Piszel joined the company as chief financial officer in January 2009. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer for Freddie Mac. In a separate announcement, First American said it would purchase the remaining 18% of First American CoreLogic that it does not already own. Parker S. Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of First American, said the purchase of the outstanding shares will simplify the structure as the information solutions group, which First American CoreLogic is a part of, moves toward being spun off. "This acquisition will result in an extra measure of flexibility and operational efficiency that will be beneficial as we develop our next-generation analytic capabilities for the financial services and capital markets industries," he added.

Mortgage vendor Lender Processing Services Inc. is requesting nearly $3 million in city and state incentives to add 350 full-time jobs in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a report in the Jacksonville Business Journal. The city is being considered along with three other areas in the nation for the jobs. The newspaper reported that the publicly traded LPS is requesting the incentives from the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. If the JEDC recommends it, it will then go to the City Council for approval. The 350 jobs would have an average wage of $44,807 plus $11,202 in benefits, totaling an annual payroll of $15.7 million, according to LPS. "The proposed project will increase the visibility of Jacksonville as a financial services center, further strengthening a targeted industry and continue the redevelopment of downtown Jacksonville," the company said in its application to the JEDC. LPS would hire 175 people by the end of 2010 with the rest coming sometime next year.

1010data, a provider of data warehouse and business intelligence for mortgage-backed securities market participants and others, has secured a $35 million equity investment from Norwest Venture Partners. The investment will allow 1010data to add to its marketing and sales efforts, according to Joel Kaplan, president, CEO and co-founder of 1010data. The investment gives NVP a minority stake in the company. In addition, Jon Kossow of NVP will join 1010data's board of directors. NVP is an investment firm that manages more than $3.7 billion in capital. It has offices in Palo Alto, Calif.; Mumbai and Bangaluru, India; and Herzelia, Israel.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is moving to help financial institutions rapidly comply with the Federal Reserve Board's upcoming changes to Regulation E with the launch of a new online resource center. The Reg E changes require institutions like mortgage servicers for example, to gain approval from consumers before charging overdraft fees on one-time debit card or ATM transactions. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has created an online resource center to help institutions comply with Reg E revisions that take effect July 1 for new accounts and Aug. 15 for existing ones. The company has also launched Reg E Opt-in Manager, a solution that allows institutions to expedite generation and electronic delivery of opt-in notices to consumers for consent.

Austin, Texas-based mortgage accounting vendor Mortgage Banking Solutions has merged with San Diego-based Abacus Accounting Services. Abacus offers bookkeeping services to mortgage banks in the western U.S. MBS now offers bookkeeping services in addition to their CFO2Go product suite. The technology can now fully support outsourced bookkeeping activity with remote secure servers.

Embrace Home Loans, Newport, R.I., is moving its Internet origination division, which is comprised of 50 employees, to an 18,000 square foot building located in Providence, R.I. "As a company, Embrace Home Loans has experienced significant growth," said Kurt Noyce, president. "Most recently we've added several new retail branches along the Eastern Seaboard, and completed a substantial acquisition to further increase our geographic footprint. We are proud of the work we've accomplished and are pleased to be able to add additional office space right here in our local economy. The addition of a new building in Providence not only provides a space for our growing Internet origination division, but also provides the ability for our company to add more local jobs in the future."

REA Accelerated Marketing Group, an online bidding platform, is partnering with short sale technology provider National Quick Sale. Short sales have been gaining in popularity but suffer from a delayed approval process. By putting the short sale up for auction the property gets more visibility and true market value can be assessed based on how much borrowers are willing to pay for the property vs. relying solely on a BPO or other type of valuation, the two companies said. At the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference in San Diego, Jim Satterwhite, EVP at National Quick Sale, said, "We have created a platform that brings all parties together. This is the type of synergy the industry needs to get things moving."

SecondMarket, a New York-based secondary market for illiquid assets such as private-label residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, has raised $15 million from Asian investors. The investors include Li Ka Shing Foundation, a charitable foundation founded by the Asian entrepreneur that is its namesake. The other investor is Dunearn Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd. Each of the investors put $7.5 million into the New York company. Proceeds from the investment are slated for use in further scaling the SecondMarket's platform and infrastructure in preparation for its upcoming expansion into the Asian markets.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., a provider of FAS 157 fair market valuations, mortgage risk hedging and accounting solutions, has rolled out phase I of its new corporate website, which is designed to make it easier for mortgage market participants to find information. Valuation experts at MIAC have been publishing a wealth of information and posting it online for over a decade. The new site will make this material more accessible to the industry. Specifically, the new site separates content areas by business channel, making it easier for customers to navigate directly to the content they are interested in. For example, MIAC's Generic Servicing Assets are available for download into MIAC Analytics and viewable on the website.

AssetPlanUSA, a nationwide provider of foreclosure alternative solutions, and DepotPoint, a provider of default management workflow solutions, have joined forces to work with servicers and lenders to help expedite the short sale process. AssetPlanUSA plans to use DepotPoint's technology to help its clients and their borrowers effectively achieve short sales. Starting on April 5, 2010, the U.S. government will begin providing incentives to servicers who help borrowers facing foreclosure exit their homes gracefully outside the foreclosure process, thereby lessening the negative impact on the borrower's credit score compared to a foreclosure. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides relocation assistance for borrowers choosing foreclosure alternatives, allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sale terms before listing their property, and pays servicers cash incentives to cover administration and processing costs. DepotPoint provides default management technology for the distressed property market. The company's TrackPoint Platform incorporates an enterprise-class, Web-based workflow engine and tracking system for managing default transactions, including short sales.