Technology

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based PriceMyLoan has completed an integration to Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector automated underwriting system. The integration allows originators to obtain decisions from Loan Prospector from within the PML system. PML is an automated eligibility and pricing tool that is used by mortgage lenders to provide loan decisions at the point-of-sale. Originators query the Web-based engine to determine which products their borrowers qualify for, and to obtain current pricing for those products. The Loan Prospector integration provides a method for originators to submit credit report and loan data directly to Loan Prospector system from within PML. Loan Prospector responses are brought back into PML and are used to generate product and pricing decisions for specific investor loan products. PML can be found on the Web at http://www.pricemyloan.com.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis, has reached an agreement with Document Processing Systems, Inc. to transition DPS' customers onto the Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Document Services Platform. DPS, founded more than 25 years ago in Novi, Mich., provides mortgage lenders and brokers with document preparation services through the company's DIRECT-DOCS online technology platform. The company recently announced that it was exiting the document preparation services business. Under the terms of the agreement, DPS will work with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services to help migrate customers over to Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Document Services Platform.

Ellie Mae Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif.-based origination vendor, has acquired the assets of Online Documents Inc., a provider of guaranteed compliant mortgage documents, from Stewart Lender Services Inc. No sale price was disclosed. Online Documents, based in Concord, Calif., provides services to more than 500 clients nationwide, ranging from local and regional lenders to large organizations. The acquisition agreement between Stewart Lender Services and Ellie Mae includes Online Documents' employees, client relationships, technology, business operations, and other assets. Ellie Mae said it will continue to serve current customers of Online Documents, and in the coming months will add Online Documents as an additional provider on Encompass Closer, its document preparation solution integrated within the Encompass Mortgage Management Solution. In addition, mortgage professionals will continue to see Online Documents among the many document service providers offered on the Ellie Mae ePASS Network. Ellie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

AllRegs, an information provider for the mortgage industry based in Eagan, Minn., and Optimal Blue, a Plano, Texas-based developer of a Web-based platform that couples decisioning technology with content management, have joined forces to provide an integrated system for loan officers. The AllRegs LoanLibrary, which features 2,600 products, will now be available to all users of Optimal Blue's product eligibility and pricing engine. Optimal Blue maintains and delivers mortgage product content through an automated secondary-marketing platform. The data from the AllRegs application will be integrated into Optimal Blue's PPE through its Web service, the companies said. "By combining our resources, loan officers will have access to a product that enables them to better manage their loan products, search them in seconds, and view all the investor guidelines they need to choose the appropriate products for their customers," said Dan Thoms, AllRegs senior vice president. AllRegs, can be found online at http://www.allregs.com and http://www.optimalblue.com.

The National Association of Realtors has announced the launch of a Federal Housing Administration Toolkit aimed at enabling Realtors to help buyers obtain safe and affordable FHA-backed mortgages. The toolkit includes a video on frequently asked questions and a flash-media presentation of FHA programs, as well as brochures, other reference guides, and links to useful resources. "FHA offers a safe alternative to many of the subprime and exotic loans that caused much of today's market turmoil, and the program is easier to use than ever before," said Pat V. Combs, immediate past president of the NAR. The association can be found on the Web at http://www.realtor.org.

Interthinx, a provider of risk mitigation and regulatory compliance tools based in Agoura Hills, Calif., is touting the loan-level identity component of its FraudGuard tool to help mortgage lenders comply with so-called red-flag rules that take effect Nov. 1. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act requires banks to develop policies (consistent with Customer Information Program rules) to identify potential identity theft. FraudGuard uses public and proprietary data to generate more than 45 alerts that help lenders comply with the red-flag rules, the company said. "Creditors and financial institutions are obligated to implement a written program that would satisfy the requirements to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft," said Kevin Coop, president of Interthinx. "FraudGuard provides a multitude of critical alerts to support compliance in areas such as Social Security numbers issued prior to date of birth of borrower, invalid phone numbers, and inconsistent personal identification information." The company can be found online at http://www.interthinx.com.

Informative Research, a provider of mortgage credit information based in Garden Grove, Calif., has announced the release of new Portfolio Credit Review analytic tools aimed at offering mortgage investors and servicers greater insight into future loan performance. The tools provide in-depth credit data and analytics to assess payment risk, mitigate losses, or increase loan retention, the company said. Clients can submit large-batch credit data requests to get results in as few as three business days. Before submission, Informative Research said it works with each client to ensure that the data are optimized. "Investors must be focused on individual loans in their portfolio," said Tony D'Eccliss, senior vice president of sales for Informative Research. "Gone are the days when portfolio risk was measured in broad brushstrokes." The company can be found online at http://www.informativeresearch.com.

Two former Ditech.com executives have announced the launch of Lendability.com, an online mortgage lender based in Scottsdale, Ariz., that aims to be "the leader in both cost and transparency." Paulo La Greca, the new venture's chief executive officer, said the company plans to be in all 50 states by the summer of 2009. Brent Kirk, its chief operating officer, said other online lenders "got carried away with their businesses" by getting heavily involved in subprime mortgages. He said "everything is upfront" at Lendability.com, including rates, fees, and consumer options. Several other former executives at Ditech.com, Costa Mesa, Calif., have joined the company and will remain in Southern California to head up Lendability.com's satellite operations there. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.lendability.com.

First American Subordinate Lien Outsourcing, Dallas, has announced the debut of its Tool for Reserve Underwriting Scoring Model, which defines the potential loss, predicted recovery, and velocity of recovery on a monthly timeline for a subordinate loan pool. Created to address the risk management needs of Wall Street and hedge fund clients, the TRU Scoring Model delivers gross recovery cash-flow projections on a 24- to 36-month basis for a pool of performing or nonperforming subordinate lien assets, the company said. It projects recovery based on internal collection experience with similar types of collateral derived from delinquency and collateral characteristics. "It has been an invaluable solution in managing performance expectations in relation to market servicing benchmarks for the 100,000 distressed junior lien assets that we monitor in our operation," said Brett Benson, director of analytics at First American Subordinate Lien Outsourcing. "In addition, the use of our data products and analytic scores provide a powerful complementary set of metrics for assessing potential losses related to subordinate liens and home equity lines of credit." The company can be found online at http://www.firstam.com.

Denver-based idBusiness, a provider of information security systems for small to medium-size businesses, has announced the launch of the Red Flag Compliance Module. The module is designed to enable mortgage companies to meet the requirements of the so-called red-flag rules under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, idBusiness said. "A mortgage banker or broker is facing about 20 serious challenges to his business every day, one of which is red-flag compliance," said idBusiness chief executive Scott Brooks, himself a mortgage professional. "With the Compliance Module, we created a simple tool that achieves compliance first, but second, gives you a tool to build your business in a tough market." The module goes beyond the 26 identity theft "red flags" outlined by the legislation, providing customers with 37 potential signs of identity theft and integrating them into the day-to-day functions of a mortgage company's employees, idBusiness said. The company can be found online at http://www.idbusiness.com.