Technology

San Jose, Calif.-based Calyx Software has expanded the Calyx Network with a new network interface update. The July Calyx Network Interface update contains a new connection to five additional mortgage service providers. The Calyx Network allows users of Calyx Software's Point loan origination software to connect directly with lenders and mortgage service providers, automating data exchange and streamlining the loan origination process. The following mortgage service providers have joined The Calyx Network: RealEC Technologies, SearchMyLoan.com Inc., Mortgage Connect LP, LOAlert.com and Equifax Web Services. Updates are automatically installed into Calyx Point, and new providers are added to the application on a bi-monthly basis. The Calyx Network Interface update is automatically installed into Point versions 5.2 and higher when users open their software and connect to the Internet. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.calyxsoftware.com.

Cogent Road, San Diego, Calif., has launched an automated tool for detecting if a credit score has been artificially inflated due to questionable or untrustworthy "authorized user" accounts within the borrower's profile. This process is known as "piggybacking," because the borrower's credit score "piggybacks" on the seasoning and payment history of the actual card holder. The tool is available free of charge to Cogent Road's existing Funding Suite clients. The application examines credit reports to detect the probability that a borrower's credit score is being artificially manipulated based on a different individual's payment history. Using a series of comparative algorithms, this detection tool analyzes the borrower's credit profile as a whole to detect whether or not authorized user tradelines are consistent with his or her historical payment pattern. This tool can also differentiate the bona fide authorized user relations that occur in joint credit applications, however it does identify if the spouse's credit score is influenced by authorized user accounts. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.cogentroad.com.

Lydian Data Services, Boca Raton, Fla., has established Lydian Data Government Services, a new fully integrated subsidiary to provide mortgage processing, closing, post-closing and quality control services for FHA and VA loans. This rapidly expanding sector of mortgage lending has been hampered by a lack of expertise in processing government loans, leading to long delays in loan approvals and fundings. The new subsidiary will also offer consulting services to help originators become approved by the Federal Housing Administration, and training services to help lenders familiarize their Realtors, loan officers and brokers with government lending programs. Lydian Data Government Services is based in the greater Philadelphia area, selected for its proximity to one of the country's largest FHA homeownership centers and the depth of its government lending labor pool. The Government Accounting Office expects FHA to fund 10% of home purchases in 2008 and 15% in 2009, continuing to levels not seen in over a decade, which is why Lydian has launched this new subsidiary to help lenders automate the process.

Enterprise content management vendor Hyland Software, Cleveland, has acquired Liberty Information Management Systems to expand its market presence. The transaction was private, and terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Hyland said the acquisition will enable it to add more than 1,000 Liberty IMS client organizations to its base of 7,200 customers and extend its reseller channel base with an established network of Liberty IMS channel partners, who possess expertise in selling and supporting document imaging, COLD/ERM, and workflow systems to organizations in Hyland's target vertical markets. The company also said the move would broaden its presence in the western United States and central Canada by maintaining Liberty IMS's offices and an existing team of experienced ECM professionals in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Ottawa, Ontario. Moreover, as a heavily channel-focused organization, Liberty IMS brings to Hyland an established network of channel partners. Hyland can be found on the Web at http://www.onbase.com.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Houston, has reported the completion of a $25 million Ginnie Mae fixed-rate home equity conversion mortgage-backed securitization on which it served as issuer, servicer, and master servicer. Bob Yeary, chief executive officer of RMS, told MortgageWire that Ginnie Mae has identified the transaction as the first reverse MBS on which a single company has taken on all three of the aforementioned roles, something the Houston-based firm's automation helped it to do. World Alliance Financial, the Melville, N.Y.-based affiliate of KBC Bank, Brussels, originated the reverse mortgages in the transaction, Mr. Yeary said.

MicroBilt Corp., Kennesaw, Ga., and Annapolis, Md.-based PRBC have announced a planned merger of payment data to help small to medium-size companies do more business with consumers who have thin credit histories. The data will be merged in PRBC's data repository, and MicroBilt will make an equity investment in PRBC under the arrangement. The companies said the credit crunch is forcing smaller businesses to be very cautious in originating new loans, making it "more difficult than ever" for consumers with thin (or no) established credit histories to qualify for competitive rates. "PRBC has done a tremendous job in developing methods and systems of aggregating nonreported bill payment data to help consumers demonstrate good payment track records and qualify for credit at competitive rates," said MicroBilt chairman Bob Raleigh. "By combining PRBC's data with the trade line data reported to MicroBilt by thousands of smaller companies, we can help this large sector build credit histories and receive FICO Expansion scores much faster, and in turn [enable] businesses to grant more credit with less risk." The companies can be found online at http://www.microbilt.com and http://www.prbc.com.

ForeclosurePoint, Bellevue, Wash., has announced the nationwide launch of ForeclosurePoint.com, which it calls the only national foreclosure marketplace offering free access to full street addresses of more than 1.2 million foreclosure properties in the United States. Other foreclosure websites make users pay to see data that ForeclosurePoint.com provides free, the company said. "Below-market deals are virtually everywhere, but consumers still have a difficult time accessing the market," said Prakash Kondepudi, the company's president and chief executive officer. "Until today, investors, homebuyers, and real estate professionals had to pay to see even basic information about potential foreclosure opportunities." The company, based in the Seattle area, can be found on the Web at http://www.foreclosurepoint.com.

Citing a desire to help the mortgage industry combat fraud, Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Interthinx Inc. has announced its integration with MERS, the electronic registry for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights. Data from MERS will be integrated into Interthinx's FraudGuard scoring system to detect undisclosed properties, reveal investors claiming owner occupancy, and uncover recently closed loans that could indicate a borrower's intent to commit mortgage fraud. The new feature allows FraudGuard users to automatically access the MERS database of registered real estate transactions to conduct automated searches (during the FraudGuard scoring process) for potential fraud before funding a loan. Interthinx is a provider of risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.iterthinx.com and http://www.mersinc.org.

AllRegs, a publisher of guidelines for the mortgage industry based in Eagan, Minn., has announced the release of three new online Practical Guides focused on mortgage servicing. The titles include Escrow Analysis, FHA Foreclosure, and Mortgage Servicing. Dan Thoms, senior vice president of AllRegs, said the guides "target issues of specific concern to today's mortgage servicing professionals." Practical Guides are searchable online instruction manuals for a given topic that use the AllRegs search engine with direct links to online regulations. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.allregs.com.

Wells Fargo Funding has announced the addition of two new vendors, SigniaDocs and Wave Systems, to its list of approved vendors capable of delivering the second-largest originator of electronic documents on behalf of lender clients. Wells is one of the first major lenders in the country to support a legally compliant process to accept a full initial disclosure package electronically from its sellers. It is also one of the first to ensure open standards and authorize correspondents to use any of the multiple vendors that pass Wells Fargo's review process to ensure a high level of security and an audit trail of the transaction showing borrower intent. Wells Fargo said its correspondents can now elect to use Wave's SmartSigning Room and SmartSignature applications to streamline e-disclosures and upfront documents to help secure customer commitment early in the lending process. Similarly, SigniaDocs offers Wells correspondents a private-label Web service requiring no initial start-up or ongoing hardware and software maintenance costs. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.wellsfargo.com, http://www.signiadocs.com, and http://www.wave.com.