Technology

BMC Software Investments Inc., an investment firm based in Hot Springs, Ark., has announced the acquisition of Loan-Score Decisioning Systems LLC, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of automated underwriting systems. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Loan-Score's products include an enterprise-class AU system, a product/pricing engine, a PDA-based pre-qual application, a bulk pricing application, and point-of-sale Web portals for all lending channels and product types, BMC said. The company said it plans to develop new offerings, expand Loan-Score's infrastructure, and hire additional development staff. "What has happened to the mortgage industry over the past year is unprecedented," said William McCord, chief executive officer of BMC Software Investments and chairman of Loan-Score. "Several AUS vendors have already closed their doors and a number of others are in trouble, which creates an opportunity for Loan-Score to dominate the AU space given the right investment partner." Loan-Score can be found online at http://www.loan-score.com.

TSS Software Corp., a software provider to the settlement services industry, has announced enhancements to its flagship product, TitleExpress. Among the enhancements are integrations with Calyx's Point loan origination system, reporting for United General Title Insurance Co., and the addition of iOrderOpen. TSS said the enhancements were all driven by customer requests. Versions 6.0 and higher of Calyx Software's Point will allow mortgage brokers to export data directly from Calyx to title companies using TitleExpress and iOrderExpress as the connection engines, TSS said. The addition of the iOrderOpen interface facilitates the automated submittal of orders and the conversion of external data sources into TitleExpress. TSS can be found online at http://www.iwanttss.com, and Calyx can be found at http://www.calyxsoftware.com.

ICBA Mortgage, the mortgage corporation of the Independent Community Bankers of America, and its partner Taylor, Bean Whitaker Mortgage Corp. have unveiled their newest product offering for community banks: Complete Mortgage Solutions. CMS gives ICBA member banks access to "consultative services that deliver a comprehensive blueprint for mortgage success -- from operational workflow, staffing, and training to technology, marketing, and mortgage products," said Terry Jorde, chairman of ICBA Mortgage and president and chief executive of CountryBank USA, Cando, N.D. Steve Reukhaus, CMS project manager at Taylor Bean, said the new product "can help community bankers streamline their mortgage operations, improve efficiencies, and explore new possibilities for growth and profitability." ICBA Mortgage can be found online at http://www.icbamortgage.com, and Taylor Bean can be found at http://www.taylorbean.com.

REO Sentinel, Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the introduction of a technology that offers "an inexpensive but high-value solution" to the problem of monitoring and maintaining presale and real-estate-owned properties. Rich Rollins, chief executive officer of the company, said the device, also called REO Sentinel, was developed in conjunction with loan servicers and a property inspection and preservation company. "For the first time, lenders and their property preservation managers can have real-time views into what is occurring in every defaulted property they are trying to market thanks to a small, patented device installed in each house," Mr. Rollins said. ".... [REO Sentinel] can detect many types of gases, the presence of smoke and high humidity conditions, and even takes a photo of anyone entering the property." The company can be found online at http://www.reosentinel.com.

First Florida Financial Group LLC, Fort Myers, Fla., has launched a program under CashToolBox.com aimed at helping builders and Realtors sell more properties by enabling borrowers to get a mortgage approval through the use of equity in their owned properties, or a relative's. Eddie Hoskins, president and chief executive officer of First Florida, said CashToolBox.com lends 125% LTV Pre-Closing Cash against a property's equity by using Mortgage Approval Tools such as the Credit Score Optimizer, Down Payment Assistance Gifter, Cash Reserves Booster, and Debt-to-Income Reducer. "When they generate needed cash and apply their 'tools' to un-approvable mortgage loan applications, in many cases they're able to get a loan approval and closing that had seemed impossible," Mr. Hoskins said. The company can be found online at http://www.cashtoolbox.com.

Home values continued to decline in the fourth quarter, falling 3.5% on a quarterly basis and 3.0% on a year-over-year basis, according to Zillow.com, an online real estate community based in Seattle. Zillow's quarterly home value report, which has been expanded to cover 125 metropolitan areas, found that home values stood at a Zindex home value indicator of $224,890, representing the median estimated valuation of all homes in an area. "With consecutive declines over the past five quarters, we haven't seen the housing market bottom yet, and it may very well get worse before things get better," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics. "Even many markets that have been largely insulated from recent declines, like some in the Pacific Northwest, reported notable value declines in the fourth quarter." Zillow can be found online at http://www.zillow.com.

AllRegs, an information provider for the mortgage lending industry, has announced that its Ask the Expert--Legal Content Support Services will be offered through Smith Dollar PC, a mortgage banking law firm based in Santa Rosa, Calif. Eligible AllRegs subscribers will have unlimited access to Smith Dollar attorneys who can offer clarification on federal and state laws and regulations that reside in AllRegs' Information Service, AllRegs said. Smith Dollar is a California law firm that represents lenders and secondary-market investors in matters relating to mortgage fraud, lender liability, and regulatory compliance. AllRegs said Legal Content Support Service was created to help mortgage companies clarify the numerous changes in federal, state, and other regulations that affect the mortgage business.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has rolled out a trio of six-hour online professional training programs designed to help its members earn their Lending Integrity Seal of Approval. NAMB requires all members to meet the requirements to earn the seal by 2009. TrainingPro, Hunt Valley, Md., developed the courses. "These new classes reinforce NAMB's ongoing commitment to the highest level of professional ethics," said NAMB president George Hanzimanolis. "By making the classes available online, TrainingPro has made the high standards of the Lending Integrity Seal attainable for all brokers and originators." All three courses have a two-hours ethics component. Course 1 also discusses fair lending and consumer privacy, Course 2 covers FHA lending and Course 3 talks about recent industry developments and mortgage fraud. "Now, more than ever, it is essential that mortgage brokers, originators and other financial professionals have the continuing education they need to serve their customers," said Chris Nickerson, chief executive of TrainingPro. For more information about NAMB and the Lending Seal of Approval, visit http://www.namb.org/ and http://www.lendingintegrity.org/.

While many see the shrinking lender and vendor market as a bad sign, Scott Cooley, president of Cooley Consulting, told the 11th annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference that industry consolidation presents great opportunities for buyers with a long-term view to enter the market. Mr. Cooley warned that there are signs that a technology vendor isn't doing well. "They get real quiet: no updates, newsletters, their website is stagnant, etc.," he said. "Their support personnel are mostly gone. Press releases and joint venture announcements disappear. There's poor communications with compliance updates. Sales/collection calls get more aggressive. And finally, rumors start to circulate." But Mr. Cooley said times like these are good for companies looking to enter the mortgage market. "Yes, every lender is shedding licenses, and vendors are dropping like flies, but the best time to invest is when everyone else won't," he declared. "When you're at the bottom, there's no place to go but up. Times like these are rare: VC firms are starting to swarm, and technology vendors are hungry for sales." Silicon Valley, Calif.-based Cooley Consulting can be found on the Web at http://www.scooley.com.

Rahul Merchant, Fannie Mae's chief information officer, told attendees at the 11th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference in Orlando, Fla., that a variety of market factors will prompt lenders to look closer at certain types of technology. "Today there are lower earnings and capital scarcity, but there's also a need to operate in real time with better analytics, make productivity improvements, prevent security threats, and improve infrastructure," he said. So what impact will this have on information technology budgets? "In 2008, IT budgets are likely to grow slightly, but slower than in recent years," Mr. Merchant answered. "The Corporate Executive Board's CIO survey estimates that IT budgets will grow by 3.5% (1.5% above inflation). Further, Gartner projects a 3% increase over 2006." He predicted that lenders will be looking hard at technology to improve credit risk management, improve decisions through more precise and timely business information, implement early warning reports and credit loss metrics, make productivity/infrastructure improvements, and look toward architectural simplification. "Lenders still have to look to enable business growth," Mr. Merchant concluded. "So, they'll allocate a greater share of IT budget to business growth investments and innovation."