Technology

A common theme expressed by many at the 11th Annual SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference was that lenders in the current down market need to use technology to reinvent the way mortgages are done. "Now is the time to re-examine your business model," said Chris Jabbal, former chief information officer at Washington Mutual. "From there, lenders have to decide how they can support that business model and apply technology to be more efficient. One big focus in the market today is a shift to automating the back end by doing more concrete disclosures on 100% of loans." Joe Dahleen, senior vice president in the strategy recovery group at online lender SRGi, added: "Now is a great time for lenders to look closely at the process and change it, using automation to be ready for the new mortgage market that will emerge after this downturn subsides. We have to think differently about how we lend, to improve the process for everyone involved."

TVC Capital, a San Diego-based private equity fund focused on software acquisitions and investments, has acquired Del Mar DataTrac from Fiserv just two years after Fiserv originally acquired the product. Interestingly, Jeb Spencer, managing partner at TVC, served as Del Mar's executive chairman from 2003 to 2005, during which time the company's customer base more than tripled. Veteran company employee Rob Katz has rejoined Del Mar and will help lead the ownership transition. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Fiserv will now focus more on its core business, which prompted the sale. "This divestiture further demonstrates Fiserv's focus on its core financial and insurance businesses and its Fiserv 2.0 goals of helping clients to achieve best-in-class status," said Tom Warsop, president of Fiserv's Financial Institutions Group. With over 15 years of industry presence, Del Mar DataTrac has been a provider of back-office lending solutions. Del Mar serves over 300 mortgage banking firms throughout the United States.

Ellie Mae, a Dublin, Calif.-based provider of software for the mortgage industry, has announced the release of Encompass Banker Edition 3.0 and Encompass Custom Edition 3.0. Custom Edition offers "extensive configurability" in a loan origination system, and Banker Edition is "a complete end-to-end business solution" designed for small to midsize correspondent mortgage lenders, mortgage bankers, community bankers, credit unions, and brokers interested in becoming bankers, Ellie Mae said. Most of the system enhancements will benefit both editions of Encompass. "Now, mortgage bankers can service loans prior to selling loans on the secondary market, track their profitability on trades, and configure notifications that alert them of key servicing activities, such as when statements must be sent out, when accounts go past due, and when they're scheduled to make upcoming disbursements," said Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer for Ellie Mae. The company can be found online at http://www.elliemae.com.

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack, has released VirPack Vault, a hosted Web-based document management and electronic loan delivery platform designed to satisfy the needs of lenders and brokers from origination through post closing and investor delivery. VirPack Vault supports electronic delivery of credit, closed, trailing and all portions of a loan file to over a dozen investors and due-diligence providers. VirPack electronic deliveries are fully indexed and conform to each investor's imaging specifications, facilitating purchase review and eliminating non-indexed (blob) electronic delivery delays. The VirPack Vault platform is the product of the recent partnership between VirPack and Critical Technologies, a records-management company specializing in the mortgage industry. VirPack can be found on the Web at http://www.virpack.com.

Mortgage Settlement Network LLC, Pittsburgh, Pa. has acquired Mortgage Lenders Service Connection, a vendor management company headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pa. MSLC was owned by Ronald Wellman and was established in 2004. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. All MLSC employees will be retained and moving into the MSNi offices. MSNi is a national vendor management company. In addition to offering traditional title, closing and appraisal services nationally, MSNi also offers other solutions to assist lenders to streamline their operations and also generate additional revenue sources. Further, MSNi offers lenders an e-closing program that enables lenders to close loans electronically and then sell them to Fannie Mae on a flow basis. In addition, MSNi offers a commercial loan settlement services package of services: appraisal, title, closing, survey, EPA reports, all bundled together. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.msnillc.com.

Ron Duff of Fiserv Lending Solutions and Nancee Gorenstein of Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. have been re-elected chair and vice chair of the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization.The organization said it plans to focus on standards advancement, greater outreach to the industry, and an increased number of MXCompliance certifications. The Governance Committee is elected from a cross-section of the real estate finance industry and provides oversight for MISMO's administration and policy development. The committee consists of representatives from 22 subscriber organizations that serve staggered two-year terms. MISMO is a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association that develops data transfer protocols for the residential and commercial real estate finance industry. It can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Veros Real Estate Solutions, Santa Ana, Calif., has released the results of its quarterly forecasting of the nation's real estate markets, predicting the five hottest and coldest markets for the next 12 months. According to Veros, the five strongest markets in its coverage area over the next 12 months will be: Wichita, Kan., with a 4% appreciation rate; and, all with a 3% rate, Raleigh/Cary, N.C.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Fargo, N.D.; and Tulsa, Okla. The weakest markets are forecast to be: Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif., down 15%; Modesto, Calif., down 15%; Palm Bay/Melbourne/Titusville, Fla., down 14%; Cape Coral/Ft. Myers, Fla., down 13%; and Sacramento/Roseville, Calif., down 12%. Veros, a risk management and collateral valuation services vendor, can be found on the Web at http://www.veros.com.

The Chinese affiliate of First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has launched a website, the first of its kind in China. First Title (Beijing) Real Estate Guaranty Co. Ltd. is the first entirely foreign-owned real estate guaranty company in the country. "We want to integrate the real estate finance service chain in China," said Edward Ma, assistant vice president of information operations for First Title (Beijing). "Our website, backed by a specialized service team and partnership with leading industry practitioners such as Kblcw.com, Moneyschool.msn.com.cn, Kooxoo.com, and Pinggu.Soufun.com, provides loan product information to our clients in a timely manner." The website will serve as a one-stop, self-service platform for end-users by providing real estate purchasers and owners with the most up-to-date information on mortgage product options -- the Chinese version of escrow and other services for residential and commercial property transactions. The website is located at http://www.zhongyian.com.

Mortgage technology vendors are in for a rough ride, according to the 2007 Mortech study. Statistics show that lenders increased technology spending by approximately 8% over the past three to five years, said Mortech publisher Jeff Lebowitz. His projections before the credit crisis were that those same lenders would reduce tech spending by 2.0%-2.5% in 2008, but "with the demise and distress of major mortgage technology spenders" Mortech now projects that the decline could be 10% or more. "We have never seen the industry technology budgets being at such risk," said Mr. Lebowitz. "Most mortgage technology suppliers are pretty small -- under $50 million in revenues. Mortgage technology providers will have to be pretty resourceful to weather this storm." The 2007 study, based on a scientific sample of 330 lenders of all sizes, is now in its 20th year.

Rutgers Investment Group Inc., a subsidiary of FirstPlus Financial Group, Irving, Texas, has announced an outsourcing agreement with HomeLoanAdvisors.com to provide mortgage processing and fulfillment services. Jack Roubinek, chief executive officer at Rutgers, said the pact allows both firms to do what they do best. "HomeLoanAdvisors.com manages the client contact, while we at Rutgers take care of the back-office work, pulling the whole package together for the borrower," he said. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.firstplusgroup.com and http://www.homeloanadvisors.com.