Technology

Pamela C. Milano has been named chief product design executive for LoanMagic, the mortgage loan presentation and management program of Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif.Ms. Milano has over 25 years of management experience in mortgage banking technology. She introduced the first point-of-sale application in the industry for Citicorp Mortgage, and served as senior vice president for Countrywide's Consumer Markets Division when Countrywide began rolling out LoanMagic to its retail mortgage loan officers in 2002, Document Systems said. In her new post, Ms. Milano will plan and direct LoanMagic's product design policies and oversee the development of products related to LoanMagic. Document Systems can be found online at http://www.docmagic.com.

Cincinnati-based eLynx Ltd. has helped Ditech.com, Costa Mesa, Calif., achieve a 35% borrower conversion from paper to e-signed disclosures in May, according to eLynx.That success was achieved by training 2,500 Ditech.com loan representatives and 2,200 processors to use a new browser-based eWelcome service that lets mortgage customers securely receive, review, and approve documents via the Internet. An eLynx spokesman said a key to the great success of the launch was that Ditech not only trained all affected staffers before the launch, but provided incentives and prizes to the sales teams achieving the highest tallies of paper-to-electronic conversions with their borrowers. Ditech.com said it expects to use the service to shrink cycle times and bring consumers closer to embracing a fully paperless loan transaction. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.elynx.com and http://www.ditech.com.

On Tuesday, May 30, Argent Mortgage Co. LLC will launch Argent University to help its approved brokers "enhance their professional skills and build their businesses."Powered by CampusMBA, the educational arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Argent U. will provide 12 months of 24/7 online access to more than 50 online courses for the single price of $350. Argent said its research shows that total price to be about $100 below the advertised cost of one typical Web-based course. In addition to a variety of useful resources, the Argent U. course of study will comprise 60 courses divided into three tracks. Some courses will provide continuing education credit, while others will lead to actual professional designations. An Argent spokesman said the program design was based on feedback gathered in broker focus groups. The company can be found online at http://www.argentmortgage.com.

The use of automated valuation models to assess the value of a home may no longer result in property value penalties, according to a new criteria report by Fitch Ratings. Under the new criteria, AVM review depends on individual lenders' processes and controls for using the models rather than the overall strength of the values in the regions the properties being valued are in, according to Fitch senior director Suzanne Mistretta. Going forward, Fitch "will discount property values by 5% or more if either a lender's usage processes and controls do not adequately mitigate overvaluation risk, or if a lender's processes are not disclosed to Fitch," she said. Previously, Fitch said it "would discount property values derived from an AVM assessment from 10%-15% in regional markets deemed 'weak' or 'soft.'" Fitch can be found on the Web at http://www.fitchratings.com.

SharperLending LLC, a provider of a Web-based platform that enables lenders to order, store and manage products and services from multiple vendors at a single point of entry headquartered in Spokane, Wash., has partnered with CreditXpert Inc. to offer its users Credit Assure, a loan closing software tool that automatically pre-scans credit files and identifies opportunities to raise credit scores based on credit data accuracy and credit management.SharperLending's bundled services platform now allows lenders to access Credit Assure to quickly and efficiently perform due diligence on all credit reports. The SharperLending platform seamlessly integrates with Credit Assure to automatically alert users of potential issues that may be artificially lowering an applicant's credit score or credit management opportunities, which, if acted upon, may improve the applicant's credit. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.sharperlending.com.

The Federal Housing Administration is working on the first update of its automated underwriting scorecard, TOTAL, since it was introduced in 2004, according to a report by congressional auditors.The General Accountability Office takes FHA to task for failing to have policies in place to routinely update TOTAL (Technology Open to Approved Lenders), noting that the scorecard may have lost some of its effectiveness in predicting defaults. The GAO also raises concerns about the fact that FHA loans with downpayment assistance or "gifts" from nonprofit groups have higher default and claim rates than other FHA loans, but the scorecard does not include variables for the source of the downpayment. In response, the FHA says the scorecard is "working exactly as it was envisioned" and the contractors and loan data have been secured for the update of the technology. FHA is "revisiting" the issue of downpayments and whether the "source and amount of gifts for the downpayment should be added to the algorithm."

Digital Risk, a risk mitigation company providing tools designed to limit financial services firms’ exposure to fraud, has introduced "Risk IQ," a verification product that provides a "360-degree" risk assessment of mortgage transactions.The vendor, which introduced the product at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Fraud Issues Conference in Chicago, said it is forging new ground in cost per transaction savings with the product. "This newer technology means better due diligence and a more cost-effective means for achieving it," said Jeffrey Taylor, CEO, Digital Risk. Risk IQ uses data sourcing and reporting operations capable of decreasing operational time by an average of 20% and is highly customizable, according to Mr. Taylor. "The black-box, one-size-fits-all model of the past simply cannot produce the results required to keep mortgage companies competitive in today’s marketplace," he said. "Some lender losses today are the result of using fraud prevention tools invented five years ago and not capable of fighting today’s sophisticated fraud," said Mr. Taylor. Peter Kassabov, president of Digital Risk added, "It’s a different market today, full of repurchase requests that are putting some companies out of business and others into court."

Citing artificial intelligence as the differentiator, United Mortgage Lenders, Boca Raton, Fla., has chosen MindBox's ARTOptimize product suite for its Bulls-Eye point-of-sale decisioning system.The artificial intelligence of the system takes it beyond pre-qualification and automated underwriting. "It can be taught how to behave and what to present to the loan officer," said UML president and CEO Jamie Thornton. "If a new investor enters the picture, we can teach the system the new investor's product eligibility rules, pricing & pricing adjustments by updating the rules in the MindBox Power Editor." The Greenbrae, CA-based MDA Mindbox's decisioning systems feature rule- and case-based reasoning software.

Silver Hill Financial LLC, a Miami-based real estate lender, has announced an alliance with NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online lender, to enable the latter to offer commercial real estate loans to its small-business customers.Silver Hill said it offers a customized approach that allows lenders of all sizes to become "instant commercial lenders" by relying on Silver Hill to perform back-office functions. "Our strategic alliance will allow [NetBank] to expand their product line and enhance their brand while we handle all the details of commercial transactions for NetBank's small-business customers," said Jerry Feinstein, senior director of correspondent lending at Silver Hill. The companies can be found online at http://www.silverhillfinancial.com and http://www.netbankinc.com.

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc., a New York-based real estate investment trust, has reported a net loss of $700,000 ($0.08 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $1.4 million ($0.16 per share) a year earlier.The mortgage REIT attributed the loss to the lower operating income of its REIT segment, primarily due to the difference in the gain on sale of mortgage assets. The sale of mortgage assets resulted in a loss of $100,000 in the first quarter, compared with a $2.3 million gain in the first quarter of 2005, Hanover reported. The company can be found online at http://www.hanovercapitalholdings.com