Technology

Los Angeles-based CarsDirect has acquired several mortgage website properties from Myers Internet Inc.The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the agreement, CarsDirect acquires Myers' mortgage lead technology platform and its consumer brands BestRate.com and LoanApp.com. The acquisition was designed to accelerate the growth of CarsDirect's mortgage business and complement its current consumer-facing mortgage websites -- LoanStore.com and CheckInterestRates.com, the company said. Myers can be found on the Web at http://www.myers.com.

AllRegs, an Eagan, Minn.-based online publisher of reference information for the mortgage industry, has announced the introduction of the Practical Guide to FHA Lending.Written by Alice Alvey, John Gehrke, & Jan Wetzel of Mortgage U, the online Practical Guide is a comprehensive "how-to" source book that is updated continually and organized to mirror the mortgage process, the company said. It features exclusive worksheets, tables, checklists, and "best practices" for guidance on common procedures and accepted standards, according to AllRegs. AllRegs is the official electronic publisher of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Single and Multifamily Seller/Servicer Guides and the Federal Home Loan Banks' MPF Program Guidelines.

"It's the data, dummy," said Countrywide executive vice president Omer Simeon in introducing a live demonstration of the company's Web-based DIDO (data in, document out) system during Monday's keynote address at the Thomson Media Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami.The message was that paper capture processes will be a reality for some time, though electronic mortgages are the goal. In the meantime, the electronic processes will continue to mimic paper processes as lenders accustom themselves to the change, Mr. Simeon said. While supporting the process established by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, he said Countrywide will continue to develop its own proprietary use of Extensible Markup Language for internal uses and convert to MISMO standards to communicate with the outside world.

Fiserv, Brookfield, Wis., has reported net income of $377.6 million ($1.91 per share) for 2004, up from $315.0 million ($1.61 per share) in 2003.Fiserv's processing and services revenues came in at $3.35 billion for the year, a 29% increase from $2.59 billion in 2003. For the fourth quarter, Fiserv reported net income of $97.5 million ($0.49 per share), up from $82.0 million ($0.42 per share) a year earlier. Fiserv can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com.

Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO has acquired AppIntelligence, a provider of Web-based analytic tools designed to identify and detect fraud in the residential mortgage industry.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. ISO is a provider of products and services that help measure, manage, and reduce risk. It provides data, analytics, and decision-support systems to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, and human resources. AppIntelligence, Weldon Spring, Mo., has over 600 mortgage customers, the company says, and its products are designed to target the prequalification, processing, underwriting, quality control/quality assurance, and compliance phases of the mortgage-lending process. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.iso.com and http://www.appintelligence.com.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced an agreement with RealEC Technologies Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., to develop a new tool for its title agencies.The tool, FNF.net, will deploy three technology components from RealEC, an e-commerce exchange for real estate transactions: the RealEC Exchange, iSelect, and iBundle. FNF said the technologies will be customized to enable title agencies to create bundles of services -- such as appraisal, credit, automated valuation models, and flood -- that can be offered through agency-branded Web portals for use by Realtors and lenders. Jason Nadeau, RealEC's chief information officer, said FNF.net will be a one-stop-shop for Fidelity agencies to review vendors, define guidelines for selecting vendors, and create bundles of services. "For each transaction, users simply log on and select their bundle preference, such as a home equity bundle, resale bundle, or construction bundle," Mr. Nadeau said. "From there, the system automatically orders the various services defined for that bundle." RealEC, a majority-owned subsidiary of FNF, can be found online at http://www.realec.com, and FNF can be found at http://www.fnf.com.

Cleveland-based Hyland Software, which offers the OnBase enterprise content management suite, has joined the eMortgage Alliance.Hyland's OnBase for Mortgage Lending enables paperless loans. The alliance is a consortium of companies that promotes standards-based electronic mortgage technologies, processes, and implementations based on standards promulgated by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. Further information on Hyland's OnBase can be found on the Web at http://www.onbase.com.

Data Tree LLC, a San Diego-based provider of recorded property document images, has announced the launch of DocEdge.com, which offers instant, around-the-clock access to the company's imaged document database.Data Tree said the product is "ideal for mortgage servicers, real estate attorneys, land surveyors, abstractors, and others" seeking access to land record documents on residential, commercial, and other types of real property. Users can obtain copies of mortgages, deeds, assignments, transfers, assessor maps, and reports such as property detail, sales comparables, and legal and vesting information, the company said. "DocEdge.com delivers the Data Tree database to an entirely new type of customer," said Robert Karraa, Data Tree's chief operating officer. "We've created a Web-based solution with advanced, multiple search capabilities and combined it with nationwide database access." The company can be found online at http://www.datatree.com, and the new product can be found at http://www.docedge.com.

Fitch Ratings has launched a new structured finance analytical tool designed to enable users to better tailor their own market research.Bond Compare, a Web-based tool using Fitch's structured finance database, is aimed at allowing investors to analyze and compare bond performance within a specific structured finance sector, Fitch said. It is available for all major sectors, including residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial MBS, and collateralized debt obligations. Jayme Laurash, a Fitch managing director, said the tool is the first of many structured finance tool enhancements Fitch plans to release over the coming year. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

The First American Corp., Dallas, has promoted Chris Leavell to the position of chief operating officer for the company's Mortgage Information Services Group, and Anthony Merlo will become the new president of eAppraiseIT, taking the post vacated by Mr. Leavell.Mr. Leavell will now assume responsibility for MISG's enterprise initiatives, international expansion, and product bundling programs. In addition, he will have direct operating responsibility for various MISG companies. Mr. Merlo will now oversee eAppraiseIT's continued growth in the property valuation market. He joined eAppraiseIT in July 2000 as a vice president of sales for the Eastern Region.