Technology

The LSI division of Chicago Title Insurance Co. has launched the home equity component of eLenderSolutions, its Web-based point-of-sale title insurance platform, according to Chicago Title.Chicago Title, a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial Inc., said the system is designed to expedite home equity closings by leveraging LSI's recently developed Home Equity Loan Policy to provide lenders with loan closing, ancillary product, and insurance offerings needed for same-day home equity closings. The POS tool "instantaneously delivers recordable property vesting information, tax and assessment information, and legal descriptions nationally," Chicago Title said. "Additionally, the system provides point-of-sale quotes on an individual-product or bundled-fee basis for the HELP policy, property reports, credit reports, flood certification, valuation products, mortgage tax, and recording services."

LSI Credit Services, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc. based in Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the launch of Fidelity National Identity Sentinel, identity-theft protection services that lenders can provide directly to consumers.The Web-based tools allow consumers to monitor their credit history in real time and protect themselves from identity theft by notifying two of the three national credit bureaus online of any erroneous credit activity, the company said. Identity Sentinel provides lenders with credit services that can be marketed under their own brand, enabling them to build customer loyalty while creating a new revenue channel. "By offering these services on their website, lenders can help their customers identify unauthorized increases in debt or credit limits, applications for new credit, and other suspicious activity," LSI said. Customers can sign up for a Fraud-Watch Credit Monitoring feature that will alert them via weekly e-mail updates of any credit-related activity. More information on Identity Sentinel can be found online at http://www.myidentitysentinel.com.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Empower, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc. and a provider of mortgage origination software, has released a new module designed to add point-of-sale functionality to the application.Empower Point of Sale Desktop is a front-end module that provides users with "seamless integration into the Empower enterprise suite," the company said. The product has integrations to FNF products and services such as flood determinations, real estate tax service, automated valuation models, credit reports, and the MSP, a loan servicing platform. In addition, the product is approved for use with industry standard services offered by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and others, Empower said. More information about the FNF family of companies can be found at http://www.fnf.com and http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

LION Inc., Seattle, has entered into an agreement to acquire Tuttle Risk Management Services, a provider of mortgage pipeline risk management services based in San Rafael, Calif.Under the terms of the agreement, TRMS shareholders will receive $2.7 million in consideration, made up of 3.1 million restricted shares of LION common stock and promissory notes (due in 2007) in the principal amount of about $1.3 million, LION said. LION paid no cash in the deal. TRMS recorded unaudited revenue of $6.2 million in 2003 and $4.7 million in revenue for the first nine months of this year. The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of both companies. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.lioninc.com and http://www.trmshedge.com.

Loveland, Colo.-based Kroll Factual Data Inc. has announced the acquisition of National Flood Research Inc., Boulder, Colo., a national provider of disclosure products to the mortgage, real estate, and insurance industries.The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. NFR has a staff of 47 and has specialized in flood hazard disclosure since the early 1990s. It offers a portfolio of flood hazard services, including basic and life-of-loan flood certification, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act/census information, and portfolio review, KFD said. It also provides information on environmental and other natural hazards, such as earthquake fault zones, wildland fire hazards, dam inundation areas, and Superfund sites. NFR's founder, Lloyd Noel Meador, will continue as divisional vice president of Kroll's Background Screening Group. KFD, a subsidiary of Kroll Inc., can be found on the Web at http://www.krollfactualdata.com.

AppIntell Inc., St. Louis, has changed its name to AppIntelligence Inc.The company is a provider of data integrity, fraud prevention, risk assessment, and compliance tools for the residential lending industry. The renamed company said the AppIntelligence name better reflects the company's leadership role in mortgage fraud and compliance applications intelligence. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.appintelligence.com.

TransUnion Settlement Solutions, Wilmington, Del., has announced the release of StreamLoan Title, an alternative title insurance-backed product designed to streamline closing for home equity lenders.Specifically, the offering enhances TransUnion's end-to-end real estate settlement offering. TransUnion said the application provides lenders with a Master Title Insurance Loan Policy that protects each security interest created through their qualifying residential home equity loan program. StreamLoan Title is underwritten by a title insurance policy and offers collateral protection that is acceptable for the risk involved. An individual loan certificate is issued for each loan that is underwritten to the approved guidelines and procedures, and serves as evidence of the lender's title insurance coverage, the company said. TransUnion can be found on the Web at http://www.transunion.com.

Clayton, a provider of automated compliance software, and AllRegs, a regulatory content provider for residential mortgage lenders, have announced a partnership that will facilitate access to AllRegs' legislative database by users of Clayton's High-Cost Analyzer.The High-Cost Analyzer is a Web-based application that uses standard loan data to calculate whether a loan exceeds thresholds for so-called high-cost or predatory loans under various federal, state, and local laws. During the analysis, the user can "drill down to both the summary and full text of the legislation, greatly reducing the time and effort involved to research legislation," the companies said. Clayton, based in Shelton, Conn., can be found online at http://www.clayton.com, and AllRegs, based in Eagan, Minn., can be found at http://www.allregs.com.

LoanCity, an online wholesale lender based in San Jose, Calif., has announced enhancements to its line of alternative-A mortgage products.The enhancements include an 80/20 purchase option, streamlined documentation requirements, flexible qualifying options, and competitive pricing, the company said. "We're committed to offering the edge that brokers need to be profitable," said Rick Soukoulis, founder and chief executive officer of LoanCity. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.loancity.com.

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has acquired HomeLoanCenter.com, an Internet direct mortgage lender based in Irvine, Calif.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close within 90 to 120 days. "This acquisition will help us increase our profit per customer, have greater input over the consumer experience, more efficiently cross-sell our offering, and gain market share," said LendingTree founder and chief executive officer Doug Lebda. HLC founder and CEO Anthony Hsieh called the deal "a win for consumers" and, along with company president Tomo Yebisu, he will remain with the company. LendingTree can be found on the Web at http://www.lendingtree.com.