Technology

Mark Lefanowicz, chief operating officer of E-Loan Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., has been promoted to president of E-Loan and will retain his position as COO.Mr. Lefanowicz has been E-Loan's COO since January, and has been a company director since October 2002. The company also announced the appointment of Susan Catherine Muriel as its new chief marketing officer. She joins E-Loan from Upromise Inc., a private college funding program. E-Loan, a consumer-direct lender that offers mortgage, auto, and home equity loans, can be found online at http://www.eloan.com.

Wachovia has signed up to participate on Wayne, Pa.-based GHR Systems' Web-based origination marketplace, BrokerOneSource.There are currently about 2,000 brokers conducting business on the site, and GHR says 100 to 200 new brokers sign up each day. At present, 13 lenders participate. GHR can be found on the Web at http://www.ghrsystems.com.

Genworth Financial Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has announced the introduction of Underwrite Express, an online service that the company says combines the benefits of two of its mortgage technology platforms.The service integrates AU Central, Genworth's proprietary automated underwriting engine, with Doc Central, its online platform for creating and sharing loan documents, the company said. "We designed this platform to serve the needs of mortgage originators who want quicker underwriting turnaround," said Kevin Schneider, Genworth's president for U.S. mortgage insurance. "Underwrite Express meets their needs by seamlessly integrating two proven platforms that already are being used successfully by originators nationwide." Genworth can be found online at http://www.genworth.com.

Myers Internet has released a new website product that enables mortgage originators to originate mortgages by marketing to the for-sale-by-owner market."Mortgage originators are increasingly looking for new channels to originate mortgages," Myers chief executive officer Warren Myer said at the 2004 National Association of Mortgage Brokers Convention in Salt Lake City. Originators pay a setup fee of $199 and a monthly fee of $39. The website can be up and running in a week. Myers can be found on the Web in http://www.myers.com.

Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., has decided to drop its request for an injunction against Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif.Calyx has sued Ellie Mae, alleging that the company committed copyright infringement by copying the look and feel of its Point product with the release of Encompass. To ensure that Ellie Mae doesn't sell Encompass until the case is decided, Calyx petitioned the court for an injunction. Calyx now says it was unable to get a proper discovery period and has therefore dropped the request until discovery can be conducted, at which time it reserves the right to reinstate the request. On the other side, Ellie Mae chief executive Sig Anderman called the entire request "frivolous." Mr. Anderman maintained that Calyx withdrew its request because Ellie Mae was going to ask the court to impose sanctions on Calyx should the court decide in Ellie Mae's favor. The first hearing in the copyright infringement case is scheduled for late this month.

DocuTech Corp., Idaho Falls, Idaho, has launched a new interactive Lender Advocate website that it describes as a one-stop compliance and educational center for the mortgage industry.The site enables visitors to get current information about proposed state and federal laws while those laws are still in the making. For each pending law or regulation monitored, the site provides a general summary of the proposed law and a link to the legislation in its present form (with amendment history marked and noted). As a key interactive feature, the site provides a poll of visitor response to the pending legislation and an option for the visitor to add commentary. DocuTech will then transmit visitor responses about the proposed legislation to state officials and lawmakers. The new website can be found at http://www.lenderadvocate.com.

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va., has announced an agreement to integrate its credit reporting subsidiary, Info1 Holding Co., into Freddie Mac's automated underwriting system.Under the arrangement, Info1 is offering credit reporting services to mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers using Loan Prospector. Info1 president Ken Goins said the agreement will for the first time enable Freddie Mac "to access credit reports previously ordered by its clients outside of Loan Prospector by using an Info1 reference number." The companies can be found online at http://www.landam.com and http://www.freddiemac.com.

The senior debt rating of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., New York, has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings in the wake of an announcement that the company will acquire Kroll Inc., a risk consulting company that serves the mortgage industry and others, for $1.9 billion.The rating agency attributed the action to "uncertain financing plans," saying that the debt rating would likely be lowered if the acquisition is funded chiefly with debt. The Kroll acquisition is a significant move for MMC, as Kroll has itself acquired The Credit Network and Factual Data in the past two years, making it a leader in the risk mitigation, credit, and fraud arena within the mortgage technology industry. For the past three years, Mortgage Technology magazine, a sister publication of Mortgage Wire, has featured Kroll in its list of the industry's top 100 mortgage technology vendors. Fitch can be found on the Web at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., New York, will acquire Kroll Inc., New York, as part of a strategic move to broaden its risk and insurance services and enhance its market share in risk management services.Kroll Inc. acquired Factual Data in August 2003, and the Credit Network in March 2004. Under the definitive agreement, MMC will acquire Kroll in an all-cash, $1.9 billion transaction in which Kroll shareholders will receive $37 for each outstanding share of Kroll common stock they own, Kroll said. The price to be paid by MMC represents a 31.7% premium over Kroll's closing stock price of $28.10 on the Nasdaq National Market on May 18. The deal was unanimously approved by both MMC's and Kroll's board of directors. Upon completion of the transaction, Kroll will become part of Marsh Inc., MMC's risk and insurance services subsidiary, Kroll said. Jules Kroll, founder and executive chairman of Kroll, will be named a vice chairman of Marsh Inc. as part of the agreement. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.mmc.com and http:// www.krollworldwide.com.

First Magnus Financial Corp., a privately held mortgage banking company in Tucson, Ariz., has selected SharperLending LLC, Spokane, Wash., to support its wholesale and correspondent divisions.SharperLending is a Web-based platform that allows lenders to order, store, and manage mortgage products from multiple vendors at a single point of entry. As part of the agreement, First Magnus will access SharperLending's platform on a private-label basis. First Magnus' users will interact with the SharperLending platform through a Web-based interface, offering flood, credit, and insurance rates in one bundle. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.firstmagnus.com and http://www.sharperlending.com.