Technology

ARC Systems, Austin, Texas, and Guardian Mortgage Documents, Lakewood, Colo., have joined forces to offer a home equity line-of-credit system that combines lenders' credit criteria with an automated underwriting and document-preparation process.The HELOC Solution Suite is a Web-based application that allows users to enter all the information needed to make a decision on a home equity loan, the companies said. The application, customized to the lender's specifications, offers a Desktop Underwriter file format upload feature. The application service provider system requires no purchase of software or hardware. Only a desktop personal computer with a high-speed Internet connection and a Web browser is needed, ARC and Guardian said. The companies can be found online at http://www.arcsystems.com and http://www.gmdinfo.com.

The mortgage industry has embraced the concept of having websites but has fallen short of actually embracing the Internet, according to Joseph Kennedy, president and chief operating officer of E-Loan Inc., Dublin, Calif.Mr. Kennedy made his comments at Thomson Media's 5th Annual Mortgage EC conference in Las Vegas. During his presentation, he drew parallels to the automotive and travel industries and concluded that the mortgage industry is using the Web more like the former than the latter. Car dealers use the Web as a source of leads, he said, but ignore the real need of their customers: accurate pricing information. The tourist business, in contrast, has changed its methods and given Web visitors the information they need to close the deal. "Our product is information-based," Mr. Kennedy said. "It is absolutely perfect for the Web. Borrowers are embracing the Internet, and eventually so must we as an industry." E-Loan can be found online at http://www.eloan.com.

The technology to create all-electronic mortgages already exists and is currently in use by Countrywide Financial Corp., according to CFC's chief information officer and managing director, Richard Jones.Mr. Jones made his comments to attendees at Thomson Media's 5th Annual Mortgage EC conference in Las Vegas. "The technology to do this has been around for a long time," he said. But he added that two things stand in the way of AE transactions' entrance into the mainstream: customers have been slow to embrace them, and the documents have yet to be tested in a court of law. Countrywide, based in Calabasas, Calif., is building an electronic loan storage facility to store the all-electronic loans it originates and buys from correspondents. Mr. Jones did not speculate on how soon the AE mortgage would become widely accepted. Countrywide can be found on the Web at http://www.countrywide.com.

Electronic mortgages may one day be commonplace, but the industry "will never get totally away from paper," says Gabe Minton, vice president of technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association.Speaking at the MBA's annual Legal Issues in Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami Beach, Fla., Mr. Minton said "paper will always have to be an option," if only because some local jurisdictions will never step completely into the 21st century. He also cited the conservative nature of lenders, many of whom are slow to change, and the desire of some consumers to continue to do things the old-fashioned way. Only about 75 attorneys and information technology professionals are attending the meeting. Nevertheless, the MBA still plans to devote "more and more attention" to the legalities of the emerging e-mortgage sector, according to director Rod Alba. "People working in this arena are either experts in technology or experts in the law," Mr. Alba said. "But very few are experts in both."

Entyre, a document provider based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced that XL Dynamics, Cerritos, Calif., has selected Entyre's eMortgage-X4 mortgage closing documentation system to use with the XL Dynamics MortgageSoft Online end-to-end loan origination system.Earlier this year, Entyre introduced its enterprise-class Web-based eMortgage-X4 product to offer lenders a private-branded, "plug and play" system that easily interfaces with legacy systems. MortgageSoft OnLine integrates loan origination, closing, servicing, secondary marketing, settlement, shipping, and insuring with real-time data access via the Internet. Entyre can be found online at http://www.entyre.com.

Dorado Corp., San Mateo, Calif., has announced a diversification of its Web-based ChannelMaster product offerings to better serve the needs of the underserved, minority, and low-income borrowers nationwide.Dorado said it will help lenders provide bundled affordable housing services through point-of-sale access to real estate settlement packages. Among the ChannelMaster users are Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and The First American Corp. First American is using the new website capabilities to offer discount packages of products for underserved borrowers "previously denied access by traditional scoring systems." It also plans to use ChannelMaster to introduce Californians to new affordable housing bundled products that include a credit report, title insurance, settlement services, flood certification, and home warranty. Meanwhile, Dorado is providing a Spanish-language version of its website that provides point-of-sale access to Countrywide loan officers serving minority and lower-income borrowers.

Nashua, N.H.-based GuideMark has a released a multifeatured Wholesale Mortgage Broker Relationship System that incorporates customer relationship management features to integrate customer interaction with financial transactions.According to the company, the system was developed in collaboration with executives, managers, and producers at wholesale mortgage institutions such as National City Bank. GuideMark said the system yields the following benefits: increased net income, higher loan-to-closing conversion ratios, improved market share with existing brokers, more effective sales calls, and open doors for targeted cross-selling. In the early stages of broker training, the pilot launch with National City produced positive comments from account executives and participating brokers, the company said. GuideMark can be found online at http://www.guidemark.com.

Affinity Technology Group Inc., Columbia, S.C., has announced that Household International Inc. has filed a declaratory judgment action against Affinity's patent licensing subsidiary, decisioning.com, in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del.The Household complaint requests a ruling that Household is not infringing upon any of decisioning.com's patents and that these patents are not valid. An Affinity official said the company is evaluating whether to pursue action in Delaware or to challenge Household's suit. Affinity, through decisioning.com, owns a portfolio of patents that cover the automated processing and establishment of loans, financial accounts, and credit accounts through an applicant-directed remote interface, such as a personal computer or terminal touch screen. In September, Affinity filed a complaint against Ameritrade Holding Corp. alleging that Ameritrade's "Express Application" feature, which allows applicants to open and fund accounts online, infringes on one of the company's patents.

David Aach has been named chief operating officer of Palisades Technology Partners, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a supplier of software and application development services to the mortgage industry.In addition to managing the company's day-to-day operations, Mr. Aach will focus on direct sales and alliance strategies to support the company's continued growth, Palisades said. Mr. Aach has more than 28 years of mortgage technology and sales experience. Before joining Palisades, he served as national sales manager for John Harland Financial Solutions, and strategic account manager for Corillian. Mr. Aach also served as vice president of mortgage systems for Citicorp Mortgage, where he was instrumental in rolling out the first loan origination system to use laser-printed mortgage documents, Palisades said. The company can be found online at http://www.ptpusa.com.

E*Trade Financial Corp., Menlo Park, Calif., has launched Fair Compare, a Web-based mortgage shopping tool that it says allows consumers to objectively and anonymously compare the total package price of any lender's mortgage offer with a similar loan product offered by E*Trade Mortgage.E*Trade said the product was developed in response to anticipated changes in the mortgage interest rate environment, primarily to address two frustrations many consumers encounter when shopping for a mortgage: inability to compare pricing on an "apples-to-apples" basis and difficulty in obtaining a firm, all-inclusive quote that will not change before closing. According to Robert Bernabe, head of E*Trade Financial's retail mortgage lending operation, the tool will help consumers better understand the lending process. "This consultative approach is something that has been missing in the industry for some time," he said. "The consumer should have an offer upfront that is firm and that allows them to know what they are getting into. This helps them go into that with their eyes wide open." E*Trade can be found on the Internet at http://www.etrade.com.