Technology

ServiceMagic, a Golden, Colo.-based online marketplace for homeowners, has announced the launch of ServiceMagic Lending and a joint venture with Cornerstone Mortgage to bring the new service to its website visitors.ServiceMagic Lending, which will link consumers to prescreened lenders, will enable banks and mortgage brokers to take advantage of "the inherent efficiencies" of ServiceMagic's Web-based marketing platform, the company said. "Currently, over a million homeowners per year request home improvement and real estate services valued in excess of $3 billion via ServiceMagic," said Rodney Rice, a co-founder ServiceMagic. "The addition of lending services was the next step in our efforts to provide consumers a comprehensive solution for purchasing, financing, and improving their homes." The company said Cornerstone, a wholly owned subsidiary of First National Bank of Omaha, has more than three million website visitors a month. ServiceMagic can be found online at http://www.servicemagic.com.

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., and Providian Financial Corp., San Francisco, have announced that LendingTree has agreed to acquire from Providian the brand name and certain assets of GetSmart.com, which offers mortgage, home equity, and other consumer loans.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lending Tree said it expects to maintain the relationships with the more than 100 lenders who participate in the GetSmart network, and to offer the GetSmart platform to the more than 200 lenders on the LendingTree exchange. Doug Lebda, the founder and chief executive officer of LendingTree, said the acquisition "fits with LendingTree's core business strategy of connecting consumers with lenders and Realtors." Warren Wilcox, Providian's vice chairman of marketing and strategic planning, said GetSmart is a brand that "on a stand-alone basis, is a nonstrategic asset for Providian." The companies can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com, http://www.providian.com, and http://www.getsmart.com.

Netupdate Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has formed an alliance with the School of Mortgage Lending, also of Bellevue, under which Netupdate's point-of-sale technology will be paired with the school's training materials to offer comparisons of loan products as part of the curriculum.The combined product is designed to provide an information management resource for loan officers who, the School of Mortgage Lending contends, have become more like financial advisers than loan consultants. "By including technology in the curriculum, our materials more quickly elevate the proficiency of the modern-day loan officer," said Susan Williams, president and chief executive officer of the School of Mortgage Lending, whose system combines computer-based and correspondence training. Netupdate specializes in helping companies extend business applications onto the Internet. The organizations can be found online at http://www.netupdate.com and http://www.schoolofmortgagelending.com.

Cogent Road Inc., San Diego, and ComplianceEase, San Francisco, have launched a new service that will offer Cogent Road's customers predatory lending and regulatory compliance auditing technology.The new product, PCAudit, is a fully automated pre- and post-close risk management system that audits individual loans or bulk portfolios against various criteria. Cogent Road's technology connects lenders to their third-party sources to provide "systematic audit control" on every wholesale origination before making a purchase, the companies said. "One of the most important challenges for lenders today is to understand the anti-predatory-lending and numerous other regulatory compliance initiatives like the USA Patriot Act and to understand the way in which they will impact their business," said David Girling, executive vice president of ComplianceEase, a division of LogicEase Solutions. The companies can be found online at http://www.cogentroad.com and http://www.complianceease.com.

GHR Systems Inc., Wayne, Pa., has announced the acquisition of Berkeley, Calif.-based Loansoft, which provides retail loan origination software to four of the top 10 U.S. residential mortgage lenders, including Chase and Washington Mutual.The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. GHR is best known for its widely used decisioning system and its products serving the wholesale transaction. Both companies operate on Microsoft-based platforms. The merged entity has 300 employees that serve a customer base of over 70 lenders, 17,000 loan officers, and 25,000 brokers. Loansoft said it will continue to operate from its current California location and that both entities will offer current product lines as licensed or hosted applications.

Walter C. Morgan has been named executive vice president for strategic business development at Integrated Loan Service, Rocky Hill, Conn.ILS said Mr. Morgan will be responsible for developing strategic partnerships and new business for ILS and Fiserv's Lending Services and Solutions Group, of which ILS is a part. He was formerly with Fidelity National Information Solutions and Market Intelligence. ILS provides lending systems to banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders. It can be found online at http://www.ils.com.

Data-Vision Inc., Mishawaka, Ind., has announced the release of DisclosureDocs, an online system that allows mortgage originators to deliver loan applications and initial disclosure documents electronically.The secure documents can then be digitally signed by the consumer and returned within minutes. When a consumer signs the documents, the lender is notified by e-mail. Data-Vision said it will make the documents available to the homeowner on demand for a period of 90 days. Records can also be stored on the system and made available to the consumer for 27 months at the option of the lending institution. Part of Data-Vision's RemoteDocs service, DisclosureDocs will be rolled out to the company's clients later this year and to all others in early 2004. Data-Vision can be found on the Internet at http://www.disclosuredocs.com.

Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., has announced the completion of its acquisition of General American Corp., a provider of real estate settlement services to the lending industry.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. GAC operates in two divisions: GAC Direct and GATORSystems. GAC Direct, which provides the majority of the company's revenues, is a settlement services provider to financial institutions and realty firms nationwide. Its services are delivered over an Internet gateway connected to three national processing centers. Fiserv said. The GATORSystems division licenses technology systems and software to settlement service providers. Fiserv can be found on the Internet at www.fiserv.com.

Ellie Mae, Dublin, Calif., says it will go "head-to-head" with San Jose, Calif.-based Calyx Software, makers of the popular Point loan origination system, in order to get market share by launching a new application called Encompass.The new application is designed to go beyond the LOS, according to Ellie Mae chairman and CEO Sig Anderman, by offering three separate views of the organization. Loan officers, processors and brokers will all see different screens depending upon their unique needs, but all data will be seamlessly shared throughout the organization and messages can be sent between them. Encompass is integrated with Ellie Mae's ePass Business Center, giving users access to settlement services providers and wholesale lenders, with returned data populated directly into the file. Brokers ordering Encompass before Jan. 31, 2004, will receive the software at no cost, including a free first year of support and maintenance. Ellie Mae's website address is http://www.elliemae.com.

Del Mar Database, a San Diego-based mortgage technology firm, has appointed John Walsh president and chief operating officer and Doug Clawson chief technology officer.Mr. Walsh most recently served as president of RF/Spectrum Decision Science Corp. and chairman and chief executive officer of PureCarbon Inc. "In addition to a focus on our products and services, I know from my background in mortgage banking software that it is critical to expand our overall services to a level that consistently exceeds our customers' expectations," Mr. Walsh said. As Del Mar Database's new CTO, Mr. Clawson is planning a new generation of technology for Del Mar's flagship software, DataTrac. He has more than 18 years of experience in developing software technology products. Del Mar's website address is http://www.delmardb.com.