Technology

MRG Document Technologies has integrated with San Francisco-based ComplianceEase to provide automated compliance auditing for closing documents prepared by MRG. MRG is a provider of compliance and documentation services for the financial industry. ComplianceEase's automated compliance system, ComplianceAnalyzer, is accessible through MRG's document preparation system, MIRACLE ONLINE. The integration enables lenders using MRG to access all ComplianceEase tests and reports online. Audit results for possible compliance issues are available in both summary and detail formats. There is no additional charge for users to access ComplianceEase via MIRACLE ONLINE. Lenders simply sign up directly with ComplianceEase and the integration is handled by MRG.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based BasePoint Analytics has released new Web-hosted automation that enables lenders to obtain verifications of borrower income. Developed in response to lender requests for quicker turnaround on IRS 4506-T transcripts, the Income Verification Service includes a real-time tracking system for monitoring each transcript request and report, and gives managers the capability to view the status of all user transcript activity. Specifically, the service automates each step in the process to obtain the 4506-T report, with online data entry of the transcript request and automatic creation of the cover sheet. A system-generated e-mail provides instantaneous notification to the user when the transcript request is received and when the report is available, with a link directly to the report on BasePoint's secure system. The online tracking system allows requests and results to be retrieved at any time, with real-time monitoring for managers to check the status of all user transcript activity.

Rapid Reporting, Ft. Worth, Texas, has released EmploymentChek, a third-party employment verification service offering verbal verification of employment. VVOE picks up where automated employment verification services leave off by providing confirmations that come from live, person-to-person contact with the employer. With EmploymentChek, lenders and brokers can get definitive answers on a borrower's employment in 24 hours or less. All mortgage loans contain four major risk factors for fraud: identity, income, employment and collateral. The mortgage industry is particularly challenged by employment fraud because of the labor-intensive and paper-laden, manual process of verification, which opens lenders up to a variety of errors, oversights and opportunities for fraud. In most mortgage shops, the verification process is not measurable or accountable, and the mortgage companies do not capture the data. Rapid Reporting's EmploymentChek solves those issues with a process that validates the existence of the employer thorough a search of public and private records, and also provides a person-to-person verbal verification of employment conducted by a trained employment fraud specialist.

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based PriceMyLoan has completed an integration to Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector automated underwriting system. The integration allows originators to obtain decisions from Loan Prospector from within the PML system. PML is an automated eligibility and pricing tool that is used by mortgage lenders to provide loan decisions at the point-of-sale. Originators query the Web-based engine to determine which products their borrowers qualify for, and to obtain current pricing for those products. The Loan Prospector integration provides a method for originators to submit credit report and loan data directly to Loan Prospector system from within PML. Loan Prospector responses are brought back into PML and are used to generate product and pricing decisions for specific investor loan products. PML can be found on the Web at http://www.pricemyloan.com.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis, has reached an agreement with Document Processing Systems, Inc. to transition DPS' customers onto the Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Document Services Platform. DPS, founded more than 25 years ago in Novi, Mich., provides mortgage lenders and brokers with document preparation services through the company's DIRECT-DOCS online technology platform. The company recently announced that it was exiting the document preparation services business. Under the terms of the agreement, DPS will work with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services to help migrate customers over to Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Document Services Platform.

Ellie Mae Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif.-based origination vendor, has acquired the assets of Online Documents Inc., a provider of guaranteed compliant mortgage documents, from Stewart Lender Services Inc. No sale price was disclosed. Online Documents, based in Concord, Calif., provides services to more than 500 clients nationwide, ranging from local and regional lenders to large organizations. The acquisition agreement between Stewart Lender Services and Ellie Mae includes Online Documents' employees, client relationships, technology, business operations, and other assets. Ellie Mae said it will continue to serve current customers of Online Documents, and in the coming months will add Online Documents as an additional provider on Encompass Closer, its document preparation solution integrated within the Encompass Mortgage Management Solution. In addition, mortgage professionals will continue to see Online Documents among the many document service providers offered on the Ellie Mae ePASS Network. Ellie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

AllRegs, an information provider for the mortgage industry based in Eagan, Minn., and Optimal Blue, a Plano, Texas-based developer of a Web-based platform that couples decisioning technology with content management, have joined forces to provide an integrated system for loan officers. The AllRegs LoanLibrary, which features 2,600 products, will now be available to all users of Optimal Blue's product eligibility and pricing engine. Optimal Blue maintains and delivers mortgage product content through an automated secondary-marketing platform. The data from the AllRegs application will be integrated into Optimal Blue's PPE through its Web service, the companies said. "By combining our resources, loan officers will have access to a product that enables them to better manage their loan products, search them in seconds, and view all the investor guidelines they need to choose the appropriate products for their customers," said Dan Thoms, AllRegs senior vice president. AllRegs, can be found online at http://www.allregs.com and http://www.optimalblue.com.

The National Association of Realtors has announced the launch of a Federal Housing Administration Toolkit aimed at enabling Realtors to help buyers obtain safe and affordable FHA-backed mortgages. The toolkit includes a video on frequently asked questions and a flash-media presentation of FHA programs, as well as brochures, other reference guides, and links to useful resources. "FHA offers a safe alternative to many of the subprime and exotic loans that caused much of today's market turmoil, and the program is easier to use than ever before," said Pat V. Combs, immediate past president of the NAR. The association can be found on the Web at http://www.realtor.org.

Interthinx, a provider of risk mitigation and regulatory compliance tools based in Agoura Hills, Calif., is touting the loan-level identity component of its FraudGuard tool to help mortgage lenders comply with so-called red-flag rules that take effect Nov. 1. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act requires banks to develop policies (consistent with Customer Information Program rules) to identify potential identity theft. FraudGuard uses public and proprietary data to generate more than 45 alerts that help lenders comply with the red-flag rules, the company said. "Creditors and financial institutions are obligated to implement a written program that would satisfy the requirements to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft," said Kevin Coop, president of Interthinx. "FraudGuard provides a multitude of critical alerts to support compliance in areas such as Social Security numbers issued prior to date of birth of borrower, invalid phone numbers, and inconsistent personal identification information." The company can be found online at http://www.interthinx.com.

Informative Research, a provider of mortgage credit information based in Garden Grove, Calif., has announced the release of new Portfolio Credit Review analytic tools aimed at offering mortgage investors and servicers greater insight into future loan performance. The tools provide in-depth credit data and analytics to assess payment risk, mitigate losses, or increase loan retention, the company said. Clients can submit large-batch credit data requests to get results in as few as three business days. Before submission, Informative Research said it works with each client to ensure that the data are optimized. "Investors must be focused on individual loans in their portfolio," said Tony D'Eccliss, senior vice president of sales for Informative Research. "Gone are the days when portfolio risk was measured in broad brushstrokes." The company can be found online at http://www.informativeresearch.com.