Technology

New York-based XBRL International has announced that version 2.1 of its XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) technical specification will enhance the ability of financial service firms to use the Internet for business reporting by fostering greater interoperability between XML software applications.XBRL International said the first exchange to implement the system was the listing department of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In August 2003, an XBRL software vendor survey showed that two-thirds of accounting software vendors surveyed have either already XBRL-enabled at least one of their accounting software packages or will do so by December 2004. The company can be found online at http://www.xbrl.org.

Oklahoma City-based a la mode has announced that it is the only appraisal software vendor to offer every AI Ready-compliant form appraisers can use to do business with the AI Residential Database and AppraisalPort.The company's WinTotal software, used by more than half of U.S. appraisers, shares the Appraisal Institute's 2.5 (highest) compliance-level rating, but a la mode said it is the only firm that offers the complete list of forms, above and beyond the level required for the 2.5 rating. The interface used by AI Ready provides appraisal document software companies a common application programming interface for translation of their data into the standard format. The company's Mercury Network servers delivered more than 15 million electronic appraisals in the past 12 months, a volume the company says gives it undisputed leadership in paperless real estate transactions. Vendor compliance and form availability information is available through the AI Ready website at http://www.aiready.com/vendormatrix.asp.

WWW.MortgageExpressLoan.com, Miami, has announced the launch of free online mortgage loan applications that it will send in "real time" to three lenders who specialize in what is deemed the most appropriate loan program for the loan applicant.The application takes about 30 seconds to fill out, and will receive "top priority attention, because there are over 600 lenders in our system," the company said. The "real time" guarantee means the application will be e-mailed or faxed to the appropriate lenders as soon as it is received, WWW.MortgageExpressLoan.com said. It can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgageexpressloan.com.

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. has given three of its executives new titles, two of which affect positions at the company's online title and closing services unit for mortgage lenders.Cheryl Cox -- previously vice president, national closing operations -- has been promoted to president of the aforementioned title and closing unit, LandAmerica OneStop; Melissa Hill, previously president of LandAmerica OneStop, has been promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, production and process improvement; and Bruce Wood -- who was previously vice president, planning and analysis -- has been named senior vice president, financial planning. LandAmerica can be found on the Web at http://www.landam.com.

LendingTree, Inc. has purchased certain assets of RealEstate.com from Primedia Inc.The online lender paid an undisclosed price for the real estate website's brand, uniform resource locator and other assets it felt complemented its business model. LendingTree can be found on the Web at http://www.lendingtree.com.

DST Technologies Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has announced that it will integrate its business process management system with Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter automated underwriting engine to enable lenders to move toward straight-through processing of mortgage loans.The system will allow mortgage lenders using DU to automate the processing of mortgage loans based on DU findings and other lender-provided specifications. The company said the Automated Work Distributor BPM technology supports all aspects of the lending process, provides a secure and accurate audit trail, eliminates the need to transfer or access paper files, and allows individuals in different states and time zones to participate in a single integrated workflow. The DST system can be found online at http://www.dstawd.com.

Secure Identity Services Accreditation Corp., a nonprofit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has announced the accreditation of KPMG LLP as auditor for identity management compliance of mortgage industry standards.KPMG becomes the first auditor to receive a SISAC accreditation. SISAC said it develops and promotes minimum ID management standards, such as insurance and liability limits, by accrediting credential service providers that meet mortgage industry requirements. "With these accreditations we are now one step closer to the establishment of single sign-on for users, electronically automated processes, and embedded security that provides real assurance of privacy, integrity, and nonrepudiation of electronic records and transactions," said Jim Anderson, Freddie Mac's director of information systems and co-chair of the MBA's Security Workgroup. SISAC board member Bill R. Frazer, chief financial officer of L.J. Melody & Co., said the accreditation of KPMG "tells the mortgage industry -- both residential and commercial -- that digital transactions are moving into the mainstream."

Charlotte, NC-based Financial ServiceSolutions LLC, a joint venture founded this year by Bank of America and Fidelity National Financial, has announced an agreement under which Accenture will be the primary sales and marketing channel and the preferred integrator for FSS.The agreement calls for Accenture to acquire an unstipulated "small" equity interest in FSS, which offers mortgage origination and fulfillment outsourcing services and technology to large and mid-tier lenders. Financial ServiceSolutions will become Accenture's exclusive offering for business process outsourcing in the United States. Accenture will also provide FSS with consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. The FSS ProcessPro systems help lenders manage the mortgage application process from application and underwriting to closing and funding, including processing and third-party vendor management.

In a deal touted as giving lender customers greater access to consumers, Charlotte, N.C.-based LendingTree has announced the completion of its acquisition of former competitor GetSmart.com and the GetSmart brand from Providian Financial Corp.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. LendingTree said it will continue to maintain relationships with more than 100 lenders participating in the GetSmart exchange and will offer the GetSmart platform to the more than 200 lenders currently on the LendingTree exchange. LendingTree was acquired in August 2003 by IAC/InterActiveCorp, formerly USA Interactive. LendingTree facilitates loans to consumers, including home mortgage, home equity, automobile, personal, debt consolidation, and credit cards. IAC/InterActiveCorp consists of LendingTree and businesses such as Expedia Inc., Hotels.com, Ticketmaster, and Citysearch, among others. The companies can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com, http://www.getsmart.com, and http://www.providian.com.

Epic Financial Corp., Newport Beach, Calif., and Paramco Financial Group, Denver, have announced an alliance with Datalogic International to develop a proprietary Voice Over Internet Protocol video conferencing system for the mortgage industry.Epic's technology division led the effort, bringing in Paramco as a partner and Datalogic for research-and-development initiatives and to use its VoIP platform to deploy the system, the companies said. Once the video conferencing system is fully developed, Epic and Paramco will deploy it to their mortgage subsidiaries, such as Epic's Key Mortgage Corp. and Paramco's Royal Federal Inc., they said. "VoIP Video Conferencing is something we have envisioned for a number of years, but now with advancements in technology and the help of Datalogic, we can bring this solution to fruition," said Epic president William Parker. Epic can be found online at http://www.4epic.com and Paramco can be found at http://www.paramco.net.