Technology

Synergistic Software Systems Inc., Spokane, Wash., has released version 2.0 of its SharperLending Electronic Partner Network, which it says adds increased performance and a host of enhanced features.SharperLending is a Web-based platform that lenders use to order, store, and manage the reports they need to close a loan. Synergistic said the platform is free for lenders and brokers to use. The only cost is for reports that lenders order. The new version has been streamlined to give lenders faster and easier access to third-party settlement services, the company said. In addition, Synergistic said it has added more capabilities to the system to allow it to scale up to handle additional volume. The new version also sports a new screen look and features that make it easier to customize a lender's service provider choices to its own workflow. Synergistic can be found online at http://www.sharperlending.com.

PCi Corp., Boston, has released Wiz Geocoder 3.5, a Web-based tool to integrate "geocoding" and edit-check capabilities into front-line applications that now includes Regulation C compliance.Geocoding allows financial institutions to retrieve demographic data for each applicant, enabling them to offer the most appropriate loan to each individual. With the introduction of Regulation C, financial institutions are expected to collect and analyze a dozen or more new variables when considering loan applications, the company pointed out. The new tool is designed to protect the integrity of data collected at the point of sale. The Wiz Geocoder, with enhanced edit-check functionality, also supports flood determinations, anti-predatory-lending analysis, and other compliance-related tasks. PCi can be found on the Web at http://www.pciwiz.com.

CitiMortgage, St. Louis, unveiled a new electronic delivery program to its correspondent lenders at the recent Western Secondary Market and Mortgage Bankers Conference in San Francisco.The new delivery platform is designed to provide flexibility to the company’s lending sources. When and how loans are registered and delivered is left to the individual correspondent. Single or multiple loans can be delivered in one session with all final data included in the transaction, or the correspondent can choose to update the loan information over time through multiple sessions and then submit it for final delivery, CitiMortgage said. The new program is the second of three phases of Citi’s technology initiative. Ultimately, the company says it will create a complete, end-to-end online registration, delivery, transaction, and pipeline management platform for the wholesale mortgage market. CitiMortgage's Internet address is http://www.citimortgage.com.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Irvine, Calif., which owns approximately 66% of Fidelity National Information Solutions, Santa Barbara, Calif., has announced the terms of a merger agreement under which it will acquire all the remaining outstanding shares of FNIS.Each share of FNIS common stock will be exchanged for 0.830 shares of FNF common stock, FNF said. Based on FNF's closing price of $31.54 on July 10, the ratio would represent a consideration of $26.18 per share of FNIS. The agreement imposes a $29 cap on the implied per-share consideration, and if the consideration falls below $19 per share, FNF may adjust the exchange ratio to maintain the implied consideration at $19 per share, FNF said. The transaction was first proposed in May, with an exchange ratio of 0.805 and an implied offer price of $24.70 per share of FNIS common stock. The companies can be found online at http://www.fidelitynational.com and http://www.fnis.com.

Eighty-five percent of consumers with Internet access researched the purchase of a home online in the past two years, and single women in particular rate online mortgage information as valuable, according to a Yahoo! Real Estate survey.Among single women, 92% of those responding to the survey (conducted by Harris Interactive) researched homebuying online, said Yahoo! Real Estate. Moreover, 62% of single women rated online mortgage calculators as valuable and 68% rated online "how-to" articles on picking lenders as valuable, compared with 54% and 53%, respectively, of single men. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! cited data from the National Association of Realtors indicating that twice as many single women as single men bought homes in 2001. Yahoo! Real Estate can be found online at http://realestate.yahoo.com.

Associated Software Consultants Inc., Middleburg Heights, Ohio, has announced that Woronoco Savings Bank has implemented ASC's Java-based PowerLender loan origination system.A spokesman for Westfield, Mass.-based Woronoco said the fact that PowerLender is written in Java makes it easier to integrate, maintain, and upgrade the LOS so that it complements other computer systems, such as the bank's link to its service bureau, Connecticut Online. The system is compatible with commonly used database programs such as Oracle, MS SQL, or MySQL. The companies can be found online at http://www.asconline.com and http://www.woronoco.com.

In a widely expected move to expand its market reach beyond top-tier lenders, Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Framework Inc. has announced a full range of purchase and deployment options for its LendWare credit fulfillment platform and components.The options to be offered include releasing source code to lender customers (such as Washington Mutual) desiring to create an in-house system; subscription-based licensing; a pre-configured LendWare system to reduce implementation time and lower cost; an ASP (application service provider) utility for customers seeing to minimize information technology infrastructure; and a business-process outsource utility offering economies of scale through a Framework BPO partner or fulfillment provider. Framework, recently acquired by Bank of America after providing the technology powering BoA’s LoanSolutions enterprise-wide system, has strategic relationships with Fidelity and other fulfillment providers.

E-Loan, Dublin, Calif., has become the first lender to earn the title "Upfront Mortgage Lender" from a faculty member at the Wharton School who calls himself "The Mortgage Professor."Jack Guttentag, professor of finance emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, has launched a program to certify Internet lenders, and E-Loan was the first to fulfill the five requirements of the program. Mr. Guttentag, who advises consumers about the mortgage process, says the requirements lenders must meet to be considered "upfront" include specifying which market niches they serve, providing a guaranteed mortgage package, and providing clear information on lock requirements, ARMS, and loan officer compensation. E-Loan can be found online at http://www.eloan.com, and Mr. Guttentag can be found at http://www.mtgprofessor.com.

U.S. Recordings, Saint Paul, Minn., in conjunction with the Dakota County Property Records Office and US Bank, has completed Minnesota's first electronic filing of a mortgage satisfaction document using the recently adopted Electronic Real Estate Recording standards.Dakota County, part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, is one of five ERER pilot counties to process an electronic mortgage satisfaction or release document. U.S. Recordings software, InteleDoc Plus, filed the "satisfactions" from US Bank.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., Orange, Calif., has announced a pilot program under which it will replace traditional appraisals on certain mortgage programs with Collateral Valuation Insurance, a new product developed by Fidelity National Information Solutions.Ameriquest said it has signed a letter of intent with FNIS under which Ameriquest will use CVI to speed up its collateral valuation process for its first-mortgage operations. Ameriquest, which has been using CVI for the past 90 days to replace certain appraisals, said it decided to expand the use of the product after experiencing "substantial improvement in turnaround times and quality of its collateral valuations." CVI can reduce the turnaround time for appraisals from several weeks to several days, the company said. Ameriquest said CVI is the first appraisal alternative product that combines automated estimates of value with an inspection of the property and valuation insurance.