Overture: Decision Automation Isn’t Just For Underwriting

What do automated underwriting and loan modifications have in common? According to at least one firm, the answer is more than you might think. Bethesda, Maryland-based Overture Technologies said earlier this week that it has extended its AU platform, known as the Mozart Decision Engine, into so-called “re-decisioning” processes — like loss mitigation, for example. In a press statement, the company said it sees an opportunity to leverage product and pricing eligibility as well as rules-managed decisioning — hallmarks of traditional automated underwriting — into the post-closing, capital markets, and loss mitigation processes. Overture contended that the transparency and consistency provided through automated decisioning can help investors can improve upon best execution, as well as pooling and securitization efforts. Lenders continually “re-decision” loans well beyond underwriting, but Overture said it believes that many often have limited data and documents, and rarely use an automated decisioning to streamline the process. In particular, servicers are absolutely buried under a growing mass of troubled loans that need to be analyzed to determine possible workout scenarios; the company said much of the automated decisioning that is traditionally used in underwriting transfers across to “re-decisioning” later in the loan’s lifecycle, as well. Linda Simmons, senior vice president at Overture, said that automating re-decisioning brings more than the benefit of speed to the process. “It also offers companies a level of transparency that’s so important these days when selling loans to investors, and a consistency of process that ensures quality while also saving the expense of costly errors and oversights,” she said. “This transparency and consistency provides a significant improvement in confidence across the mortgage transaction, which is a much-needed element in re-igniting the mortgage finance industry. “By building upon our success in the automated underwriting arena, we’re enabling companies to solve a wide variety of problems in less complicated, more cost-effective ways than with manual processes, and in doing so, to make that crucial, much desired return to profitability.” To learn more, visit http://www.overturetechnologies.com.