Tech Roundup: Tool Kit to Aid in Identity Theft Prevention Programs

To help mortgage lenders and brokers quickly comply with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act’s new Red Flag Rules, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services launched last week its new Red Flag Tool Kit for Mortgage. “The Tool Kit helps mortgage lenders and brokers take a fast, straightforward approach to developing and implementing their identity theft prevention programs required by the rules,” according to Wolters Kluwer’s press release. The Federal Trade Commission has delayed enforcing the Red Flag Rules until May 1, 2009 to give mortgage lenders and brokers enough time to comply with the requirements. Though the FTC’s deadline is a few months away, Wolters Kluwer said Red Flag Tool Kit for Mortgage can help lenders and brokers ensure they meet that deadline. “The Tool Kit gives them the essentials they need to help ensure they comply quickly with the requirements in one cost-effective package,” said Jason Marx, vice president and general manager, Mortgage, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. “They’ll also be confident that each solution in the Tool Kit is built upon the more than 50 years of regulatory expertise…” www.wolterskluwerfs.com NREIS Offering Analytics and Risk Mitigation National Real Estate Information Services (NREIS) announced Friday the release of a fully integrated Asset Management Solution, beginning with loan portfolio data analysis and extending to the REO sales and disposition process. The solution allows lenders and investors to confirm vital loan information and determine the optimal work out or acquisition solutions. National Real Estate’s integrated asset management analytics engine is powered by Commerce Velocity. The partnership allows NREIS to offer a more comprehensive suite of solutions to mortgage servicers and investors, said NREIS in a statement. NREIS’ customers can gain insight and mitigate risk on both performing and non performing assets. The NREIS Asset Management Solution segments the lending portfolio by performance and potential risk providing simultaneous workout solutions for each loan. The NREIS asset management team can then establish custom workflows with the client to handle the outcomes including loan refinance, loan modification, short sale, and foreclosure/disposition. “Extending the NREIS service offerings upstream fills a noticeable service gap in the market,” said Umesh Verma, CEO at Commerce Velocity. www.NREIS.com www.NationalAM.com Lenders One, StreetLinks Enter Partnership Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of mortgage bankers, said last week it has enlisted StreetLinks National Appraisal Services to provide its members with appraisal services and compliance expertise. “As the mortgage industry and the demand for different loan products have evolved over the last year, so has the appraisal process,” said Luke Pille, director of national programs at Lenders One. “Our members have expressed an interest in keeping up with changing regulatory guidelines, particularly with the Home Valuation Code of Conduct  that will now take effect on May 1, 2009. It was our responsibility to find an experienced compliance partner to provide our members with complete assurance throughout the collateral valuation process.” StreetLinks is unlike traditional appraisal management companies said Lenders One, in that it hand reviews each appraisal to ensure accuracy and validity. Additionally, Lenders One members will benefit from faster loan approvals and superior loan performance as every appraisal is underwritten to specific lender and investor guidelines as well as meets Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice requirements. www.lendersone.com www.streetlinks.com Boost in Clientele and Products at DocuTech Idaho Falls, Idaho-based DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance services for mortgage documents, announced last week it added 89 customers to its roster of mortgage lenders in 2008 using services to automate document compliance and reduce costs associated with generating documents, managing disclosures and checking documents for regulatory compliance. The company also released a new, expanded version of its flagship product, ConformX, which generates compliant closing documents from any Internet connection. The upgrade provides lenders more automation and fewer screens to complete closing documents, the company said in a statement. It also pulls data directly from a lender’s loan origination system and runs data integrity, high cost checks and predatory lending checks on the loan. Despite a slow market, DocuTech continues to add lenders seeking compliance services for mortgage documents, the company said. www.docutechcorp.com Write to Kelly Curran at [email protected]. Editor’s note: Tech Roundup runs every Monday, and offers a look into the various technology that makes the entire mortgage market work — whether origination or default, through to secondary market operations. If you’ve got a tech bit that we should know about, email the reporter above.