Amid a refinance frenzy, developers of loan origination systems are showcasing their wares at an annual mortgage banking event. One service provider is addressing the limited budgets of lenders during the past few years, while other LOS vendors are touting enhancements and newly secured clients.
During the past two months, loan originators have been taking new loan applications at an elevated pace, with new loan inquiries up 8 percent from last year’s refinance flurry based on the Mortgage Market Index.
Lenders, however, have changed their technology buying habits since 2007, and many have opted for low-cost solutions, according to MortgageFlex Systems Inc. But the increase in activity and growth at some lenders has increased the need for more sophisticated technology.
“The days of lenders buying just enough technology to get by are coming to a close” proclaimed MortgageFlex President Lester Dominick in an announcement released in conjunction with the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 98th Annual Convention and Expo this week in Chicago. “They require enterprise-level systems that allow them to automate complex workflows and grow with an ever-changing market.”
So the Jacksonville, Fla.-based mortgage technology provider has conducted extensive research and development during the past three years at a cost of more than $10 million. The investment led to the overhaul of its flagship LOS, LoanQuest. The system was re-engineered using Microsoft’s latest version of .NET architecture and can accommodate retail, wholesale and correspondent originations.
The enhanced system promises to help lenders differentiate themselves while maintaining an affordable price. Extensive user configuration flexibility is available for the core system, and a tool set enables additional system tailoring. Compliance features include continuously updated regulatory data.
Among 14 new clients utilizing the updated LOS are Credit Union Mortgage Alliance Network and Guardian Mortgage — which highlighted the ability of a loan officer to start an application and a customer to subsequently finish it.
In September, MortgageFlex announced that Kennebunk Savings Bank had become an LOS customer. The bank’s decision to use the system followed “an exhaustive search.”
Mortgage Builder said Monday that its LOS was used by Quadriga Mortgage Group to launch its wholesale portfolio lending business. The decision was made to use Mortgage Builder as a result of research results that reportedly found “customer service was excellent.”
In September, Mortgage Builder reported that it had undergone the new SSAE 16 Type II audit process and successfully completed the examination. The SSAE 16 is the next generation of audit for statements on auditing standards, and the audit ensures that “lenders are spared the burden of having to perform the audit themselves on all the companies they do business with that handle sensitive information.”
A month earlier, Mortgage Builder said that it integrated CoreLogic’s tax return income verification solution into its software. In addition to direct income verification with the Internal Revenue Service, the integration satisfies fraud detection requirements and detects inaccuracies in borrower-supplied tax information.
Independence Mortgage Co. has signed on as a client of Avista Solutions and will implement its LOS by Nov. 1, a news release Tuesday said. No research into LOS providers was needed by Independence Mortgage, according to a director for the company, Jim Wickham — who noted in the statement that Avista was the only LOS developer it considered. Wickham used the Avista Agile LOS at a prior employer.
Mortgage Cadence LLC said last month that it landed Security Service Federal Credit Union as a customer. The credit union will utilize Mortgage Cadence Orchestrator.
A Sept. 13 statement from ISGN Corp. indicated that United Guaranty is now part of the MORvision Plug-In Partner Network. Lenders using the MORvision LOS can now get up-front quotes, order mortgage insurance and receive M.I .certifications from United Guaranty directly through the system
