A deal reached for the parent of the New York Stock Exchange to invest in MERSCORP Holdings Inc. is expected to benefit the home lending market.
MERSCORP is the owner of the
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. and acts as mortgagee in the county land records for the lender and servicer. .
MERS says that its electronic database tracks changes in servicing and beneficial ownership interests in residential mortgage loans on behalf of its members.
“Future assignments of any loan — where MERS is the mortgagee — registered on the MERS system are not necessary because MERS remains the mortgagee no matter how many times servicing is traded,” its website states.
More than 5,000 companies are MERS members.
A news release Friday from the Reston, Virginia-based organization indicates that an agreement has been reached for Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, to acquire a majority interest in MERSCORP.
ICE launched in 2000
and subsequently acquired the NYSE. It operates global exchanges and clearing houses and provides data and listings services.
The deal includes a software development agreement
to modernize and enhance the MERS system.
“This agreement brings the strengths of our organizations together to benefit the U.S. residential mortgage finance market,” ICE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Sprecher stated in the news release. “It also complements our data and technology expertise in diverse, regulated markets.”
Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this month, weren’t disclosed.
