Secure Settlements Announces Updates to Closing Guard Vendor Management
MAY 2014 n Tennessee Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
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Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI) has announced new enhancements to its Closing Guard vendor management and risk monitoring product for mortgage lenders and banks. SSI’s platform enables lenders and banks to access information in real time regarding settlement agents before they wire funds to the closing table, complimenting internal prefunding quality assurance programs and meeting regulatory expectations for consumer protection. The company’s Closing Guard product, which assesses third-party risk, monitors it in real time and provides detailed reporting now offers a tool that enables clients to build and maintain their own internal approved agent and watch list data reports. The “My Agent List” and “My Watch List” functions customize a lender’s information, makes it available to their operations staff and the lists can then be downloaded or exported as evidence of compliance during audits and examinations by state and federal regulators. For example, Fannie Mae seller-servicers must demonstrate that they have a suitable closing agent vetting and monitoring program and be able to produce a current list of approved and vetted agents during examinations. State banking auditors are now beginning to ask for approved agent lists as well. This new product enhancement meets this need. “SSI continues to be a thought leader in the area of loan quality assurance and counterparty risk management assessment and reporting,” said SSI President Andrew Liput. “Our ‘My Agent List’ and ‘My Watch List’ tools will be closely followed by additional innovative resources that will assist lenders to navigate and satisfy the myriad of regulatory and investor expectations for better quality control and loan quality assurance. At a cost that equates to less than 3/4s BPS per loan, our service offers an affordable solution to compliance needs.”
Mortgage Master Forms Loan Officer Concierge Service
The Work Number Now Available From CoreLogic
Mortgage Master has announced the formation of a new internal team of professionals, which has a deep understanding of the mortgage process and functions including sales, operations, underwriting and closing, named “Loan Officer Concierge,” dedicated to making the on-boarding process for new loan officers more efficient by offering value-added support and personal attention. New loan officers joining Mortgage Master are now able to continue to focus on serving clients and building business without any interruption, except for state licensing. Over the last four months, Mortgage Master has hired 46 experienced mortgage professionals. The Loan Officer Concierge team is working with all departments of Mortgage Master, including recruiting, human resources, marketing, information technology, scenarios and operations to facilitate a smooth transition for loan officers joining Mortgage Master throughout the U.S. The mission of this team is to help new loan officers to focus 100 percent of their time and energy on serving clients and building business. “This enhanced on-boarding process demonstrates Mortgage Master’s commitment to offering the best possible support to loan officers so they can better serve their clients from day one,” said Paul Anastos, president of Mortgage Master. “Starting any new job can be stressful, but this team of professionals is in place to assist our newest loan officers on a personal, one-on-one level to make their transition easier. Mortgage Master offers a unique opportunity to high quality loan officers. Our model, not only provides borrowers with the best possible pricing, solutions and service, it also empowers loan officers to increase their own production and income.”
CoreLogic has announced an agreement to offer The Work Number, as part of the CoreLogic Credco Verification of Employment service. The Work Number, a solution offered through Equifax Workforce Solutions, is the largest collection of payroll records contributed directly from employers. The agreement enables CoreLogic to deliver automated mortgage applicant employment with income verification as part of their Verification of Employment service. The Verification of Employment service provides mortgage professionals with an efficient way to conduct third party verification of a borrower’s employment status and income. Historically, verification of employment was a manual process, requiring either verbal or faxed confirmations from the applicant’s employer. With The Work Number, CoreLogic is now able to provide its mortgage customers with instant access to nearly 220 million current and historical employment records, allowing verification requests to be handled in minutes as opposed to hours. “With the recent implementation of the Qualified Mortgage Rule, the need for third party verification of employment and income has never been more important than it is now,” said John Bauer, senior vice president for CoreLogic Credit Services. “The inclusion of The Work Number data into our Verification of Employment service means that one in four requests will receive instant, up-to-date information on a borrower’s employment status, saving clients valuable time and keeping their application pipeline moving forward.” Because The Work Number collects week-by-week salary information directly from employer payroll databases, it can return timely employ-
ment data that is up-to-date as of the last pay period. Plus, the historical records go back many years. Information collected includes: Length of employment, job titles, income and other location information which can reduce the risk of liability over personal sources.
Mercury Network Announces Upgrades to SureReceipts
Mercury Network has announced new features added to their SureReceipts service for lenders to securely deliver documents to borrowers in compliance with the new ECOA Valuations Rule disclosure requirements. As with all new features, the SureReceipts enhancements were deployed across the entire user base, giving over 600 lenders and AMCs the ability to document a borrower’s consent for electronic delivery in compliance with the E-Sign Act component of the new ECOA requirement. With the enhancement, the borrower’s acceptance or dissension is recorded separately from the document download in the transaction audit trail. In addition, if a borrower declines electronic delivery, the file can be automatically pushed to the user’s “Action Required” folder to prevent disclosure compliance violations and closing delays. “All Mercury Network users have access to the SureReceipts service at no charge, but when the ECOA Valuations Rule took effect in January, many platforms and their lender customers weren’t prepared with a solution to document the borrower’s receipt of the appraisal”, said Jennifer Miller, president of a la mode’s Mortgage Solutions Division. “We acted quickly to open the service to any lender or AMC, regardless of the other software tools they use, to provide a stand-alone eDisclosure solution for compliance.”
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