Tech Roundup: Risk Management Grows Up, Top 50 List Out

Connected risk management: Visionet Systems said last week that it had updated its mortgage enterprise risk management offering, known as MERM — what caught our eye wasn’t the technology per se, but the nod towards understanding true enterprise risk in any mortgage banking operation. “The Mortgage Industry will need to realize that risk cannot be managed though a better origination or a redressed legacy servicing system,” said Arshad Masood, president of Visionet. “It is the systematic disconnect between origination, secondary, and servicing which creates chaos and perpetuates risk.” (The caps are all Masood’s, and were in the press release.) Fraud detection partnership: Interthinx, Inc. said it had integrated MERS data into its FraudGUARD scoring system. The integration makes it possible for Interthinx users to detect undisclosed properties, reveal investors claiming owner occupancy, and uncover recently closed loans that could indicate a borrower’s intent to commit mortgage fraud. We’ve heard plenty from MERS recently on its capabilities in mortgage fraud; at a recent trade show, company reps showed us how the platform’s unique electronic mortgage registration could shorten the window for fraud identification to as close to real-time as it’s been. Bottom line: expect more partnerships like this in the near future from any fraud detection vendor serious about staying in the space. Another fraud partnership: OK, so fraud detection is hot. We get it. Mortgagebot LLC said Monday that it had partnered with Experian Fraud and Identity Solutions; the company offers direct-to-consumer mortgage origination solutions, and the new partnership will help lenders ensure that borrowers are who they say they are. Radian expands online MI: Radian Group Inc. (RDN) said last week that it had enhanced the functionality of its MI Online Web-based system for mortgage insurance ordering, servicing and claims submissions. The new platform adds full information on claims status for lenders, servicers and investors looking to review any needed or missing documents tied to a claim. PriceMyLoan touts clientele: PriceMyLoan, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based PPE provider, said last week that two California mortgage lenders had recently chosen its platform to manage automated underwriting and loan pricing technology — Ontario-based Drexel Lending Group and Rancho Cucamonga-based MSM Lender. PML pushes its toolset as a complete product and pricing engine, including the automated underwriting capabilities that it says are vital to acting on any pricing information obtained. Company officials have told HW they are growing exponentially despite the industry downturn, as lenders find a growing need to act quickly on loan pricing information. Top 50: We received a few press releases from firms touting their appointment to Mortgage Technology Magazine’s “Top 50 Service Providers,” including Southfield, Mich.-based Mortgage Builder Software, Inc., and South Carolina-based Avista Solutions, among others. We’re sure that both are among the industry’s leading LOS prividers, and that they offer a compelling product that obliterates the competition, but let’s be honest: are there more than 50 major technology players left on the origination side of the business? A quick review of the list yielded only one technology provider firmly ensconced outside of mortgage origination: Newport Beach-based DRI Management Systems, one of the default industry’s better-known default management platform providers. That’s surprising, to say the least: HW’s inaugural print magazine will take a look at how technology on the default side of the business is being used to help lenders limit their losses amid a flood of defaults — DRI is only one of a burgeoning number of firms looking to earn a chunk of revenue in the suddenly-hot space. Editor’s note: Tech Roundup runs each Monday morning, and offers a look at key tech news and trends from throughout the week. To have your company’s news considered for inclusion here, send an email with your press statement to editor@housingwire.com.