TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1215180
M R EP O RT | 39 Top 25 Fintech Innovators HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Dallas PHONE: 214.821.7800 WEBSITE: FirstFundingusa.com HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: McClean, Virginia PHONE: 800.336.3672 WEBSITE: FreddieMac.com FirstFunding Freddie Mac COMPANY DESCRIPTION: FirstFunding, a wholly owned subsidiary of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), offers warehouse funding facilities to non- delegated lenders, correspondent lenders, community banks, and credit unions. FirstFunding is a valuable funding partner to mortgage investors and warehouse lenders serving the non-delegated and del- egated correspondent channel. FirstFunding's innovative FlexClose™ service enables lenders and real estate agents to control the exact time funds arrive for a closing, even after Fedwire cutoff. FlexClose brings together the capabilities of three First American businesses: settlement services from First American Title Insurance Company, banking from First American Trust, and warehouse financing services from FirstFunding. INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT: • First Funding's FlexClose—has resolved a customer inconve- nience that the lending and real estate industry had accepted as the norm—the need to fund and close within the Fedwire cutoff window. FlexClose's one-of-a-kind solution offers the real estate industry the ability to fund and close any time, providing a level of service and flex- ibility previously unavailable in the industry. • FlexClose Benefits Everyone—The service helps lenders prevent delays and reduce risk and allows real estate agents to close at any time and get their commission immediately. With FlexClose, settle- ment agents can close transactions faster, and homebuilders can save money and improve the buyer experience with immediate funding. Importantly, FlexClose also lets homebuyers and sellers close on their schedule and avoid delays. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: By combining best-in-class capabilities from three First American companies, FlexClose delivers the only solution of its kind. In less than a year, more than $1 billion worth of real estate transactions success- fully funded and closed using FlexClose. Reaching the $1 billion mile- stone so quickly validates that FlexClose solves a significant market pain point and represents a major innovative breakthrough that en- hances the closing and settlement process. COMPANY DESCRIPTION: Freddie Mac makes homeownership and rental housing more acces- sible and affordable. Operating in the secondary mortgage market, Freddie Mac keeps mortgage capital flowing by purchasing mortgage loans from lenders so they in turn can provide more loans to qualified borrowers. The company's mission to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S. housing market in all economic conditions ex- tends to all communities from coast to coast. INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT: • AIM for Self-Emplyed—asset and income modeler (AIM) for self- employed, in Loan Product Advisor, is Freddie Mac's solution for automating a lender's income assessment for this growing borrow- er segment. AIM helps simplify loan origination and improves the borrower experience, while reducing risk in the mortgage process. • Saves Time and Money—with AIM for self-employed, there is no need to manually enter tax return data for self-employed borrowers. The operational efficiency gained can improve profits while reducing loan fall-out. Additionally, by speeding up the time to close, borrowers may have a shorter rate-lock period and therefore receive better pricing, which can save thousands over the life of the loan. The better bor- rower experience leads to high customer satisfaction and potentially increased business. • Reduces Risk—Freddie Mac's technology is part of every loan, every time and lenders receive rep and warranty relief on the income cal- culation and business and income analysis for all eligible sources of self-employed income. TESTIMONIAL: Since adopting AIM for self-employed, nbkc Bank in Kansas City has been able to reduce its cycle time from 33 to 22 days on conventional loans. It has also reduced the number of times income changes between application and underwriting, from 60% of the time to less than 2%.