TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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10 | M R EP O RT MTECH Consumers will use the EPM Empower personal financial well- being app to build credit, manage their finances, reduce debt, create budgets and goals to save for their down payment and closing costs. After closing on their home, the new homeowners will continue to use their Empower app pow- ered by FinLocker to maintain their credit and positive financial habits so that they can become successful homeowners. "The primary reason for mortgage denial among first- time homebuyers, particularly in underserved communities, is credit history and a low credit score, two barriers to homeown- ership that FinLocker can help aspiring homeowners overcome," said Brian Vieaux, President, FinLocker. "The growth of Hispanic house- holds is on a sustainable upward trajectory, and young Hispanics have a strong aspiration for home- ownership. We are committed to serving all consumers, so some of the homebuying educational resources are available in Spanish, too, to give more of EPM's con- sumers an equal opportunity to improve their finances and prepare them for the financial responsibili- ties of homeownership." Analyzing the Marketplace BLACK KNIGHT RELEASES UPGRADE TO ITS DATA PLATFORM. B lack Knight has released the second generation of its Rapid Analytics Platform (RAP), a cloud-based data marketplace and decision- science studio that allows users to directly access Black Knight's data assets and create custom analytics within a single solu- tion. Users can source Black Knight data managed on the platform, connect to other data sources, execute queries, create advanced analytics, and train machine-learning models. RAP is used by mortgage, real estate, and capital markets profes- sionals for portfolio retention strategy; equity analysis and valuation; prepayment and default analytics; pre- and post-bid due diligence; performance bench- marking; and much more. In addition to providing access to many of the industry's deepest and most granular datasets avail- able, RAP also offers a growing catalogue of "out-of-the-box" ana- lytics. Designed with transparency in mind, this exposed code allows users to get started quickly with a deep understanding of how the analytics have been developed. Users can also choose to build their own analytics, or they can leverage Black Knight's experi- enced professionals to develop and deliver customized analytics. "With this second iteration, we've significantly enhanced the user and workflow experience and increased the number of datasets available, while simulta- neously boosting the power avail- able to users," said Ben Graboske, President of Black Knight's Data & Analytics division. LeadER of the Pack DISCOVER HOME LOANS AND NCONTRACTS PARTNER ON PRICING TOOL. N contracts, a provider of risk management and lending compliance solutions, announced that the company's QuestSoft lending solutions team has collaborated with Discover Financial Services on a new automated prequalifi- cation review. This solution will help streamline loan origina- tions, while ensuring compli- ance with all applicable federal, state, and local rate limits. "We're focused on providing a superior customer experience throughout the entire home loan process," said Nicole Straub, General Manager of Discover Home Loans. "By working with Ncontracts and QuestSoft to develop LeadER, we were able to continue providing a simple and seamless application process from start to finish for our customers." Discover worked with Ncontracts and QuestSoft to cre- ate the LeadER review, a compli- ance system that automatically adjusts the pricing when the rate exceeds high-cost thresholds, so applicants have the right price quote up front. The new system also evaluates applicable index values while calculating and veri- fying APR and payment streams for multiple side-by-side quotes and estimating calculations for all types of loans. "We are excited that in just nine months we were able to work with the team at Discover to create this automated solution that im- proves the origination process and the borrowers' experience," said Steve Butler, SVP of Automated Mortgage Lending Solutions at Ncontracts. "LeadER can also now be used throughout the mortgage industry to help other lenders ac- curately quote rates to applicants, while remaining compliant with all the various rate limits." Since launching the auto- mated prequalification review, more than 1,300 applicants have received auto-adjustments, includ- ing 200 applicants who would have previously required manual adjustments during final under- writing under the old system. Additionally, 71 applicants were able to receive lower rates during the initial sales discussion that brought their debt-to-income ra- tios under the required threshold. Nations Grows NATIONS LENDING ADDS NEW CALIFORNIA BRANCH. N ations Lending has expanded in California with the addition of a new branch in Walnut Creek, to be led by Brian Paris, who comes to Nations from Blu- Print Home Loans, a residential mortgage lender headquartered in Encinitas, California. Paris has more than 10 years of experience in banking and lend- ing, will lead a team of eight loan officers. Prior to his time with BluPrint, Paris spent five years with Banc Home Loans in addi- tion to time at Capital Pacific and First Choice Loan Services. To date in 2021, Nations had added 15 new branch locations and has onboarded more than 200 employees, ranging from loan officers and branch managers, to regional directors and corporate and executive support. "The growth of Hispanic households is on a sustainable upward trajectory, and young Hispanics have a strong aspiration for homeownership." —Brian Vieaux, President, FinLocker