TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/817716
6 | TH E M R EP O RT THEMREPORT.COM S&P Approves Altavera as RMBS Due Diligence Provider ALTAVERA MORTGAGE SERVICES IS NOW ONE OF FEWER THAN A DOZEN S&P- APPROVED THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE FIRMS. A ltavera Mortgage Services, a provider of outsourced residential mortgage origination services that is owned by Computershare, announced in March that the company has been approved as a third-party due diligence provider for U.S. resi- dential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P). Altavera provides investors and correspondent aggregators with a full range of closed-loan file review services for agency and non-QM residential mortgages, including vali- dation of product acceptability to investor guidelines, credit decision and supporting documentation, QM/ATR requirements, regulatory compliance, property valuation, and closing documentation. "Altavera's clients are demand- ing greater transparency than ever when it comes to loan data and documentation, and that expecta- tion will only intensify when appetite for private-label securities returns. Our deep experience and customized approach sheds light on loan quality and consistency and help investors mitigate risk and expense," said Brian Simons, President of Altavera. According to Altavera, S&P uses a systematic methodology and rigorous criteria that encompass mortgage loan data quality, compli - ance with originator underwriting guidelines, property valuation, and regulatory compliance. Altavera joins a network of fewer than a dozen organizations that are included in S&P's list of reviewed third-party due diligence firms that have met the necessary criteria. Nick Oldfield, CEO of Computershare Loan Services, said, "Altavera's inclusion in S&P's exclusive list of reviewed RMBS due diligence firms is exactly the kind of achievement we expected when we decided to invest in the firm. It's also a natural complement to the clean sweep of high S&P, Fitch and Moody's ratings earned by Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS), and Computershare's UK mortgage servicing businesses." ValuAmerica and Pavaso Announce Partnership WITH PASAVO'S DIGITAL CLOSE, VALUAMERICA NOW OFFERS DIGITAL AND HYBRID ECLOSINGS. V aluAmerica, a national provider of appraisal, title, closing, and settlement services, announced in March a partnership with Pavaso, Inc., a provider of digital closing solu- tions for the mortgage industry, to implement Digital CloseSM. The partnership will allow customers of both companies to implement digital closings into their work - flow to perform hybrid eClosings. According to Pavaso, the Digital Close technology also provides built-in eSign and eNotarization capabilities, which allow borrowers to sign and notaries to verify and stamp documents digitally. The digital closing platform will accommodate paper, hybrid, and fully digital closings and will also facilitate online communication and collaboration between the real estate agent, lender, title/settlement agent, and borrower during the closing process. Digital Close will also streamline the closing process by providing a central digital location to receive and deliver documents. Shawn P. Murphy, EVP of ValuAmerica, said, "Our main goal in adopting Digital CloseSM was to enhance the experience, accura - cy and consistency of each of our closings. This technology provides us with comprehensive process management and standardization throughout the entire transaction, even when documents need to be wet-signed at closing." KBRA Announces Head of Financial Institutions Group INDUSTRY VETERAN VAN HESSER JOINS KBRA AS HEAD OF THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GROUP AND SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE CORPORATES GROUP. K roll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) announced in March the appointment of Van Hesser to the role of the head of the Financial Institu - tions group. Founded in 2010, KBRA is a full-service rating agency that provides risk assess- ment and ratings for the invest- ment community. Hesser is also the Senior Managing Director of the Corporates group. He previ- ously worked with Wells Fargo Principal Investments, where he led the Financial Institutions sector. Prior to Wells Fargo, he was at HSBC Securities for 10 years, where he served as the Global Head of Credit Research and was the Senior Corporate Bond Research Analyst covering U.S. banks, brokers, and specialty finance companies. Hesser has also worked with Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Salomon Brothers, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "KBRA's Financial Institutions group has rated over 100 com - mercial banks and non-banks, and has expanded its insurance ratings group. We look forward to capitalizing on Van's experience to continue growing in this space alongside the progress we've made in corporate," Said James Nadler, President and COO of KBRA. Black Knight's Paragon Ranks No. 1 in Clareity MLS Customer Satisfaction Survey THIS MARKS THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR PARAGON HAS TOPPED THE CLAREITY SURVEY. F or the fifth year in a row, Paragon, Black Knight's MLS software, ranked at the top in the Clareity MLS Customer Sat - isfaction Survey. Paragon received the highest rankings from both MLS staff and end users in the 16th annual survey, released in March, and received ratings of at least 90 percent from most areas surveyed. "On behalf of the entire Black Knight Paragon team, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to our valued clients, who provided open and honest feedback on our systems, implementations and service," said Black Knight Data & Analytics VP and Real Estate Market Leader Chip McAvoy. "This recognition inspires us to strive even harder to exceed our clients' expectations and pro - vide their real estate professional members with the innovation and exceptional service they need to better support their home buyers and sellers," he added. "Altavera's clients are demanding greater transparency than ever when it comes to loan data and documentation." —Brian Simons, President, Altavera