Industry Briefs Feb. 10, 2022: Insellerate Gets Capital Investment

Insellerate Announces Growth Investment

Insellerate, Newport Beach, Calif., a provider of customer relationship management and marketing automation platforms to the mortgage lender and real estate industries, announced a strategic investment led by Argentum with participation from First Analysis.

The new capital will be used to expand product development, sales and marketing and customer success initiatives and to enchance its Enterprise Customer Experience Platform.

Mortgage Coach Expands Partnership with NAMMBA

Mortgage Coach, Irvine, Calif., expanded its relationship with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA).

Through the partnership, Mortgage Coach and NAMMBA will develop material educating lenders on strategies that can improve homeownership affordability for borrowers. Mortgage Coach will also work collaboratively with NAMMBA to cultivate greater racial and gender diversity among mortgage industry leadership. As part of its expanded partnership, Mortgage Coach is providing NAMMBA members who are exploring careers in the housing finance industry with access to its interactive technology platform, which illustrates the costs and benefits of home lending programs given borrowers’ financial scenarios. Additionally, Mortgage Coach has pledged the use of its platform to support NAMMBA’s consultative services that help lenders better communicate with and meet the housing needs of communities and has pledged to continue advocating for policies and practices that reduce the minority homeownership divide.

Ginnie Mae Publishes LIBOR Index Transition Reference Guide

Ginnie Mae published a LIBOR Index Transition Reference Guide to assist stakeholders in preparing for the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate on the LIBOR index cessation date of June 30, 2023. The Guide will serve as an information resource for affected parties.

“Ginnie Mae is committed to a smooth and efficient transition from LIBOR and the broad acceptance of a new and liquid alternative that meets the needs of investors and issuers in support of affordable mortgage finance,” said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo.

The Guide can be found at LIBOR_Transition_Reference_Guide.pdf (ginniemae.gov).

Freddie Mac: $675 Million in Affordable Multifamily Housing Investments

Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., said it closed a record $675 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity investments in 2021, funding more than 4,800 affordable units in diverse and underserved markets across the United States.

The investments include a new 162-apartment community near areas devastated by fires in central California, affordable rental homes for farmworkers in rural Washington and the Yurok Indian Tribe in northern California, and other affordable housing units in urban areas such as Tulsa, Okla., and Los Angeles.

Fitch: NCSLT Ruling Could Be Negative for U.S. Consumer Structured Finance

Fitch Ratings, New York, said a recent ruling that 15 National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts issuers are subject to the enforcement authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could result in increased risk of unforeseen monetary losses for these NCSLT issuers and also could result in monetary losses in the future for other U.S. structured finance transactions backed by consumer assets where similar misconduct is found to have occurred.

Judge Stephanos Bilbas, circuit judge, sitting by designation in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, denied the defendants’ motion on Dec. 13, 2021 to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the CFPB against the NCSLT issuers. The Court found the issuers qualify as ‘covered persons’ under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, and are therefore subject to the enforcement authority of the CFPB.

Fitch said the decision highlights the reliance of structured finance issuers on operational counterparties. Securitization issuers could be subject to monetary losses due to the misconduct under consumer laws of any of the service providers for the issuer. Such losses and legal expenses to defend related claims are not predictable and therefore cannot be accounted for quantitatively in the rating analysis. Unexpected monetary losses could significantly affect transaction performance and introduce increased rating volatility in U.S. structured finance transactions backed by consumer assets.

OptifFunder Integrates with Fannie Mae Connect

OptiFunder, St. Louis, is now integrated with the Fannie Mae Connect Whole Loan Purchase Advice Seller API, expediting the processing and reconciliation of purchased loan data.

OptiFunder syncs data from Fannie Mae automatically, eliminating the manual process of obtaining purchased loan data and performs the computational logic required to process and reconcile purchase advices with the client’s LOS. This allows originators to simplify and streamline workflow and lower discrepancies.

Fitch: Artificial Intelligence Aids Consumer Lending, but With Risks

Fitch Ratings, New York, said artificial intelligence and machine learning can improve operational efficiency and analytical outcomes but carries risks of ‘black box’ decision-making and data, as well as programming deficiencies and biases.

The report noted regulatory reforms are being undertaken to address AI reliability and transparency issues. Underwriting criteria produced by AI models may be opaque, making it difficult to understand which factors drive the decision-making process. This also makes it difficult to compare AI model results with historical data in our analysis of structured finance transactions.

“The quality and volume of data used to train AI/ML systems directly affects the predictive accuracy of most AI models,” the report said. “Faulty or limited data and programmer biases can lead to erroneous AI/ML outcomes, resulting in poor origination quality, loosening underwriting practices or discriminatory credit decisions, with potential reputational and financial repercussions.”

Sales Boomerang Launches Reverse Mortgage Alert

Sales Boomerang, Baltimore, launched Reverse Mortgage Alert, an addition to its automated borrower intelligence products, as well as significant enhancements to the company’s existing Rate Alert product.

The Reverse Mortgage Alert notifies lenders when a past borrower or prospect would be a good candidate for a home-equity conversion mortgage, also known as a reverse mortgage. Sales It helps lenders identify contacts who could benefit from a reverse mortgage based on their current age and accumulated home equity.

Anchor Loans Unveils New Corporate Identity, Website

Anchor Loans, Thousand Oaks, Calif., unveiled a new corporate identity and website as part of its growth and expansion plans for 2022.

In November, Anchor Loans was acquired by Pretium, a specialized U.S. residential real estate and credit firm with $30 billion in assets. Anchor Loans finished 2021 with a record $1.8 billion in originations.

The new website can be found at www.anchorloans.com.

Norcom Mortgage Adds Two Florida Locations

Norcom Mortgage, Avon, Conn., opened two new branches in Florida.

Charlie Camp will serve as the Branch Manager for the Rockledge location, which is located at 4087 S. Highway 1, Suite 2, Rockledge, Fla. 32955. He brings with him over 20 years of experience to this role.

The Weston office is located at 1647 Bonaventure Blvd., Weston, Fla. 33326. The branch will be led by Branch Manager Juan Carlos Frias and supported by Loan Officer Adrian Giuseppe. Frias and Giuseppe have a combined 30 years of experience and will be transitioning from Norcom’s Naples location to open this office.