Industry Briefs May 26, 2023
Freddie Mac Announces New Capability for Income Assessment Tool
Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., announced enhancements May 22 to its automated income assessment tool that will allow lenders assessing a homebuyer’s income paid via direct deposit to also include digital paystub data.
The new option is available to mortgage lenders nationwide through Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor (LPA) asset and income modeler (AIM).
In a press release, Freddie Mac touted the new feature, saying it “can help lenders calculate income faster and more precisely to improve loan quality, simplify the mortgage process and, most importantly, expand access to credit.”
“Over the last year, we’ve consistently rolled out innovations to ensure our digital tools are improving speed and efficiency, reducing risk and, ultimately, helping us serve our mission by reaching more qualified borrowers,” said Kevin Kauffman, Single-Family Vice President of Seller Engagement at Freddie Mac. “Today’s innovation further automates income assessment by using historical direct deposit pay patterns and current gross income from recent paystubs, which can help more families achieve homeownership.”
Freddie Mac said the new capability will be available to Freddie Mac-approved sellers using Loan Product Advisor beginning June 7. Finicity, a Mastercard company, is the initial service provider supporting Freddie Mac’s AIM for income using direct deposits plus paystub.
Foundation Mortgage Recognizes OptifiNow for Supporting Growth
Foundation Mortgage Corp., Miami, is lauding the OptifiNow TPO CRM platform for helping quickly grow its wholesale mortgage division within two months of launching the TPO channel.
Foundation Mortgage pointed to OptifiNow’s LOS integration and marketing features as important factors in its selection and stated the transition to OptifiNow’s platform was completed in just two weeks.
“The implementation was quick and painless, and the platform has provided us with greater control over our wholesale business,” Foundation Mortgage CEO Marc Halpern said in a release. “With OptifiNow, we have been able to take a proactive approach to account management and are already seeing the benefits. The rest of 2023 is looking good for us, and OptifiNow is a key part of our success.”
OptifiNow, Seal Beach, Calif., is a cloud-based provider of customized CRM sales management and marketing automation software.
Forta Solutions to Introduce Warehouse Lending Platform
Forta Solutions, Mercer Island, Wash., announced May 23 its plans to launch Agility, a new warehouse lending platform.
The fintech company says its platform will improve flexibility, transparency and efficiency in the industry, and is designed to simplify the workload of lenders. Forta Solutions in a release also notes the platform features dynamic reporting, real-time dashboards, and “automated decisioning engines designed to do the heavy lifting for lenders, ensuring funds flow more quickly.”
A specific launch date has yet to be released, but the company says it will be in the coming months.
