Technology

The National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program has provided counseling to almost 1.6 million homeowners across the country since the program started in 2008. According to an NFMC congressional report released this week, common attributes of struggling homeowners include unemployment or underemployment and high mortgage rates. The report also indicates a homeowner who seeks counseling is 97 percent more likely to obtain a loan modification and avoid foreclosure.

The Residential Standards Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) has elected Randy Gilster as its chairman. Gilster, a 20-year financial services veteran, is SVP of business capability development at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

CoreLogic Credco's Instant Merge credit reports are now available on D H Mortgagebot's EnterpriseLOS platform, CoreLogic announced. Instant Merge provides creditors with information such as demographic specifics and detailed creditor contact info.

Global DMS, a provider of Web-based compliant valuation management software, announced that it launched AMCmatch.com, a search engine that allows lenders, servicers and other users of valuation products to efficiently locate and qualify the best fit appraisal management company (AMC) for their needs.

Centier Bank is working with MortgageKeeper Referral Services to connect the bank's customers and employees to vetted, local community resources for services like job training or utility payment assistance. MortgageKeeper says borrowers with access to these resources have additional opportunities to cure mortgage defaults.

Fiserv, Inc., a provider of financial services technology, announced its Common Origination Platform has been selected as the platform of choice for Virginia's Old Point National Bank (OPNB). A Fiserv client since 1996, OPNB possesses $845.3 million assets and offers banking services to both retail and commercial customers.

A new technology company has launched in Michigan with the goal of providing world-class information technology (IT) services to highly regulated industries nationwide. Founded by what used to be the IT staff at National Default Exchange (NDeX), assured360 fully owns and operates two geographically diverse Tier 3 data centers: one in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and the other in Carrollton, Texas.

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), a provider of technology, services, data, and analytics to the mortgage industry, announced that AmeriFirst Home Mortgage has completed its implementation of LPS' MSP mortgage and consumer loan servicing platform. AmeriFirst says it decided on LPS' system because it offered ""the complete package.""

Zillow partnered with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Thursday to review eligibility requirements for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and respond to borrowers confused about the program. Meg Burns, senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy for FHFA, joined Zillow for a Google Hangout session to field questions from underwater homeowners and explain HARP's finer points.

July property data from Homes.com shows that property values in nearly one-quarter of the top 100 U.S. markets have fully recovered. According to the site’s latest report, 22 of the top 100 markets in the United States reported price increases of more than 100 percent from their respective troughs, up from 19 the month prior.