From new technology and appointments to rebranding and innovative offerings, get the latest buzz from the industry in this weekly update.
Equator [1], a California-headquartered Altisource [2] business unit and a provider of residential loan default software and marketing solutions for many of the country’s top servicers, real estate agents, and vendors, has announced an agreement with Factom, Inc. [3] to integrate the Factom Harmony blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform into the Equator PRO solution.
Equator PRO is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps servicers increase efficiency and vendor oversight across the default servicing process. Designed for all portfolio sizes, the Equator PRO product suite of loan management, loan modification, short sale/deed-in-lieu, foreclosure/bankruptcy, and real-estate-owned (REO) focused products, provides servicers with tools to help manage defaulted loans and REO and make more strategic and cost-efficient default servicing decisions. Factom’s Harmony BaaS platform harnesses the power of blockchain [4] to create an immutable record of activities, data, events, and decisions. Factom’s blockchain solutions will provide a distributed mechanism to preserve data, files, and digital records, making them verifiable and independently auditable.
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LERETA, LLC [5], a national provider of real estate tax and flood services for mortgage servicers based in Covina, California, has named Patrick Hedges senior operations manager for the company. Hedges leads a team that builds and maintains strong relationships with tax collection agencies to drive an understanding of their requirements and develops automated transfer methods for escrow tax amount and tax delinquency status.
Hedges comes to LERETA with more than 25 years of operational management expertise. He has spent his career developing best practices and innovative approaches to designing, implementing and executing successful business processes that deliver customer value, operational effectiveness, and financial returns. Most recently, Hedges led the business operations efforts for the 6,000-person Enterprise Shared Services (ESS) organization at Bank of America. While there, he introduced the Business Ops Hub, an online portal for information sharing and collaboration that provided a centralized data store and decision tool to organizational executives.
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Radian Group Inc., [6] headquartered in Philadelphia, announced that ValuAmerica, a Radian subsidiary offering settlement, and appraisal products and services, has been renamed Radian Settlement Services Inc. [7]
The name change follows the debut of Radian’s new brand identity in October. At that time, Radian also announced its plan to unite all of its subsidiaries under its new brand.
“Changing ValuAmerica to Radian Settlement Services is a key next step in Radian’s evolution as a broad spectrum solutions provider to the mortgage and real estate industries,” noted Rick Thornberry, Radian CEO. “With every integration, we further strengthen our company and enhance our ability to deliver more of what our customers need to successfully manage and transact risk across the mortgage and real estate spectrum.”
Radian currently operates as a family of companies that includes Radian Guaranty, Radian Reinsurance, Clayton Holdings, Green River Capital, EnTitle Insurance Company, Red Bell Real Estate, LLC, Independent Settlement Services and the former ValuAmerica, now known as Radian Settlement Services.
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AHP Servicing [8], a Chicago-based specialty servicer of past-due residential mortgages, announced today it has launched a new $50 million Regulation A (Reg A) offering to foster its mission of helping homeowners keep their homes out of foreclosure [9].
AHP Servicing uses crowdsourced [10] funds to purchase past-due loans at a discount, working with financial institutions to purchase loans that have fallen behind in payments but have the potential to be restructured or settled. It then works with homeowners to stay in their homes or resolve their debt at a discount. "With this offering, AHP Servicing empowers socially responsible investors to help financially strapped borrowers and homeowners retain their properties while offering investors a competitive preferred rate of return," said DeAnn O'Donovan, President and CEO of AHP Servicing. "We're flipping the switch on the traditional loan servicing model so that ROI is judged not just by dollars, but also by sense. We create a purpose in addition to creating a profit."