The Work Number, a service of Equifax, has announced the company's newest product, Point In Time, a retro income verification service that validates and documents a borrower's employment and income at the point of loan funding. Point In Time was created to respond to market demands for loan level documentation to investigate repurchases and mortgage insurance rescissions.

According to Freddie Mac, a top underwriting deficiency seen in their Q1 2010 reviews of performing and non-performing loans is income misrepresentation, resulting from inaccurate or insufficient data and calculation errors at the time of loan origination. The volume of loans being returned for some type of data deficiency is significant. Through the second quarter 2010, Fitch estimates that the four largest U.S. banks have received $10.7 billion in pending repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac alone. And, government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are requesting that defective mortgages be repurchased at a more rapid pace, which will put greater resource strain on lenders needing to prove underwriting due diligence.

The Work Number developed Point In Time to help lenders, insurers and investors manage the increasing volume of unstable loans by automating and streamlining retro income verification for the quality assurance process. The system serves as an important tool for lenders by delivering timely and precise income data to confirm original verification information.

"As repurchase activity and instances of fraud both continue to rise, exact documentation is essential in order for lenders to avoid excessive obligations or undisclosed mortgage debt," said Janet Ford, senior vice president of The Work Number. "Point In Time offers a 'retro' income verification review that lends transparency to the underwriting efforts that were performed at the time of origination."

Point In Time uses a custom, automated workflow designed to capture and reuse employer data by tracking and documenting agent progress and findings. With permissible purpose, it can also access The Work Number's unique employer database of current and historical payroll data for more rapid delivery. Point In Time presents a cost-effective method to quickly re-verify a borrower's income at the point of loan funding without compromising data security.

"With waves of foreclosures hitting the market, lenders and investors need an easy way to prove the accuracy of loan-level documents to defend against fault, and Point In Time offers a quick, simple and accurate solution to help avoid unnecessary and costly buybacks," said Ford.

For more information, visit www.equifax.com.