Equifax and Interthinx, a Verisk Analytics company, have announced an expansion of their existing relationship to give financial institutions unprecedented visibility into the underwriting process. Now, Interthinx clients can seamlessly access The Work Number's fully automated solution for verified employment and income (VOE/VOI) through FraudGUARD to reduce lenders' exposure by delivering timely and increased transparency into a borrower's true current employment status and ability (capacity) to pay.
"Obtaining current, independently verified income information can be a challenge, and one that presents a certain level of uncertainty that a lender may not want to accept," said Craig Crabtree, senior vice president of mortgage services for Equifax. "Given today's volatile market conditions, having timely and increased transparency into a borrower's true current employment status and ability (capacity) to pay is more important than ever, and integrating The Work Number's income and employment verifications into FraudGUARD enables lenders to effectively outsource this critical function of loan production with assurance."
This integration of VOE/VOI into FraudGUARD expands upon Equifax's existing relationship with Interthinx. In March, Equifax announced the integration of Undisclosed Debt Monitoring—a system of monitoring and notifying financial institutions of new accounts and borrower activity initiated during the "quiet period," which spans from the application date to the mortgage closing—within FraudGUARD. A solution that is "always on," Undisclosed Debt Monitoring alerts lenders of borrower activity that may represent risk associated with mortgage loans in their pipelines. The Work Number's VOE/VOI is now integrated into the confidence score FraudGUARD delivers to lenders.
"Interthinx remains committed to helping lenders mitigate risk, eradicate fraud and support compliance, and adding VOE/VOI to our solution furthers this commitment," said Mike Zwerner, senior vice president of business development for Interthinx. "Together with The Work Number, we are poised to deliver automated verifications that further streamline the risk mitigation process for lenders."
