Interthinx has announced the availability of its new MERS Compliance Audit Service, the latest addition to the Interthinx suite helps MERS members avoid sanctions, penalties or revocations that could result if they are ruled to be out of compliance with the new MERS requirements. Revised MERS Quality Assurance Standards now require all MERS general members to have an independent, third-party review of the members’ quality assurance plan annually. Since 2012, all MERS members must also conduct reconciliation of their portfolios on a monthly or quarterly basis to meet the new data integrity requirements.
“We understand the critical importance for servicers and lenders to remain MERS compliant, but we also understand the difficulties they face trying to implement a MERS quality assurance system with internal resources," said Michael Zwerner, senior vice president for Interthinx. "As a MERS preferred provider, Interthinx has leveraged its industry leading compliance expertise to develop its MERS Compliance Audit Service to help MERS members meet the new requirements.”
The Interthinx MERS Compliance Audit Service uses a three-pronged strategy covering independent, third-party, annual reviews; monthly or quarterly portfolio reconciliations; and document reviews and validations.
Knowledgeable operational risk auditors conduct the annual review through an on-site review at the member’s facilities. Results are captured on an executive summary that outlines variances and recommended best practices for remediation when filing the plan with MERS at audit conclusion. Reconciliations feature “real-time” remediation of variances directly with MERS while capturing variances for robust reporting and trending of data integrity issues. If required for the recommended three-way validation, document reviews may also be conducted by Interthinx quality control mortgage professionals annually or monthly according to MERS specifications.
