Equifax announced that, through its expanded integration with Empower, a loan origination system (LOS) offered by Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), Empower now has direct access to the Equifax Undisclosed Debt Monitoring solution. Undisclosed Debt Monitoring monitors and notifies financial institutions of new accounts and borrower activity initiated during the "quiet period" spanning from the mortgage application date to the closing. The Undisclosed Debt Monitoring solution monitors borrower activity round-the-clock and alerts lenders about any activity that may represent risk associated with mortgage loans in their pipelines, increasing lenders' ability to address compliance requirements through a single platform.
"Combining the innovative technology of LPS' Empower and the Equifax Undisclosed Debt Monitoring solution will help protect lenders against risk by increasing the transparency of borrower debt," said Jerry Halbrook, senior managing director of LPS Origination Technology. "Equifax is a leading provider of verification services technology, and we are pleased that this expanded integration further supports LPS' initiative to help lenders improve loan quality."
Empower is LPS' state-of-the-art, enterprise-wide LOS that provides functionality for every facet of the origination process, including consumer, retail and wholesale point-of-sale channels. It also provides FHA, VA and conventional product support; funding and auditing; product and pricing; electronic document management and imaging; and industry-standard interfaces. Integrating Undisclosed Debt Monitoring with LPS' Empower enables lenders to better address investor and lending requirements and help successfully uncover instances of undisclosed borrower debt. Through this integration, mortgage originators, investors and insurers alike benefit from enhanced risk mitigation, reduced fraud and a reduction in the number of potential loan buybacks.
"Undisclosed debt represents a multi-billion-dollar problem within the mortgage industry, and Equifax has been at the forefront of addressing and solving this problem for loan originators," said Craig Crabtree, senior vice president of Equifax Mortgage Services. "By successfully integrating our Undisclosed Debt Monitoring solution with Empower, we can ensure that LPS customers will be better insulated against the threat of fraud and more successful in meeting key regulatory compliance requirements."
