Fiserv Enhancements Support GSEs' New Loan Mod Program

Brookfield, Wisconsin-based ""Fiserv Inc."":http://www.fiserv.com, a provider of information technology services to the financial industry, today announced enhanced capabilities to its Home Retention Solutions offering - a system that helps financial institutions proactively identify and contact troubled borrowers with customized repayment solutions to try to keep them out of foreclosure.
In addition, Fiserv said its enhancements further automate the loan workout process to support the newly introduced streamlined loan modification program (SMP) from ""Fannie Mae"":https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0833.pdf and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/sell/guide/bulletins/pdf/bll121208.pdf, as well as programs such as Fannie Mae’s ""Home Saver Advance Program"":https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/servicing/homesaveradvance.jsp, which provides an advance to cover past-due mortgage payments in exchange for a separate, unsecured loan.
Among the enhancements developed since the initial launch of Home Retention Solutions in June 2008 are ""one-touch"" customer contact and loss mitigation workflow tools that more fully automate the loan modification process, including secure electronic delivery of modification documents to borrowers with an e-signature option when available. One-touch contact with borrowers includes the initial call, best-fit workout workflow, document preparation, and fulfillment. The addition of electronic document delivery with e-signature provides the ability to finalize the terms of the loan modifications with the borrowers faster than ever before — in a secure, legally compliant, and auditable workflow, Fiserv explained. One-touch contact and electronic fulfillment dramatically accelerate the completion of the modification process, even enabling the process to be completed in one phone call with the borrower, Fiserv said.
A record 1.35 million homes were in foreclosure in the third quarter, with the number of homes going into foreclosure in 2008 on track to hit 2.2 million, according to a recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
""Fiserv is engaging borrowers and minimizing the number of foreclosures,"" said Bill Garland, SVP, Fiserv Home Retention Solutions. ""The loan modification process is time sensitive and must be tightly managed. Loan servicers are able to relieve their capacity constraints with access to Fiserv’s capabilities. Ultimately, we can help make the process of keeping borrowers in their homes as efficient and streamlined as possible while relieving capacity of the large volume of modifications.""
Fiserv’s Home Retention Solutions meets a broad range of needs, including borrower engagement, analytics, and loss mitigation, and empowers loan servicing specialists with the proper tools, the company said. Along with Fiserv’s Predictive Risk Index Score Modeling (PRISM), lenders can get a glimpse into the extent of the damage the financial crisis is likely to inflict across their mortgage loan portfolios. These tools enable lenders, servicers and financial institutions to proactively identify and contact troubled borrowers with customized repayment solutions to try to keep them out of foreclosure, Fiserv explained.