From key promotions to new tech and acquisitions, get the latest buzz on the industry here.
LoanLogics [1] recently announced President and COO Bill Neville has been named CEO. Neville will replace former CEO Brian Fitzpatrick.
"All of us at LoanLogics would like to thank Brian for his contributions to the company and our mission to improve transparency, accuracy and quality within the mortgage process," said Howard Conyack Jr., founder and chairman of LoanLogics. "Under Bill's leadership, we will continue to focus on operational excellence and drive technology development to remain at the forefront of industry innovation for years to come."
Neville, who joined the LoanLogics Board of Directors in 2017 and joined the LoanLogics executive team in 2018, has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Before joining LoanLogics, he served as North American president for Finastra, one of the world's largest fintech providers. He also served as a board director and later president of U.S. business at D+H, where he played an important role in the company's acquisition of various companies, including Mortgagebot, Avista Solutions and Harland Financial.
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Altisource [2]'s Premium Title and Springhouse recently announced the launch of HomeVal, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) hybrid solution that provides combined title search and valuation data for lenders. According to Altisource, consolidation of title and valuation information in one report can help lenders shorten the amount of time it takes to close a HELOC loan.
“Lenders originating HELOC loans often absorb consumer closing costs due to market demands on small balance transactions,” said ALtisource in a statement. “HomeVal provides lenders an economical solution to satisfy title and valuation requirements at a lower cost than traditional title insurance policies and property appraisal reports.”
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Private-equity firm Thoma Bravo [3] has completed the acquisition of California-based Ellie Mae [4]. The all-cash transaction, values the cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry at $3.7 billion. The acquisition was announced in February this year.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ellie Mae shareholders receive $99 in cash per share. The price per share represents a 47% premium to the company’s 30-day average closing share price and a 49% premium to its 60-day average closing price, each as of February 1, 2019. Ellie Mae’s stockholders voted their shares in favor of the transaction on April 15, 2019. With the completion of the acquisition, Ellie Mae’s common stock ceased trading and is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
“The closing of this transaction represents the beginning of the next chapter in our digital mortgage journey as we work toward our North Star of automating everything automatable for the residential mortgage industry,” said Jonathan Corr, President and CEO of Ellie Mae. “Thoma Bravo brings deep expertise and together we are committed to supporting our lenders’ success, fostering innovation and growth of the Encompass Digital Lending Platform and accelerating our value for our ecosystem of customers, partners and employees.”
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On the heels of its recent $5 billion commitment to help more than 20,000 individuals and families buy a home, Bank of America [5] is offering a $0 Lender Origination Fee for clients who close a FHA, VA, Affordable Loan Solution, or Freddie Mac Home Possible mortgage with the bank.
This offer is available on first mortgage applications taken between April 15 and October 31, 2019. To reduce upfront costs further, Bank of America said that the limited time offer can be combined with:
- America's Home Grant program: This program has been expanded and now offers a lender credit of up to $7,500 that can be used towards nonrecurring closing costs, like title insurance and recording fees, or to permanently buy down the interest rate. The funds, which do not require repayment, are available in 39 markets today and will soon be nationwide.
- Affordable Loan Solution mortgage: This fixed-rate loan for low- and moderate-income borrowers offers a competitive rate with a down payment as low as 3% and no mortgage insurance. Today, 90% of these loans are to first-time homebuyers.
- Freddie Mac Home Possible mortgage: This is a fixed-rate loan with a down payment as low as 3% and lower-cost mortgage insurance.
- Down payment and cost savings programs offered by state and local agencies, nonprofits and employers.