From financial results and partnerships to new appointments and technology get the latest buzz on the mortgage industry in this weekly update.
Florida-based Black Knight, Inc. [1], a provider of software, data, and analytics solutions to the mortgage and consumer loan, real estate, and capital markets verticals, announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. Revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent to $270.3 million from $258.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Net earnings for the first quarter were $42.7 million, compared to $12.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent to $271.2 million from $259.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net earnings increased 42 percent to $64.1 million compared to $45.3 million prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2018 increased 9 percent to $129.9 million from $119.4 million in Q1 last year. Bill Foley, Executive Chairman, Black Knight said, “We had a solid start to 2018, as we delivered adjusted revenue growth of 5 percent and adjusted EBITDA growth of 9 percent, which drove margin expansion of 190 basis points. Our first quarter results reflect our continued focus on driving organic growth through cross-selling, adding new clients and the delivery of innovative solutions. The underlying fundamentals of our business remain strong, and we are on course to achieve the financial targets we have set for 2018.”
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Freddie Mac [2] has announced the appointment of John Krenitsky as SVP and CCO. The industry veteran with over two decades of industry experience working in the global financial services industry brings extensive, in-depth knowledge in managing compliance programs. Freddie Mac said that he would full transition to the position of CCO effective June 1 following the retirement of current CCO Carol Wambeke. "John’s sharp legal mind and experience in building and managing enterprise-wide compliance risk programs make him the ideal person to be Freddie Mac’s chief compliance officer as we continue on our transformation journey. In short, he is the right person for the job at the right time for the company,” said Anil Hinduja, EVP and Chief Enterprise Risk Officer at Freddie Mac. “On behalf of all of Freddie Mac, I would like to congratulate Carol Wambeke on her retirement and express my appreciation of her more than 20 years of service to the company. Over the last several years, she has played an integral role in Freddie Mac’s transformation.
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The Collingwood Group [3], a Situs company, and Washington, D.C.-based business advisory firm, announced that they have entered into a strategic technology partnership with Decision Ready Solutions, Inc. [4], in order to significantly expand its existing claims advisory business. The Collingwood Group’s newly expanded claims outsourcing business provides clients with a highly scalable service designed to support the entire claims management and processing function and capable of managing firms’ FHA (Parts A & B for CWCOT, Conveyance, PFS, SFLS and Reconveyance and HECM claim types), VA, USDA, Conventional: Fannie Mae (571), Freddie Mac (104SF), and PMI (1073) claims. “Owing largely to the highly specialized nature of claims management and processing, firms have historically underinvested in advanced technology to support their claims management and processing functions relying instead on subject matter experts and manual processes. In our experience, however, subject matter expertise is only one of the several critical components required to support a high performing claims function, and an overreliance on labor-based processes often results in higher error rates resulting in correspondingly higher claims curtailment and denial rates,” said Collingwood Group President and Managing Director Brian O’Reilly.
IndiSoft LLC [5], a Maryland-based provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry, has hired industry veteran Steven Usserey as the company’s new VP of Regulatory Compliance. Usserey’s primary responsibility is to ensure that IndiSoft’s regulatory compliance content is up-to-date to help mortgage originators and servicers in their ongoing efforts to remain in compliance with state, federal and investor requirements. Usserey, who has more than 25 years of experience in mortgage banking and technology, most recently served as a Senior Analyst at BackIntheBlack, the default servicing technology provider. There, he was responsible for client/vendor management, testing, and reporting, regulatory compliance, as well as policy updates and software releases. “IndiSoft continues to bolster our staff to improve the core regulatory compliance requirements which is the heart of our Sunesis regulatory compliance platform,” said Hans Rusli, CEO of IndiSoft. A compliance platform with strong test scripts embedded in its workflow will give lenders and servicers cost-effective risk management and governance.
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Florida-based Black Knight, Inc. [6] has announced that Home Point Financial [7], a national, multi-channel mortgage originator, and servicer, went live on Black Knight’s premier loan servicing system, LoanSphere MSP, as well as its suite of default products. MSP is a comprehensive, end-to-end system that encompasses all aspects of servicing—from loan boarding to default—for first mortgages and home equity loans. The system is used to service more than 34 million active loans and helps servicers streamline operations, reduce operating costs, and improve risk mitigation.“As we continue to focus on the significant growth of our servicing operations, we believe Black Knight’s MSP system and its default suite will be critical to helping us achieve our goals,” said Willie Newman, President, and CEO of Home Point Financial, which is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. LoanSphere is Black Knight’s premier, end-to-end platform of integrated technology, data, and analytics supporting the entire mortgage and home equity loan lifecycle—from origination to servicing to default.