eRAMP TLS 1.2 Update for LendingQB Integration

If you are a LendingQB LOS customer your eRAMP and LendingQB integration has been updated to meet current Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 requirements. Our eRAMP seamless integration takes care of uploading MERS registration date to your loan record and our Registration Confirmation certificate to Edocs. Which means the update to TLS 1.2 does not require an update to your eRAMP software. Our end users do not have to make any changes or updates to their eRAMP or Windows operating system. Windows 8.1 and higher already support TLS 1.2 at the OS level so all eRAMP users with Windows 8.1 or higher are ready to go.

For more information about uploading MERS registration dates and Registration Confirmation Certificates to your LendingQB system visit our Cyberlink University at https://www.oncyberlink.com/cssi-university/.

If you have questions or need the password for Cyberlink U please submit a ticket through our support center at https://www.oncyberlink.com/client-resource/

Thank you,

eRAMP Support Team

Transitioning from Broker to Lender

Thinking about taking the leap from mortgage broker to lender? We understand. Current industry pressures, including a shrinking origination market, increased competition, and lower profit margins have made being a broker a lot more difficult in the last few years. There’s also the ever-changing demands of the average home buyer. Today, people take a more hands-on approach to many aspects of finding a loan, and they expect to get rewarded with quick results. Some individuals still rely on their brokers to fulfill certain tasks and provide valuable information, but that number seems to be deflating every year.

Why Become A Lender?

Is transitioning to a lender a solution to all the troubles facing mortgage brokers? To be honest, no, but lenders have a lot more independence and potential. You have the power to make a lot more choices than a broker, including your own team, processes and even the technology you use. You, and your partners if you have any, have complete control of the loan process from start to finish. As an originator, you also have the ability to sell your loans on the secondary market. The greater earning potential here is significant, but nothing is guaranteed.

Before moving forward, it’s important to carefully consider whether becoming a lender is right for you. While the financial upsides of lending are great, there are also risks involved. Depending on the market you’re operating in, there will be a variety of market pressures that determine how many loans you’ll be able to originate. Additionally, inability to comply with regulations can stop you in your tracks. You’ll also have to deal with repurchase and contingent liability risks. After really examining what being a lender is all about, you may find that you’re really better off as a broker.

Requirements to Becoming a Mortgage Lender

While becoming a lender can be a very involved process that requires a lot of planning and research, you have access to the resources and knowledge needed to succeed. Home lending is a highly regulated industry on both a state and federal level. The licensing requirements that apply to you will depend on your positioning. As an individual loan originator, you’ll face some different obstacles than you would if you were forming a company. For example, here are just some of California’s requirements for becoming a lender:

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  • Residential Mortgage Lending Act License
  • Finance Lenders Law License
  • Mortgage Loan Originator License
  • Money Transmitter License
  • Student Loan Servicing License

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In some cases, obtaining certification or licensing may require some kind of test or evaluation. For example. there’s a SAFE MLO test that has a national component and a state level component. The national part has 120 questions and can take more than 3 hours to complete. Passing requires thorough preparation.

Transition Support and Guidance

No matter what type of lender position you plan to transition to, working with a consultant who has experience going through this process is highly advisable. At Cyberlink, we help individuals and companies navigate every transition phase. We know which documents are required, how to use Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, how to work in compliance with relevant law, what funding options are available, and how to study the right way for examinations. There’s a lot more depending on your organization, of course, but that would take a book to explain in complete detail.

This process may seem a bit daunting at first, but the right knowledge and preparation will make most aspects a breeze. If you’d like to see if consultation from Cyberlink is right for your transition from broker to lender, please contact us today.

eRAMP MERS ICE Migration Update #2

May 4, 2018

Today we met with our MERS ICE conversion specialist to test eRAMP’s XML Online Registration and SFTP Batch processing connectivity. Communication testing was successful. The current production version all eRAMP users are using was able to login to both XML Online Registration and SFTP Batch processing. The only changes to eRAMP that are required is to update the SFTP IP address and username on the Client setting screen. The only eRAMP change required for XML Online Registration to work is to change the URL. Both XML and SFTP will required a new password to log into MERS system once the ICE conversion is ready for transaction testing.

The second step in testing was to submit a file to XML Online registration and SFTP Batch processing. XML was unsuccessful do to a configuration issue in Cyberlink’s user profile. ICE will research the error and make the necessary changes to Cyberlink’s profile so we can re-test next week. SFTP processing was successful submitting a transaction file and receiving confirmation.

What’s next; as soon as ICE confirms the profile correction to Cyberlink’s profile we will retest submitting a file through the XML Online Registration system. Next step testing for SFTP is to confirm eRAMP receives the consolidated transaction report for transaction reconciliation. Timing to complete testing for the next two tests will be based on ICE’s test schedule. We will let our users know the results as soon as the test have been completed.

Our key concerns were if eRAMP would be able to connect using the new ICE communications setup and if not, what programming changes would be required. Our technicians felt there would be no programming changes required to make the initial connection and today’s tests confirmed they were correct.

Please visit eRAMP Client Resource Center for MERS ICE conversion updates. If you have questions please submit a ticket through our support center at https://www.oncyberlink.com/client-resource/

Thank you,

eRAMP Support Team
www.OnCyberlink.com

HMDA: Avoiding the Hum-Doh’s

HMDA is a big deal for the lending industry. Since 1975, this federal regulation has required institutions to report their data to supervisory agencies on a loan-by-loan or application-by-application basis. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) then uses this data to create individual disclosure statements for each institution as well as aggregate reports that provide insights into the mortgage industry as a whole. These reports can be obtained by the public, making them an important part of the government’s efforts to increase transparency in the industry.

At Cyberlink, we’ve noticed that lenders tend to fall into two camps when it comes to HMDA (or Hum-duh) compliance. For some lenders, adhering to this regulation is kind of a no brainer. It may not be fun, but routine preparation and established processes make things pretty easy. For the other group, which we sometimes call the Hum-Doh’s (think Homer Simpson) things aren’t so easy. That’s because these lenders typically don’t do much preparation, causing them to sweat deadlines and even miss important things. They swear they’ll change, but these problems repeat year after year.

The good news for the Hum-Doh lenders is that change is possible. In fact, we’ve made HMDA compliance a whole lot easier for many clients. We keep up to date with all the latest regulatory requirements as well as all the best practices for the industry. Did you know that:

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  • There are 110 data fields required for 2018 reporting – this is 42 new or modified fields more than last year!
  • There are 2 scenarios for HMDA reporting provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – Single Family closed end purchase and Open Ended lines of credit. These 2 scenarios have received 23 updates since July 2017!
  • Beginning with January 1, 2018 the CFPB made Government Monitoring Information (GMI) and denial reasons for Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) a mandatory data collection. Reporting of this loan program has previously been optional.
  • HMDA is essentially a Fair Lending review. With new rules, the CFPB will be receiving fair lending information from more than 7,400 lenders in an automated fashion, thereby allowing regulators a streamlined opportunity to analyze your practices

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During our onsite visits, we have seen a lot of different issues.  Some lenders struggle with manual spreadsheets to collect HMDA data. Others are doing their best with their LOS but are scrambling at the end of the year to fill in the missing data only to miss a component. Unfortunately, these errors can result in receiving regulators ongoing attention. If you need help with HMDA reporting, reconciliation, procedures , processes or drafting a Fair Lending Policy, call us! If you are a LendingQB customer call us to learn about our HMDA tips and tricks.

MERS ICE Data Center Migration Update

We’ve had a lot of really good questions from our eRAMP users regarding migrating eRAMP to MERS new ICE data center. Now, thanks to outstanding communications from our partners at ICE we have something tangible to report to our users.

Based on a webinar earlier this week and documentation provided by MERS we have great news. We believe eRAMP will require no program changes to communicate and submit cases to MERS after the migration. The only change to be made in eRAMP will be users will have to update the SFTP IP address on eRAMP’s Client screen. For eRAMP users using MERS Online Registration option no changes will be required. Pretty easy, right?

To make sure eRAMP has an open path to get to MERS ICE data centers users may have to have their IT department whitelist MERS new IP addresses. For more information about IP addresses please visit MERS member’s area of their website and download MERS ICE Migration Info Sheet. If users have not already downloaded MERS ICE Migration Info Sheet we recommend they do this right away. From the member’s area of MERS website in the lower right corner of the page there are several download options. Click the option to download the Migration info sheet. Users will find 10 pages of very valuable information to help them understand the process MERS is taking to complete their migration to ICE data centers.

Here’s a copy of the process overview from the migration info sheet that we will be following:

Process overview

  1. a) Phase 1 – February-March 2018 – Technical Migration Information provided to Members
  2. b) Phase 2 – March-July 1, 2018 – Members begin the setup process to ensure that their organizations are able to connect and to test connections to ICE data centers.
  3. c) Phase 3 – Switch over weekend in 3Q 2018
  4. d) Phase 4 – MERS Systems live at ICE data centers in 3Q 2018

While testing is just starting we had good success on our first test. We were able to establish basic communication with MERS Online. The first test went well and was completed on the first try. Additional testing is underway and should be completed well before ICE’s completion date of July 1, 2018.

As we move through testing milestones we will email updates. Please visit our Client Resource Center to get all the latest news about MER ICE migration and other Cyberlink news.

Thank you,

Cyberlink Support Team
www.Oncyberlink .com

MERS members should visit MERS website for more information
www.mersinc.org

Your Path to FHA-Approved Lending

According to statistics compiled by the Urban Institute Housing Finance Policy Center and Mortgage Daily, loans backed by the FHA and VA accounted for nearly one in four mortgages opened in 2016, making up nearly half a trillion dollars in issued loans. Before the financial crisis in 2008, these loans made up less than a third of the total market. The explosive growth in this sector is likely to continue uninterrupted. We’re here to help you take advantage of this huge pool of potential borrowers.

The only way a lender can offer an FHA loan is to get official approval from the FHA. This process includes an online application and attachment of relevant documents, including state license or registration, financial reports, quality control plans, and proof of errors and omissions insurance. Compliance through the Initial Certification Statements will also need to be confirmed. There are currently four different types of application programs available:

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  • Nonsupervised Mortgagee – For institutions who want to originate, underwrite, close, endorse, service, purchase, hold, or sell FHA-insured Mortgages.
  • Supervised Mortgagee – For credit unions and banks who want to be involved in all the above aspects of FHA-insured loans.
  • Government Mortgagee – For local, state, or federal entities who wish to offer FHA-backed loans.
  • Investing Mortgagee – For investing firms who want to purchase, hold, or sell FHA-insured Mortgages.

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At Cyberlink Software Solution, we specialize in assisting organizations looking for both nonsupervised and supervised mortgagee applications. We can answer any questions you have about the approval process while providing detailed assistance during each phase.

Step-by-Step Support and Assistance

Like any other type of government application process, getting FHA approval as a lender can be a long, confusing, and even frustrating process. We’re expert consultants who’ve seen it all, and we stay up to date on all the amendments to FHA policies and procedures. We’ll work closely with you to develop a strategy that reduces processing time and minimizes any hassle on your part. Our mission is to eliminate red tape whenever possible and get you servicing FHA-loans for your customers.