MBA Subsidiary Circulates Draft RFP for National Fraud Against Lenders Database

MBA (4/1/2008 ) Stokes, Aleis
Lender Technologies Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, yesterday circulated a draft Request for Proposal regarding creation of a national database to help prevent and detect mortgage fraud.
The RFP comes as both industry and law enforcement face concerns that mortgage fraud perpetrated against residential mortgage bankers has grown considerably over the past several years, with significant consequences to lenders as well as to taxpayers, consumers and communities.

"Fraud against mortgage lenders is a growing problem, one that affects all lenders and consumers," said MBA Chairman Kieran Quinn, CMB. "We are eager to explore new technologies to help track fraud and share information that will allow lenders to better protect themselves, as well as consumers, taxpayers and communities, from the costs of mortgage fraud. That is why we are lending our support to efforts to develop a national fraud prevention database."

At the request of an industry group consisting of several of the largest residential mortgage lenders as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and as part of ongoing efforts to combat mortgage fraud, LTC is exploring creation of a national database which will use technology to provide an early warning system for potential fraud. LTC seeks comment on the draft RFP from the vendor community and other interested parties to assure that the specifications in the draft RFP are sufficient to elicit viable, comparable proposals.

"Information is truly the lender's best defense against mortgage fraud," said Richard Wohl, president of Indymac Bank, Pasadena, Calif., a member of MBA's Board of Directors and former chair of MBA's Residential Board of Governors' (RESBOG) mortgage fraud task force. "Preventing fraud before it occurs is the most important step we can take. The industry, along with seeking support of its regulators, is eagerly pushing this innovative national anti-fraud information sharing database forward so we can do just that."

The primary focus of this project is to develop a database and process to facilitate the sharing of key data that will improve a mortgage lender's ability to identify and stop fraud at the point of origination. The project described in the RFP presents a very powerful opportunity for the mortgage industry to prevent fraudsters from harming both lenders and honest homeowners, Wohl said.