Mortgage Bankers Association endorses electronic mortgages

According to a news release from the MBA, based on a recommendation from the board of directors’ technology steering committee, the resolution includes three focus areas:

• Endorsement of the use of residential and commercial eMortgages, based on open standards, as a significant mechanism for simplifying the mortgage process and creating other efficiencies that will reduce costs for all market participants, including consumers, over the long-term.

• Maintenance of MBA’s leadership position within the industry by establishing eMortgage standards and best practices, and applying its resources accordingly, including its ongoing financial support of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, a not-for-profit subsidiary of MBA which develops data transfer and file specifications that span the $9 trillion residential and commercial real estate finance industries.

• Assistance for MBA members to stay “ahead of the curve,” through advanced educational and training materials regarding eMortgages.

“This is a very important step for the MBA,” said John Robbins, president and chief executive officer of American Mortgage Network and chair of the MBA’s board of directors’ technology steering committee, in the release. “It reaffirms MBA’s commitment of building best-of-breed solutions that will benefit the entire industry and, ultimately, the consumer as we move forward into the next era of truly paperless mortgages.”

Currently, MISMO offers a variety of products and services to develop, promote, and maintain voluntary electronic commerce standards for the mortgage industry. Its eMortgage Workgroup builds on the existing MISMO data standards, adding data elements and electronic signature capabilities to create an infrastructure for standardized fully electronic, or paperless, mortgages. The program also has a commercial side. For more information, visit www.mismo.org.

Additionally, the Secure Identity Services Accreditation Corp., another subsidiary of MBA, sets standards that provide the platform for industry wide e-commerce secure identifications, which allow industry firms to establish various levels of identity within the context of secure e-commerce transactions. For more information on SISAC, visit www.sisac.org.