FICS Loan Servicing Solution Meets Requirements of HAMP

Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), a mortgage technology specialist that provides in-house residential origination and servicing technology and commercial servicing technology to the mortgage industry, announced that its residential mortgage loan servicing solution, Mortgage Servicer, has undergone rigorous loan modification and reporting enhancements to meet requirements of the U.S. Treasury Department's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

HAMP is designed to help millions of homeowners currently in default (or at risk of default) avoid foreclosure by modifying existing mortgage loans to better meet borrowers' immediate and long-term financial abilities. To achieve this, the program automatically includes as participants the 2,300 servicers that service Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Servicers can also elect to participate in the program for other qualifying mortgage loans by signing a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA). According to the U.S. Dept of the Treasury, as of August 4, 38 servicers have signed an SPA. The enhancements to Mortgage Servicer benefit all FICS customers who are participating in HAMP, including those who signed an SPA and Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac servicers.

Among other changes, the company noted, the following enhancements have been incorporated into FICS' Mortgage Servicer to support HAMP servicing requirements:

- The Loan Modification and Loss Mitigation programs and repayment functionality have been expanded.

- Additional tracking and reporting capabilities have been added.

- Additional features have been made available for the capitalization of delinquent payments and other amounts owed.

- Programs such as Payment processing, various statements and reports have been modified to accommodate the Principal Forbearance amount, which is an option to help reduce a borrower's payment ratio.

- A Borrower Incentive Program was added to provide the annual "pay for performance" principal credit amount which is an incentive to the borrower to keep the loan current. The program calculates the incentive amounts, tracks the progress, produces various reports, and includes a borrower statement reflecting incentive amounts.

- Added functionality for the Investor Incentive Program.

- Expanded Escrow administration functionality to accommodate HAMP requirements.

Furthermore, enhancements were made to FICS' automated custodial accounting system, Mortgage Accountant, and real-time mortgage loan information product, Real-Time Access (RTA), to accommodate the functionality added to its Mortgage Servicer system.

"We have decades of experience in helping mortgage companies and financial institutions successfully navigate the regulatory landscape through the use of innovative technology," said Susan Graham, president of FICS. "Today's regulatory environment is constantly changing and evolving and it is our goal to ensure that our technology supports the current requirements and needs of our servicing customers."

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