FIRST AMERICAN CREDCO ANNOUNCES NEW CONNECT WEB SERVICES TECHNOLOGY

Expands Product Availability, Including Anthem Non-traditional Credit Reporting

First American CREDCO, the leading provider of specialty credit reports to the mortgage and consumer finance industries and part of First Advantage Corporation, today announced the availability of its new CONNECT Web services technology. CONNECT provides a secure electronic interface to a wide range of new products available from First American CREDCO, including identity validation, compliance and consumer credit solutions. One of the most notable additions available on the CONNECT interface is the electronic automation of AnthemTM, First American CREDCO’s non-traditional mortgage credit report and scoring solution for loan applicants having little or no traditional credit history.

With CONNECT, First American CREDCO customers can obtain multiple products within one technology framework, as well as reduce labor-intensive paper-based processes. “Our vision is to introduce product innovation while reducing the overall cost of the mortgage origination process,” said Mark F. Catone, senior vice president for First American CREDCO. “CONNECT turns many paper-based processes into Web services, making them available for integration into loan workflow automation and processing platforms. CONNECT automates Anthem, the industry’s most efficient and reliable process for verifying non-traditional credit, eliminating a layer of risk traditionally assigned to mortgage applicants having thin-file credit reports or no credit report at all.”

“CONNECT allows us to completely automate the loan underwriting process for applicants needing to establish non-traditional credit histories in a safe, transparent and secure way. Anthem has become a seamless part of our loan origination process,” said Brian Cosgrove, president of JustPrice Solutions, the technology subsidiary of National Housing Services of America (NHSA). “Even as the real estate market contracted, the combination of programs and technology like R-Home (http://www.r-homeownership.org), along with Anthem, allows us to bridge the operating gap in a new way that benefits borrowers, originators and investors.”

CONNECT places many products used in the mortgage origination process into one seamless solution, which can be integrated into loan origination, processing or Automated Underwriting Systems. The new interface technology features document embedding, allowing the electronic transmission of loan documents, authorization forms, rent receipts, utility and phone bills, as well as other documents.

CONNECT provides lenders with access to an expanded line of products and features, including:

Fraud Management and Identity Verification

ProScan ID – Online identity validation helps lenders meet new FACTA Red Flag Rules and Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements.

ProScan OFAC – Required USA PATRIOT Act watch list screening for account origination

ProScan XL – Extended Watch List screening for domestic and international lending compliance requirements

Credit

Instant Merge – Combines credit data from one, two or all three national credit bureaus into a convenient single report in a common format.

Anthem ReportTM – Non-traditional credit reporting for “thin” or “no credit file” applicants

Anthem ScoreTM – A credit score specifically addressing underwriting requirements for “thin” or “no credit file” applicants; available with the Anthem Report

Merge Plus – Updates and verifies one to three creditors from the original credit report

RMCR – A comprehensive credit report update and verification report bringing credit histories more current than information provided by the credit bureaus

Compliance

Credit Score Disclosure (CSD) – Delivers required score disclosure documents, including the Notice to Home Loan Applicant, which meets federal law for credit score disclosure

Credit Score Disclosure Mailing Service – Automatically delivers the CSD by mail to loan applicant(s)

CONNECT significantly upgrades First American CREDCO’s existing CredcoConnect interface and works in conjunction with the company’s proprietary consumer information workflow processing engine. The workflow processing engine works in tandem with the Mortgage Information Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) XML interface protocol, including its extensions, which allow customers to leverage a widely recognized interface standard over secure connections.