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Cypress Software Offers Consulting and Technology for RESPA Compliance

Dec 22 - Cypress Software Systems has announced that it is offering consulting services, as well as enhanced versions of its Mark IV automated loan software and Mark IV Mortgage Module, to help financial institutions quickly achieve compliance for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

The RESPA rule requires lenders to use a new standardized good-faith estimate disclosure and a revised HUD-1 settlement sheet that is designed to provide clearer disclosure of closing costs and how much a consumer will pay.

Janette VanMeter, senior vice president of Stillwater National Bank in Tulsa, Okla., says that with all the current and upcoming regulations around mortgages and consumer protection, compliance will be a hot issue among financial institutions in 2010.

“Consumer protection is a big deal throughout the industry and among government regulators, and the Regulation Z and RESPA acts are likely only the first steps in what is expected to be sweeping reform,” VanMeter said. “Among the partners who have helped us gain compliance, Cypress and its Mark IV consumer loan processing software has been among the most beneficial. They have put safeguards in place that will guarantee our compliance, so we don’t have to necessarily know and understand every aspect of each new rule and regulation.

“We’ve been a user since 2002, and think they’ve done an ‘over-the-top’ job with their RESPA compliance updates and training. Any bank who is not compliant should strongly consider automated lending solutions like Cypress’ Mark IV.”

Lenders must now reveal their fees upfront on a new four-page GFE form that is given to the borrower three days after they sign a mortgage application, and the originator's fee cannot be increased before closing. Comparatively, the old form was only one page.

John Misiora, vice president and manager of consumer loans at Centier Bank of Merrillville, Ind., says that while the information and tools provided by the federal government have helped some, they do not address the “gray areas” associated with the new rules. Providers like Cypress have had to step in to fill that void.

“Despite the information provided by federal agencies, we were still struggling with some gray areas. For example, if the government provided sample GFEs addressing various scenarios, it would have saved a lot of headaches,” Misiora said. “Cypress has addressed these lapses and has handled the regulatory changes very well in its latest version of Mark IV and the Mark IV Mortgage Module. Any institution processing home equity or mortgage loans is missing the boat if they are not using these solutions.”

Updates to Cypress’ Mark IV consumer lending platform and the Mark IV Mortgage Module navigates the regulatory changes in a user-friendly, intuitive interface that helps loan officers easily and automatically manage loans from application entry, through underwriting and decisioning.

“In light of the recent credit crisis, the finance industry will expectedly be hit with new rounds of federal regulations in the months and years ahead,” said Stephen G. Sargent, president and CEO of Cypress Software Systems. “At Cypress, our people and our technology help financial institutions mitigate the impact of these regulations by working in tandem with the institution to create a lending process that is quickly adaptable to changes, while boosting overall efficiency and competitiveness.”

Cypress’ Mark IV is a software platform that automates the consumer loan application and decisioning process, and helps institutions with risk management issues. With Mark IV, service associates electronically input application information while interviewing customers. The software then quickly retrieves credit reports, efficiently analyzes the capacity for repayment, and deploys the institution’s loan policies. The result is a quality loan decision that meets all federal requirements, provides the highest levels of risk management available in the industry and ensures consistency within the loan portfolio.

About Cypress Software Systems
Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress Software Systems LP is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company’s flagship products, Mark IV and BizMark, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress’ BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider or traditional business model. The company’s product line also includes AppMark, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $250 million or less. Web site: www.go-cypress.com.

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