A new Web-based mortgage information application scheduled for release early next year promises to give credit reporting agencies and wholesale lenders an alternative to costly technology connections and unwieldy "out of the box" software packages. According to Informative Research CIO Abe Chang, OriginatorDirect safely "opens up" his company's proven online credit systems architecture to organizations that crave the performance of tier-1 connectivity, but cringe at the costs associated with purchasing or developing it.

    OriginatorDirect, developed by California-based credit information provider Informative Research, will enable mid-sized, or "tier-2" credit reporting agencies to access and share advanced credit reporting technology, as well as other risk reduction tools, without paying licensing fees or altering workflow. The application will also allow lenders to connect to a larger broker audience through a network of credit reporting agency users. According to Williams, wholesale lenders stand to benefit from the introduction of OriginatorDirect as well, because it creates an expanded network of the mortgage professionals serviced by each CRA.

    "It's a perfect solution for the smaller CRA, because it takes an extremely reliable, extremely advanced system that we've developed and refined over the past 15 years, and makes it instantly available to an organization that may be leasing or licensing their technology from a software company," stated Chang. "More importantly," stressed Chang, "it will allow these CRAs to give their broker customers instant, direct access to these products and services while virtually eliminating associated development or licensing costs."

    "Through this application, a lender can get an unprecedented level of exposure, and market its programs to an audience that may have been previously unreachable due to geography or budget constraints," Williams explained. Tested under a pilot program with a Southern California-based CRA in late 2007, OriginatorDirect is slated for official release in January of 2008. Billing will be based on a low, per-transaction fee, and there will be no charge for standard setup. Free training will be provided for all subscribers, the company said.

    OriginatorDirect will give subscribing CRAs their own private-label credit portal, affording them direct access to the Informative Research Web-based credit system, as well as tradeline verifications, flood determinations, mortgage fraud insurance, automated property valuation and other mortgage-related services. Informative Research New Business Development Manager Donovan Williams, a credit industry veteran and current board member of the National Credit Reporting Association, called the new application "a breakthrough," and added that it has the potential to "positively and immediately impact any company that uses it."

    "It represents the best of both worlds," said Williams. "You've got a credit provider with 60-plus years in the business using its experience, information technology resources and know-how to develop a system for other credit providers. The key here is that we're not trying to shoehorn software that's been designed for another industry into the world of credit; we've designed OriginatorDirect around the world of credit."