Mortgage Market Information Services increases its role as the nation's leading provider of consumer mortgage information

Business Wire, Oct 13, 1997

VILLA PARK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1997--Mortgage Market Information Services, Inc. (MMIS), the nation's largest publisher of consumer mortgage information, announced on Oct. 1, 1997 that it had acquired National Mortgage Research (NMRC) of Dallas.

"This merging of operations will expand MMIS into new metropolitan markets, increasing our scope as the nation's leading provider of consumer mortgage information," stated James R. De Both, MMIS president (De Both is more widely known as a syndicated financial real estate columnist).

NMRC produces mortgage lender listings features in several top 100 newspapers across the country, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, Hartford Courant, and Dallas Morning News. MMIS currently provides home-finance information for 23 of the top 100 daily newspapers, including the San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Back in the mid-80s, MMIS established itself as the nation's largest provider of consumer mortgage information by pioneering the concept of a multi-media consumer mortgage feature that serves as the focal point of a newspaper's real estate section. The firm is a publishing leader that has melded the technologies of audiotex, fax-on-demand and Internet with print services. MMIS offers additional services such as electronic directory publishing, online mortgage lender listings, a national mortgage rate database, nationally syndicated mortgage columns, financial newsletters and information hotlines.

The MMIS Internet site, www.interest.com, receives thousands of mortgage inquiries daily from around the world. Through this site, mortgage-hunters are able to directly link with thousands of local mortgage lenders for daily information on current loan programs. Features of these lender areas include on-line mortgage pre-qualification and interactive loan counseling. The site also provides daily updates on mortgage rate movements, archives of historical data, mortgage discussion areas, editorial columns and toll-free consumer assistance.

"Our objective is to become the nation's premier provider of home mortgage information," said De Both. "This merger puts us well on our way to achieving that goal. At the same time, it is important to remain as a consumer advocate and voice for accurate information. With the rapid growth of lenders offering home financing on a national basis, it's vital for consumers to find a single reliable source with the most timely list of lenders and programs."

According to De Both, this merger also will allow MMIS to provide enhanced services to NMRC customers and newspaper metropolitan regions. NMRC founder, Bill Loughborough, will serve as vice-president of the new NMRC Division of MMIS.

MMIS is a member of the Newspaper Association of America and the National Association of Real Estate Editors. For additional information, contact Lisa Walsh, Marketing Department, at 800/509-4636.

CONTACT: Mortgage Market Information Services, Villa Park

Lisa Walsh, 800/509-4636

Bill Steele, 630/782-4387