Ellie Mae's Business Center Now Provides Access to Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector on the Internet

Business Wire, July 20, 2000

Business/High Tech Editors

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2000

Ellie Mae, the leading provider of Internet solutions for the mortgage industry, announced today that it will team with Freddie Mac to make the company's Loan Prospector(R) on the Internet automated underwriting service available to mortgage originators via the Ellie Mae Business Center.

Ellie Mae seeks to be among the first industry participants to offer an updated version of Loan Prospector on the Internet using the new XML (extensible markup language) standards approved by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO).

The agreement is representative of the continued efforts by Ellie Mae and Freddie Mac to simplify the mortgage process, making it faster and more cost-effective for lenders and mortgage originators to provide loan decisions to homebuyers at the point of sale.

"Ellie Mae and Freddie Mac are working together to broaden the use of e-commerce tools in the mortgage industry and create additional value for homebuyers," said Patricia McClung, Freddie Mac's vice president of Loan Prospector Marketing. "By making the efficiencies of Loan Prospector on the Internet available through the Ellie Mae Business Center and other B2B access points, Freddie Mac is furthering its goal of cutting mortgage origination costs in half over five years."

This addition to the Ellie Mae Business Center broadens the range of Internet tools available to mortgage originators. Mortgage professionals can also access the Business Center for resources and information required to conduct daily business. These include Web-based marketing tools, an integrated customer database, direct mail campaigns, live loan and bond market news, and daily industry news.

"We're aiming to provide everything a mortgage professional needs, all in one place, in a manner complementary to the business demands of lenders and service providers," said Sig Anderman, Ellie Mae chairman and founder. "With the introduction of the Business Center, and the addition of Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector on the Internet, we expect to successfully bridge the gap between consumers, brokers and lenders."

Ellie Mae's Business Center is a transaction portal providing point and click electronic loan submission, online access to credit reports, appraisals, title insurance and closing documents from settlement service providers across the country.

About Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae, Inc, headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., is the leading provider of Internet solutions for the mortgage industry. Through its industry standard B2B2C e-commerce solutions, the Ellie Mae infrastructure creates an online mortgage community bridging the gap between consumers, mortgage originators, lenders and service providers. The company's customized Web site and hosting services, and B2B Business Center transaction portal, enable mortgage originators to harness the power of the Internet, giving them an advantage in the competitive residential mortgage arena. For more information, visit www.EllieMae.com or call 877/355-4362.

About Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in support of homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage passthrough securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has opened doors for one in six homebuyers and more than two million renters in America.