Principal Residential Mortgage, Inc., Steps Up Correspondent Lending Center With Latest Enhancements

Business Wire, Sept 20, 2001

Business Editors

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2001

Addition of a Variety of New Features Raises the Online

Mortgage Source to an Even Higher Level of Efficiency

and Convenience for Correspondent Lenders

Principal Residential Mortgage, Inc., the residential mortgage company of the Principal Financial Group(R), today announced the latest enhancements of its new online mortgage source, the Correspondent Lending Center (www.principal.com/correspondent). The refreshed site was developed to adapt to the way the correspondent does business, not the other way around.

Designed to make it easier, faster and more efficient for correspondents to do business with Principal Residential Mortgage, the Correspondent Lending Center puts the latest mortgage technologies at correspondents' fingertips and provides access to more information, improves work process efficiencies and ultimately reduces costs for the correspondent lender.

The latest rollout of the Correspondent Lending Center includes access to a "what-if" scenario tool, allowing users to test hypothetical lock modifications before locking the loan. A second new feature allows a fast route to all reports--live price trades, loan status, outstanding completions, outstanding contingencies, outstanding fees, pipeline and purchase advice. Correspondents also now have access to loan file history, providing a chronological account of all activity performed on the file by both Principal Residential Mortgage and the correspondent.

"Correspondents can now visit the Principal Residential Mortgage online to test out combinations of various interest rates, registration types, product types and loan amounts to see how they stack up in our `what-if' scenarios section," said Phil Kuhn, vice president of correspondent lending for Principal Residential Mortgage. "They can use this feature to test changes to a locked loan, and if they so choose, they can then accept the proposal that's most appealing with a simple click."

The enhanced site offers greater pipeline management--correspondents will now be able to cancel or delete a loan online that has been registered with Principal Residential Mortgage. Links are now provided to specific sections of the online Seller Guide directly from the page where the correspondent is working. An online application for correspondents to become partners with Principal Residential Mortgage is also now available.

"These extremely useful modifications add to the already wide array of features Principal Residential Mortgage offers online," said Kuhn. "Correspondents are gaining access to much more information in reports, as well as greater control of the entire loan process, start to finish."

The extensive list of new online reports affords correspondents up-to-the-minute accuracy--vital in today's swiftly changing marketplace.

The latest release complements the site's initial May 2001 roll-out and subsequent upgrades, which included simple, secure loan registration for correspondents, a real-time view of their pipeline, updated pricing information including service premiums and individualized security profiles controlled by the correspondent.

The Correspondent Lending Center is an eBusiness solution developed through the natural evolution of Principal Residential Mortgage's correspondent lending business. The online resource provides up-to-the-minute technology without sacrificing the company's excellent reputation for customer care.

Principal Residential Mortgage, Inc., is one of the largest Correspondent investors in the nation, and is one of the premier full-service lending institutions nationwide, with over 60 years of lending experience. They currently service $67.3 billion in home loans for more than 650,000 customers.

The Principal Financial Group (www.principal.com) is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and mortgage banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. More employers choose the Principal Financial Group for their 401(k) plans than any other bank, mutual fund, or insurance company in the United States(1). Its flagship and largest member, Principal Life Insurance Company (The Principal (R))(2), was founded in 1879. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $116.9 billion in assets under management(3) and serves some 13 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

(1) CFO Magazine, April/May 2001, based on total plans served in 2000 by insurance companies, banks and investment firms.

(2) "The Principal" is a registered trademark referring to Principal Life Insurance Company, a member of the Principal Financial Group.

(3) As of June 30, 2001.