Mortgage Banking Systems Launches ProMerge; First Mortgage Closing Document Portal to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System

Business Wire, August 26, 2004

MCLEAN, Va. -- Mortgage Banking Systems, Inc., a leading provider of mortgage closing document services and technology, announced the availability of ProMerge(R), an extension of its signature mortgage closing document software, ProClose(R). ProMerge acts as a lender portal to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) and currently the only mortgage document engine directly connected to MERS.

ProClose gives lenders control over their own closing documents, providing an extensive library of lender and industry-specific forms and customized reporting capabilities that create accurate, compliant loan packages with secure electronic delivery.

"ProMerge will allow lenders to manage MERS registrations faster and remove the chance of loan registry input errors," said Frank Riley, Lending Division Manager, National Fidelity Mortgage Corp. "With ProMerge, closing documents will always match loan registration without any extra work."

The portal significantly simplifies the electronic registration of loans and allows lenders to register one or a batch of hundreds of loans through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) established within ProClose. ProMerge reduces the time it takes to register a loan through MERS by about 10 minutes. For example, a lender processing 100 loans a month could expect to save approximately two business days, or 16 hours, each month using ProMerge.

"Opportunities for mistakes lurk around every corner of a loan's journey to the closing table," said Christine Kirby, president, Mortgage Banking Systems, Inc. "Streamlining our doc-prep application, ProClose, with a direct MERS connection eliminates the need to re-key data for the loan assignment, reducing errors and increasing productivity."

In addition to its direct connection to MERS through ProClose, Mortgage Banking Systems creates MERS-specific versions of all Security Instruments and prints needed MERS information on other documents as required.

ProMerge ensures data integrity by extracting all relevant information from ProClose and populating the ProMerge fields. The portal also allows users to un-register loans that no longer need to be listed on MERS. The application includes context-sensitive help files and is supported by a team of mortgage professionals and certified technicians.

"ProMerge complements Mortgage Banking Systems' service-driven culture, which balances technology and innovation with the human element and industry expertise," added Kirby. "This approach enables the delivery of quality service that our lenders have trusted for more than 17 years."

About Mortgage Banking Systems

Headquartered in McLean, Va. Mortgage Banking Systems specializes in mortgage lending software for small to mid-sized mortgage companies and community banks nationwide. Its signature product, ProClose(R), gives lenders control over their own closing documents and provides an extensive library of lender and industry-specific forms and customized reporting capabilities, creating accurate, compliant closing documents with secure electronic delivery. A staff of mortgage and technical professionals support lenders nationwide with strict regulatory standards, ensuring that all documents in its vast library meet all legal compliance guidelines. Customized reports and strong investor relationships help Mortgage Banking Systems meet the unique needs of its lenders and deliver on its commitment to 100 percent customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.ProClose.com.