Release re Cendant Corp's mortgage services
E-COMMERCE DELIVERY SOLUTION TO CENDANT CORPORATION
Date: 9/9/98 11:08:59 AM
Dateline: MONTREAL, QUEBEC
Stock Symbol: IFM
EC company increases lead in U.S. mortgage services market
MPACT Immedia, a leading global provider of electronic commerce
solutions, today announced an agreement with Speedy Title and
Appraisal Review Services, a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation,
to provide e-commerce services to one of the largest providers of
mortgage funds in the United States, Cendant Mortgage.
This agreement, together with several other similar
relationships, strengthens MPACT Immedia's position as a leading
supplier of e-commerce services to the U.S. mortgage services
industry.
The agreement with New Jersey-based Cendant Corporation will see
MPACT Immedia manage the electronic delivery of appraisals
between Cendant Mortgage and its field appraisers ensuring that
the appraisal information can now be processed in a matter of
minutes instead of days. There are 15 million mortgage appraisals
done in the United States every year by more than 60,000
appraisers and the value of this market is just over $3 billion
US.
MPACT Immedia will forward the appraisal data received from the
appraisers to Cendant Mortgage via Freddie Mac's GoldWorks
network, while the appraisal software used to complete the
reports comes from Polaroid Digital Solutions formerly ACI
Development Inc., the largest developer of mortgage appraisal
software in the U.S. This Cendant Mortgage service not only
creates complete electronic delivery of the entire appraisal
process, but also offers a wide range of value-added features
such as order alert, delivery certification, order acceptance and
constant monitoring of the communications infrastructure to
guarantee full customer service.
"This new system will help Cendant Mortgage better serve its
customers because we can now turn around the entire
appraisal-delivery process quickly and with much more cost
efficiency," said Don Casey, Cendant Mortgage's Senior Vice
President. "We firmly believe that electronic commerce is the
future of the U.S. mortgage services industry."
MPACT Immedia's President and CEO, Brian Edwards, added that the
Cendant Corporation agreement is very significant for MPACT
Immedia in terms of its penetration in this segment of the U.S.
market.
"Because of our relationships with Cendant Mortgage and other
major organizations in this market - as well as our close
alliance with Freddie Mac - MPACT Immedia has become a key player
in the electronic delivery of information to the U.S. mortgage
industry," said Edwards. "This market is huge and we believe we
are well established with the help of these prestigious players."
Edwards pointed out that MPACT Immedia has now delivered close to
200,000 mortgage appraisals via Freddie Mac's GoldWorks network
since the service was originally implemented a year ago, and the
Company is expecting to be at an annual run-rate of almost
1,000,000 by this time next year.
"Through these initiatives, a complete e-commerce service is now
available for the North American mortgage industry," said Robert
Habert, MPACT Immedia Vice President in charge of Mortgage
Services marketing. "The number of users has grown exponentially
in the last six months and we expect to make some important new
announcements in this field in the near future."
A wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation, Cendant
Mortgage is a full service lender and a leader in
relationship-driven mortgage banking, serving real estate
brokers, affinity groups, credit unions, financial institutions,
corporations and government agencies. In 1997 alone, Cendant
Mortgage received over 100,000 applications and provided more
than $11.7 billion in mortgage financing for American Homes.
Cendant (NYSE: CD) is the world's premier provider of consumer
and business services. Cendant operates in three principal
segments: Real Estate, Travel and Alliance Marketing. Through the
CENTURY 21, Coldwell Banker, and ERA brands, the Cendant Real
Estate Division's 12,000 plus franchised offices participate in
over 1.5 million sides of real estate transactions annually. The
Cendant Real Estate Division also includes Cendant Mobility, the
largest relocation company in the world with over 1,700 corporate
clients, and Cendant Mortgage, the 11th largest mortgage
originator in the United States with over $11 billion in loans
closed during the first six months of 1998. Headquartered in
Parsippany, NJ, Cendant Corporation has more than 40,000
employees and operates in over 100 countries.
MPACT Immedia Corporation delivers network-centric business
solutions that enable and become an integral part of customer
processes. Its e-commerce solutions enable organizations to
better compete in the global marketplace. Following its recently
concluded merger with the Electronic Business Solutions (EBS)
unit of Bell Emergis, the combined entity is one of the top tier
electronic commerce providers in the world.
For more information on this press release, please contact:
For Investor Relations
Barry V. Engel
Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs
(514) 397-9747 (ext. 202)
Email: engel.barry@mpact.net
For Product Information
Robert Habert
Vice President
(416) 597-3204
Email: robert.habert@mpact.net
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