U.S. patent application number 11/074321 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-08 for method and apparatus for a mortgage loan originator compliance engine.
This patent application is currently assigned to EVERBANK. Invention is credited to Broadbent, David F., Coleman, Paul B., Cook, Redge L., Harten, William S..
Application Number | 20050197953 11/074321 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26885359 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050197953 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Broadbent, David F. ; et
al. |
September 8, 2005 |
Method and apparatus for a mortgage loan originator compliance
engine
Abstract
The automated compliance engine of the present invention uses
the Federal, State, local and professional regulations and
requirements and implementing instructions to generate a plurality
of tasks which can be used to control and drive the process of
handling a mortgage loan application to completion and to monitor
the completion of the tasks in order to generate a Completion
Certificate. Mortgage loan requestors may specify that the system
will generate the plurality of required tasks, provide the
plurality of required tasks to the requestor for his execution, and
monitor the completion of all required tasks so as to provide a
completion certificate to the requestor. Alternatively, loan
requesters may specify that the automated compliance engine will
generate the plurality of required tasks, will transfer the
required tasks to other systems qualified to manage and control the
execution of the required tasks, and the compliance engine will
monitor the completion of all required tasks so as to provide a
completion certificate to the requester.
Inventors: |
Broadbent, David F.; (Salt
Lake City, UT) ; Cook, Redge L.; (Sandy, UT) ;
Coleman, Paul B.; (Draper, UT) ; Harten, William
S.; (Woods Cross, UT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KIRKPATRICK & LOCKHART NICHOLSON GRAHAM LLP
535 SMITHFIELD STREET
PITTSBURGH
PA
15222
US
|
Assignee: |
EVERBANK
|
Family ID: |
26885359 |
Appl. No.: |
11/074321 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11074321 |
Mar 7, 2005 |
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09645217 |
Aug 24, 2000 |
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6904412 |
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60189635 |
Mar 14, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
Y10S 707/99931 20130101; G06Q 40/025 20130101; G06Q 40/02
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/038 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A computer implemented method for generation of a set of
required procedures for processing a mortgage loan comprising the
acts of: receiving a request to process a mortgage loan; generating
a plurality of tasks, the tasks comprising actions required to
process the mortgage loan, including tasks required by applicable
federal or state law; and distributing one or more of the tasks to
one or more systems capable of performing one or more of the
tasks.
2. The computer implemented method for automated processing a
mortgage loan of claim 1 comprising the additional act of
monitoring completion of the plurality of tasks whereby a report of
completion of all required tasks can be generated.
3. The computer implemented method for automated processing of a
mortgage loan of claim 1 comprising the additional act of
authenticating a person submitting the request to process a
mortgage loan.
4. The computer implemented method for automated processing of a
mortgage loan of claim 1 comprising the additional act of
electronically transferring the plurality of tasks required to
process the loan to an electronic loan processing workflow engine
for controlling and managing execution of the tasks.
5. The computer implemented method for automated processing of a
mortgage loan of claim 1 wherein the plurality of tasks required to
process the mortgage loan are based upon mortgage loan related laws
and regulations comprising Federal, State, local and professional
regulations and requirements and implementing instructions relating
to mortgage loan processing.
6. The computer implemented method for automated processing of a
mortgage loan of claim 1 comprising an additional step of producing
a completion certificate.
7. A compliance engine for automated processing of a mortgage loan
comprising: a computer system having communications devices for
receiving a request to process a mortgage loan; the computer system
having logic mechanisms programmed to generate a plurality of
tasks, the tasks comprising actions required to process the
mortgage loan, including tasks required by applicable federal or
state law; and the computer system having additional logic
mechanisms programmed to electronically distribute one or more of
the tasks to one or more systems capable of performing one or more
of the tasks.
8. The compliance engine of claim 7 further comprising electronic
logic devices programmed to monitor completion of the plurality of
tasks and to generate a report of completion of all required
tasks.
9. The compliance engine of claim 7 wherein selected vendors are
automatically notified by the compliance engine to perform a task
and to report task completion to the compliance engine.
10. The compliance engine of claim 7 wherein the plurality of tasks
required to process the mortgage loan are based upon mortgage loan
related laws and regulations comprising Federal, State, local and
professional regulations and requirements and implementing
instructions relating to mortgage loan processing.
11. An apparatus for automated processing of a mortgage loan
comprising: means for receiving a request to process a mortgage
loan; means, coupled to the means for receiving a request to
process a mortgage loan, for generating a plurality of tasks, the
tasks comprising actions required to process the mortgage loan,
including tasks required by applicable federal or state law; and
means, coupled to the means for generating a plurality of tasks
required to process the mortgage loan, for electronically
distributing one or more of the plurality of tasks to one or more
systems capable of performing one or more of the tasks.
12. In a network having a user node including a browser program
coupled to said network, said user node providing requests for
information and providing mortgage loan application related
commands on said network, a network node comprising: a mortgage
loan processing server node responsive to a request from said user
node to process a mortgage loan, whereby said mortgage loan
processing server node provides a first mechanism for generating a
plurality of tasks, the tasks comprising actions required to
process the mortgage loan, including tasks required by applicable
federal or state law; and provides a second mechanism coupled to
the first mechanism, for distributing one or more of the plurality
of tasks to one or more systems capable of performing one or more
of the tasks.
13. The loan processing server node of claim 12 wherein the loan
processing server node provides a third mechanism to electronically
monitor completion of the plurality of tasks whereby a certificate
of completion of all required tasks can be generated.
14. The loan processing server node of claim 12 wherein the actions
required to process the mortgage loan are based upon mortgage loan
related laws and regulations comprising Federal, State, local and
professional regulations and requirements and implementing
instructions relating to loan processing.
15. A computer program product stored on a computed useable medium,
comprising; a first computer readable program mechanism for
receiving a request to process a mortgage loan; a second computer
readable program mechanism for generating a plurality of tasks, the
plurality of tasks comprising actions required to process the
mortgage loan, including tasks required by applicable federal or
state law; and a third computer readable code mechanism for
distributing one or more of the plurality of tasks to one or more
systems capable of performing one or more of the tasks.
16. The computer program product of claim 15 comprising a fourth
computer readable code mechanism for monitoring completion of the
plurality of tasks whereby a report of completion of all required
tasks can be generated.
17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the plurality
of tasks required to process the mortgage loan are based upon loan
related laws and regulations comprising Federal, State, local and
professional regulations and requirements and implementing
instructions relating to mortgage loan processing.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/189,635 filed Mar. 14, 2000. This application is
also related to the following utility applications which are filed
on the same day as this application:
[0002] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for a mortgage loan origination gateway";
[0003] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for verification of a qualified mortgage loan originator";
[0004] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "Method and Apparatus
for a Mortgage Loan Management System";
[0005] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for a mortgage loan task flow process";
[0006] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for a mortgage loan process interaction gateway";
[0007] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for a mortgage loan transaction service provider gateway";
[0008] Ser. No. ______ Filed ______, titled "A method and apparatus
for worker compensation & task performance reporting in a
mortgage loan transaction system".
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0009] A portion of this patent document contains material which is
subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no
objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent
document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and
Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all
copyright rights whatsoever.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0010] The present invention relates to the general field of
computers, telecommunications, and computer and Internet related
systems. More specifically the invention relates to systems and
processes to be used in the mortgage industry for generating and
monitoring a set of required procedures involved in moving a
mortgage loan through the steps of `originate`, `approve`, `close`,
`find`, and `ship`.
BACKGROUND
[0011] There is a need for an automated system for managing the
processing of mortgage loan applications, wherein the
identification of the loan originator, his/her location and the
location of the property which is the subject of the loan,
determine the Federal and State mortgage loan laws and regulations
as well as the professional guidelines which govern the loan
transaction, and wherein the automated system uses the specific
loan regulations to determine the tasks required to complete a loan
transaction, including tasks required by applicably federal or
state law, provide the set of required tasks to lenders and other
interested parties, record the completion of the set of tasks, and
if requested by a lender, to use the set of tasks internally to
drive the flow of the automated mortgage loan process to
completion.
[0012] The Federal laws and regulations in question are basically
those outlined in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
and the Federal Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's)
implementing Regulation X. The State regulations in question are
those State specific regulations and implementing instructions that
serve a similar purpose, relating to Lender payments to Mortgage
Brokers and other settlement service providers. RESPA is the
federal law implemented by HUD's Regulation X, to protect home
buyers from excess costs and confusion when securing a home
mortgage loan. Among other federal laws, the Truth in Lending Act
("TILA") and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA") impact the
mortgage loan process. Under the TILA, certain credit related
disclosures are required to be made to the borrower prior to the
consummation of a mortgage loan transaction, so that the borrower
understands the total cost of the loan.
[0013] The ECOA, and its implementing regulation, Regulation B,
were enacted and promulgated to require that lenders make credit
equally available to all creditworthy borrowers without regard to
race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age,
receipt of public assistance or the fact that the borrower in good
faith exercised any right under the Federal Consumer Credit
Protection Act. In addition to the prohibition against
discrimination, the ECOA and Regulation B also contain, among
others, requirements regarding the provision of appraisal reports,
evaluation of applications, spousal signatures, and the provision
of adverse action notices.
[0014] Regarding state laws, most jurisdictions have enacted
licensing statutes that may require real estate sales
professionals, builders, financial institutions/lenders and
mortgage brokers to obtain a license and satisfy various other
financial, educational and operational requirements. Most
jurisdictions also have enacted laws that impose, among others,
requirements regarding the types of fees that may be charged to a
consumer in connection with a mortgage loan transaction and the
persons entitled to receive such fees, as well as certain
jurisdiction-specific disclosures that must be provided to the
consumer.
[0015] There is a need for a system to facilitate the application
of all of these laws and regulations ("regulations") in an
efficient and systematic manner during the course of a mortgage
loan transaction by using the telecommunications and computing
facilities available to the market today.
[0016] While some state laws are more restrictive, RESPA allows a
licensed real estate professional to receive compensation for
originating a mortgage loan only if that real estate professional
provides goods or facilities or performs services that are
necessary for the origination of the loan and that are separate and
distinct from any services the real estate professional provides
incident to the sale of the property that secures the mortgage
loan. Moreover the mortgage loan process is labor intensive, error
prone and time consuming for all parties concerned, making it
difficult for a real estate professional to track the services he
or she provided to satisfy RESPA and state requirements to justify
receiving compensation.
[0017] Since the inception of the mortgage process wherein a
borrower and lender associated themselves to enact a mutually
beneficial and agreeable relationship, the lending process has
become increasingly complex. In prior times, a lender, typically a
small bank, negotiated directly with a potential home, commercial,
or business owner to purchase real property. The borrower presented
him-or herself directly to the president of the bank, or to a
designated lending officer, and petitioned that bank officer for
money to accomplish the purchase of, or improvement to a piece of
property. The deal was sometimes affirmed in the form of a
handshake, but by definition, a mortgage loan is a loan secured by
a mortgage on the subject property. In all, the process was very
subjective, and great weight was given to the friendship (or lack
of it) between the borrower and lender, as well as other factors
which, in today's lending environment, are discouraged or are
illegal. The demand for fairness and equity, as well as an
increasingly competitive lending environment, was the reason why
RESPA was passed and now requires a greater level of sophistication
on the part of the lending community. Furthermore as indicated
above, increasing oversight on the part of governments and
regulatory agencies have required increased levels of
sophistication in the traditional borrower-lender relationship.
While these oversight demands are generally considered to be a
benefit to the borrower-lender relationship, it is, nonetheless a
burden to all parties, and significant increases in both time and
cost are accrued to the process. As well, protective regulations
added by the lending community under whose umbrella the industry
operates, further protract the process of `doing business`. As
indicated above, these regulations and `rules` governing the
mortgage process permit those in the loan origination role to
receive a fee for services rendered when the applicable rules are
followed, as well as penalties and loss of fees for non-compliance.
For example, RESPA has criminal penalties wherein a violator can go
to jail for up to a year.
[0018] The impacts from this increased burden are manifold. The
process of obtaining a property-secured loan is protracted by
regulation and disjointed, because the participating agents,
workers, institutions, and individuals are linked throughout the
transaction by archaic means, that is to say, via face-to-face
meeting, telephone conversation, fax, postal mail, private delivery
contractors, e-mail, and electronic file transmittal. While in some
instances, these means are considered by some to be
state-of-the-art, they are not. Inherent in all of these
transactive mechanisms is the human element. It is typical that
time is consumed from the loan application, underwriting, and
issuance process because a person is involved at virtually every
step of the process. Typically, individuals process information
serially, that is, one requirement after another, whereas other
means exist to process information and service requests in
parallel, where multiple requests are handled or processed
simultaneously.
[0019] In current methodologies, the loan approval can occur only
after the lender has obtained and processed all relevant borrower
information, including financial, credit, and employment
information. A further disabling of the process exists when errors
are made, an event more common when persons are involved in simple,
repetitive data handling and manipulation tasks.
[0020] In present implementations, the mortgage underwriting
process generally follows the following pattern: A borrower,
wishing to purchase or improve real property, and usually without
the help of experienced advisors, makes a personal determination of
the amount of available money generally required for a down payment
and his or her ability to repay a loan for the balance. With this
personal estimate in mind, a borrower (or buyer) begins a search
for property and attends carefully to the costs of said property,
making sure that the scope of the search is within the individual's
envisioned cash flow constraints and acceptable debt ratios.
Generally, individuals seek the professional services of a skilled
Real estate sales professional or other agent to aid in the search
for suitable property. Concurrent with this search, the individual
will often, at the advice of a Real estate sales professional, seek
to obtain a pre-approval for an envisioned loan amount, or at least
a pre-qualification for a loan. In certain lending models
envisioned by the present invention, loan approvals are accompanied
with a `rate-lock`, or an indication by the lending institution of
the available interest rate. Until such a commitment is obtained,
it is generally not possible for the individual to faithfully
commit to the purchase of property. In the current practice, the
pre-approval process occurs outside of the Real estate sales
professional's control. However, when a loan pre-approval is
obtained, the buyer may, in good faith, negotiate with a seller for
the purchase of property. Such negotiations are almost always
facilitated by the attending Real estate sales professional(s) who
represent the buyer and/or seller in the negotiation. When a
mutually agreeable price is determined, and terms of the agreement
specific to the buyer and seller are negotiated, appropriate
documents are signed, such documents constituting a formally
offered and accepted `offer to purchase`. At this time, the lending
institution originally issuing the loan pre-approval is contacted
to proceed with the loan application. It is at this step that the
aforementioned `burdens` come to bear on the transaction.
[0021] In the past, attempts have been made to automate some parts
of this process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,947 issued Nov.
30, 1999 to IMX Mortgage Exchange titled "Interactive Mortgage and
loan information and real-time trading system" provides a system
and method for trading loans wherein a transaction server maintains
a database of pending loan applications and their statuses, and
wherein each party to the loan (broker, lender) can search and
modify the database consistent with their role in the transaction.
However this system focuses on only one facet of the loan process
itself. Other parts of the loan process are addressed in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,966,700 issued Oct. 12, 1999 to Federal Home Loan Bank of
Chicago, titled "Management System for Risk Sharing of Mortgage
Pools" is a system wherein a mortgage originator (bank, savings
& loan, etc.) and a finding institution (Federal Home Loan
Bank, etc.) agree to assume certain risks for the mortgage by
entering into a credit agreement having an overall credit
enhancement value, and wherein the system calculates and records
the allocation of mortgage interest and credit risk between them.
This system functions after a mortgage has been issued which is
outside of applicants' present system. Another recently issued
patent related to mortgage loans is U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,745 issued
Nov. 23, 1999 to Fannie Mae, titled "Reverse Mortgage Loan
Calculation System and Process", which is a payment calculation
system related to loans that the borrower is generally not required
to repay until the security property is sold. Still another is U.S.
Pat. No. 5,940,812 issued Aug. 17, 1999 to LoanMarket Resources,
LLC titled "Apparatus & Method for Automatically Matching a
Best Available Loan to a Potential Borrower via Global
Telecommunications Network" teaches a system for matching loan
requests (and related credit data) to lenders (with related
eligibility criteria) in order to facilitate such loans whether
they be for automobile purchases or whatever. Similarly, other U.S.
Patents teach methods for real time loan approval (U.S. Pat. No.
5,870,721), methods for Lender direct credit evaluation and loan
processing (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,029,149; 5,930,776; and 5,611,052);
and methods for keeping track of loans, loan histories, leases and
pertinent data related thereto (U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,664).
[0022] Inherent in most property transactions, especially those
involving a mortgage, are other elements which, as suggested
before, serve to protect the interests of all concerned parties,
but which unnecessarily protract the underwriting process. These
generally include at least the following: a processing procedure
and fee to originate the loan application, a title search to
discover any encumbrances on the property such as liens, overdue
taxes, etc., a credit check on the borrower of record to determine
the credit-worthiness of the individual, a verification of
employment which speaks to the individual's ability to repay the
loan, a property survey, where such is dictated by local laws, an
appraisal to determine if the property value secures the lender's
investment, application for various insurances such as flood,
earthquake, or other insurance as local law and custom requires,
the loan application itself, and other such applications, searches,
and discoveries, as local laws dictate. In addition to the
aforementioned, an income to debt ratio is established to help
select the most appropriate loan program(s) consistent with the
lender's policy and the borrower's requirements.
[0023] Of equal importance in the process is the distribution of
service fees and commissions associated with real estate mortgage
transactions. The timeliness and accuracy of transactions can
adversely affect the payment of various agents or workers involved
in the process. Furthermore, because of the almost casual
connection between the parties to the transaction, coupled with
heretofore rigid definitions of each worker's responsibility,
creative solutions to the aforementioned problems were not
forthcoming, and little could be done to remedy these problems.
Personal intervention on the part of agents or other workers could
help, but weren't part of the scope of the transaction, were
unreliable, and were differentially applied, often in consideration
of such elements as the wealth or prestige of the borrower, the
value of the property, personal friendships, or other less tangible
factors.
[0024] Many of the agents or workers participating in the
transaction bear a limited portion of the responsibility for the
transaction. Employment verification, title searches, and the like,
are often of fixed duration and required effort with mortgages
falling within a broad value range. As such, these workers enjoy a
steady, regulated income flow. It falls however, to the real estate
agent to invest time on an open-ended basis to accomplish a sale.
In this instance, the commission is often fixed by industry
convention or statute, and the Real estate sales professional
typically doesn't enjoy the benefit of serving as both listing and
buying agent, which might net a full commission. More typically,
the agent must make a 50/50 split with another agent or agency.
Adding injury to this significant commission reduction is the
typical requirement that the remaining commission balance be split,
usually 60/40, with the Real estate sales professional's parent
agency. It is common for a Real estate sales professional, having
invested many hours over a period or weeks or months, to realize a
modest 1-2% of the selling price of the property. Given this
scenario, it is expected that a Real estate sales professional will
focus on opportunities which will bear fruit faster, and leave the
longer-term prospects alone, even though they have a similar reward
and are of equal value in the eyes of the respective buyers and
sellers.
[0025] The current state of the art simply does not provide a means
whereby the real estate sales professional, or any other agent or
worker, may participate in the other portions of the monetary flow,
beyond that which is historically common to their respective
industries.
[0026] While there are a number of developing systems, as mentioned
above, for automated lender selection and loan tracking, it is
clear that a need exists for an automated system based upon a
database of federal, state and local rules and regulations, which
can be used to identify, for a given loan transaction, the set of
tasks required to process and complete the loan transaction,
including tasks required by applicably federal or state law, and to
track the set of tasks during the process itself to reasonably
assure that compliance with these rules and regulations can be
reported, or alternatively, that compliance task completion may be
traced to the entity reporting completion. There is a further need
to automatically attach the regulatory compliance information with
a task management system required to process loans and to provide
methods for integrating the Compliance Engine technology with any
third party loan processing software.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The present invention provides a solution to the needs
described above through a system and method for automatically
generating a set of required tasks for use in managing the mortgage
loan process by use of a compliance engine, including tasks
required by applicably federal or state law. The automated system
of the present invention automatically attaches the regulatory
compliance information and a task management system required to
process loans and provides methods for integrating the Automate
Compliance Engine technology with any third party's loan processing
software.
[0028] The automated system of the present invention uses the
Federal, State, local and professional regulations and requirements
and implementing instructions to generate a plurality of tasks
which can be used to control and drive the process of handling a
mortgage loan application to completion and settlement in
accordance with these regulations. Mortgage loan requestors may
specify that the system will generate the plurality of required
tasks, including tasks required by applicably federal or state law,
provide the plurality of required tasks to the requestor for his
execution, including tasks required by applicably federal or state
law, and monitor the completion of all required tasks so as to
provide a completion certificate to the requester. Alternatively,
mortgage loan requestors may specify that the automated system will
generate the plurality of required tasks, including tasks required
by applicably federal or state law, will manage and control the
execution of the required tasks, and monitor the completion of all
required tasks so as to provide a completion certificate to the
requestor.
[0029] The invention allows loan originators to enter loan
applications and comprises a platform to allow other entities to
underwrite the loan (that is, this invention is not a loan approval
system, but can use any lender's loan approval system) but which
provides the means to control and drive the mortgage transaction to
closing by means of a compliance system which contains a rules
engine built around the required Federal and State regulations and
which tracks and records every step in the process to provide a
record of completion for Federal and State regulators. The
invention was designed to provide mechanisms for use to assure that
loan originators meet and exceed federal, state, local and
professional laws governing the relations between real estate sales
and mortgage lending activities.
[0030] A computer implemented method is disclosed for facilitating
processing of a mortgage loan application wherein the system
receives a request to process a mortgage loan; generates a
plurality of tasks, the tasks comprising actions required to
process the mortgage loan, and including tasks required by
applicable federal and/or state law; and distributes one or more of
the required tasks to one or more systems capable of performing one
or more of the tasks. The method further provides an act of
monitoring the completion of the plurality of tasks whereby a
report of completion of all required tasks can be generated.
[0031] A compliance engine is disclosed for automated processing of
mortgage loans which has a computer system with communications
devices for receiving a request to process a mortgage loan; the
computer system having logic devices programmed to generate a
plurality of tasks required to process the loan, wherein the tasks
are made up of actions which are required for a specific mortgage
loan by various legal rules and regulations; and wherein the
computer system has logic devices programmed to distribute the
plurality of tasks to various systems who can carry out the
tasks.
[0032] Also disclosed is a server node in a network which is
responsive to a request to process a loan by generating a plurality
of tasks which are required to process the requested loan,
including tasks required by applicably federal or state law, and
for distributing the plurality of tasks to persons who are
qualified to perform the tasks. Also disclosed are mechanisms in
the server node for monitoring the completion of the plurality of
tasks related to a given loan and for generating reports and
completion certificates associated with the actions related to the
given loan.
[0033] Also, a computer program stored on a computer readable
medium or carrier wave is disclosed having computer code mechanisms
for receiving a loan request; for generating a plurality of tasks
required to process the loan, including tasks required by
applicably federal or state law, and distributing the plurality of
tasks to persons capable of performing those tasks. Additional code
mechanisms are disclosed which monitor the completion of the
plurality of tasks and when all tasks are completed can issue
various reports and completion certificates.
[0034] Still other embodiments of the present invention will become
apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed
description, wherein is shown and described only the embodiments of
the invention by way of illustration of the best modes contemplated
for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention
is capable of modification in various obvious aspects, all without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be
regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] The features and advantages of the system and method of the
present invention will be apparent from the following description
in which:
[0036] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical configuration of Internet
connected systems representative of the preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0037] FIG. 2 illustrates a typical general purpose computer system
of the type representative of the preferred embodiment.
[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates the business model which encompasses the
present invention.
[0039] FIGS. 4A & 4B illustrate a functional flow chart of a
preferred embodiment of the system.
[0040] FIG. 4C illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of the
system which contains the invention.
[0041] FIG. 4D illustrates exemplary functions of the Compliance
Engine.
[0042] FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of an alternative
embodiment of the system which contains the invention.
[0043] FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting the process Map and
Workflow Definition for a New Loan.
[0044] FIGS. 7-30 illustrate exemplary screenshots for the system
embodying the present invention.
[0045] FIG. 31 illustrates an exemplary Internet configuration
showing the hardware and software systems used in an embodiment at
this time.
[0046] FIG. 32 illustrates another exemplary Internet configuration
showing the hardware and software systems used in an embodiment at
this time.
[0047] FIG. 33 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the Input
gateway module.
[0048] FIG. 34 illustrates an exemplary relationship of various
system elements with the GHR sub-system.
[0049] FIG. 35 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the "task
maintenance & status reporting" gateway.
[0050] FIG. 36 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the
"transaction service provider" gateway.
[0051] FIGS. 37-41 depict additional screen shots of the system
embodying the invention, showing an exemplary set of tasks required
to complete a loan.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0052] The present invention provides a solution to the needs
described above through a system and method for managing the
mortgage loan process. The automated system of the present
invention uses the Federal, State, local and professional
regulations and requirements and implementing instructions to
identify the set of tasks required to process a specific loan
application, including tasks required by applicable federal and
state law, to use, or provide this set of tasks to a lender to use,
to drive the process of handling the specific mortgage loan
application, and to monitor and report the completion of the
specified tasks as required by these regulations, or alternatively,
that the required task completion may be traced to the completing
entity.
[0053] The heart of various embodiments of the present invention is
a module designated an Automated Compliance Engine (the "Compliance
Engine") which is designed to maintain and use a rules-based loan
compliance database to generate the set of tasks required to be
performed to complete and close a specific mortgage loan
transaction. This Compliance Engine is described in more detail
below. However, we now describe a general overview of a preferred
embodiment of the invention.
[0054] (1) General Overview
[0055] All mortgage loans will be originated through the applicants
(OnePipeline.com) website. In the future, websites other than
OnePipeline.com's will be used to originate loans that will
interface with the compliance engine. The technology used as part
of the system currently is, and will be, able to interface with
many other industry standard software programs to make the exchange
and flow of data easy and accurate.
[0056] The system is predominantly web-enabled, which extends its
use to all industry professionals connected to the Internet. The
system contains the Compliance Engine that applies Federal, State,
Local, and profession based filters to each loan application and
each Loan Originator to create a combined task list that defines a
custom workflow process for every transaction originated through
the System and Program, which forms the basis for monitoring the
steps and procedures required for a specific loan transaction in
order to provide a completion report for the specific mortgage
loan. The rules applied to each new mortgage loan application will
determine who is permitted or required to perform which services in
the loan origination process under the Program and who will receive
fair market compensation for services actually performed. The
System then creates a record of the actual workflow. The list, as a
composite of compensation or origination tasks and required tasks,
is represented as a `task list`, and may optionally be presented to
a subscriber client through an API.
[0057] (2) Detailed Description
[0058] In an embodiment of the System, the Borrower and Loan
Originator work together throughout the loan origination process.
Once a Borrower decides to work with a Loan Originator on the
System, the System will have the Borrower and Loan Originator
answer typical financial and property questions concerning the
Borrower. The answers to these questions will allow the System to
pre-qualify the Borrower for a loan and offer appropriate loan
program options to the Borrower. Once the System makes this
information available to the Borrower and Loan Originator, the
Borrower will be able to choose to make a formal mortgage loan
application on-line through the Loan Originator.
[0059] After a consultation between the Borrower and Loan
Originator, the Borrower will then be able to select a loan program
-or request the System to find the most advantageous interest rate
available from the various lender options. The System and staff
will select a loan product and submit the application to the
appropriate lender for approval and distribute on-line results back
to the Borrower and Loan Originator, together with a complete set
of underwriting conditions.
[0060] An exemplary sequence of events is as follows:
[0061] The Loan Originator consults with the borrower about the
property and loan products generally available,
[0062] After entering the required data, including a self-declared
credit profile, the application is programmatically compared to
available products, typicallying using a service and program of the
type provided by GHR's PremierPricer.TM. software,
[0063] If a list of suitable products is returned by a GHR-like
system, the Loan Originator assists the Borrower in selecting the
preferred loan product,
[0064] The Application is then re-submitted to the GHR-like product
selection system and the credit rating of the Borrower is
programmatically obtained,
[0065] With the `official` credit rating available, the GHR-like
system returns a list of one or more loan products,
[0066] If the desired loan product is on the list, then the
application process proceeds to underwriting,
[0067] If the desired product is not available, but there are other
loan products, then the Loan Originator and the Borrower will
select and apply for another suitable loan product,
[0068] If no loan products are available, then the system returns
an appropriate notification, and the loan application is forwarded
to the lender, with the initial desired loan product, for human
review, adjustment, and probable selection of a suitable loan
product for underwriting.
[0069] Making either selection will notify the System of the
Borrower's intent to proceed with the mortgage loan origination
process and will initiate the rules evaluation process, coincident
with underwriting of the loan, as described in the next
paragraph.
[0070] The System's Compliance Engine will apply a set of rules
appropriate to each mortgage loan transaction, including property
and borrower profile, originator's professional guidelines, state
and federal regulations and other relevant rules. The final
filtered task list will then apply to each mortgage loan
transaction in an attempt to assure that the mortgage loan is
originated in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.
This will include, making sure that qualified Loan Originators,
Independent Contractors and Local Loan Processors are permitted to
perform services associated with the loan origination process and
that all services required to be performed in order for the Loan
Originator, Independent Contractor and/or Local Loan Processor to
receive compensation in connection with the mortgage loan
transaction are actually performed.
[0071] Based on the mortgage loan origination process requirements
defined by the Compliance Engine, the Loan Originator will make
decisions about each of the service providers (e.g., inspection
companies, surveyors, appraisers, title companies, etc.) the Loan
Originator wishes to have involved in the mortgage loan
transaction. Any qualified service provider will be able to be
selected by the Loan Originator and entered into the System at this
point. Some nationwide service providers may, in the future, have a
direct online ordering system available inside the System. Others
may still require the typing in of the name and contact
information. OnePipeline.com, Inc. expects that it will be most
common for Borrowers to select local service providers with whom
they are familiar.
[0072] After the Borrower selects the service providers, the Loan
Processor will confirm to the system which services have been
provided by the Loan Originator. As described in more detail below,
the services actually performed by the Loan Originator, Independent
Contractor and/or Local Loan Processors will serve as the basis for
the fees earned as fair market compensation for performing
settlement services in connection with the mortgage loan
origination process under the Program.
[0073] After each of the above steps are completed, the System will
automatically create a workflow process based on the applicable
rules and appropriate tasks will be eventually assigned to each of
the service providers for the mortgage loan transaction. In a
preferred embodiment, the mortgage loan data and applicable tasks
will be passed to a workflow generation system, either implemented
as an integral part of the system of the invention, or as a service
provided by a remote application service provider (ASP), which will
generate an automated workflow process which can notify each
service provider of his task(s) and allowing each service provider
to interact in completing needed tasks. All task assignments will
be distributed by the System and tracked. At this point, many
people will be working on the loan simultaneously though the
System. For example, the Loan Originator may be obtaining financial
information from the Borrower, the Independent Contractor may be
ordering an appraisal, the Local Loan Processor may be verifying
Borrower information, and various service providers may be
performing services and adding information to the mortgage loan
file through the System. Hard copy data will be input by either
OnePipeline's staff, an Independent Contractor (to the extent
permitted under state law) or the Local Loan Processor, and added
to the physical mortgage loan file. Work notices and status
communications may be generated automatically by the System to keep
the process moving and to ensure that all appropriate parties
perform their assigned tasks in the proper order to meet all rules
requirements applicable to the mortgage loan transaction.
[0074] c. Products Available
[0075] Borrowers may obtain a loan using the facilities of the
lender organization, in which mode the system of the invention
merely determines which tasks are required and tracks the
completion of the required tasks. By obtaining a loan through the
Program, Borrowers will be given access to a wide variety of first
lien, fixed and variable rate, closed-end mortgage products (both
purchase money and refinancings) at competitive rates and pricing,
and in a timely and efficient manner. For example, as noted above,
OnePipeline.com, Inc. will make available to the Borrower, loan
products and interest rates that are available from its
participating lenders. OnePipeline's System and Program also will
make available and support secondary lien, fixed and variable rate,
closed-end loan products and interest rates available from its
participating lenders. In the future, OnePipeline may give
Borrowers access to first and second lien, fixed and variable rate,
open-end mortgage products through the Program. OnePipeline's
Program and System will not make available or support mortgage
loans that constitute "High Cost" or Section 32 mortgage loans,
which are covered by Section 32 of Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R .sctn.
226.3.
[0076] d. Funding Source
[0077] In a preferred embodiment, OnePipeline.com, Inc. will not
fund any mortgage loans, and no mortgage loans will be closed in
OnePipeline's name. OnePipeline will be acting exclusively in the
capacity as mortgage broker. All mortgage loans will be funded by,
and closed in the name of a participating lender. In an alternative
embodiment, OnePipeline could fund certain mortgage loans and close
loans in their name in those jurisdictions where qualified to do
so.
[0078] e. Disclosures and Form Documents
[0079] In a preferred embodiment, the System will produce
applicable Borrower disclosures (on a state specific basis)
required under applicable law to be provided to the Borrower in
connection with the mortgage loan origination process under the
Program. The Loan Originator will be required to provide the
disclosures to Borrowers at the appropriate times. Moreover, the
Loan Originators will be required to provide the Borrower with a
disclosure that informs the Borrower that the Loan Originator will
receive compensation for services actually performed by the Loan
Originator in connection with the mortgage loan transaction. This
disclosure also will inform the Borrower that the Loan Originator
is an exclusive part-time W-2 employee of OnePipeline, and that the
Borrower is free to use another mortgage broker or lender other
than OnePipeline.
[0080] The System also will allow a lender to elect to use a
standard set of mortgage loan documents, which can be printed off
of the System, in connection with a mortgage loan originated
through OnePipeline's Program, or the Lender may use its own forms.
The forms available off of the System will be provided to
OnePipeline by a third-party document vendor.
[0081] f. Mortgage Loan Fees
[0082] Fees will generally include, among other permissible fees:
(1) origination fee payable to the lender and passed through to the
Loan Originator based on services performed; (2) underwriting fee
payable to the lender and passed through to Local Loan Processor;
(3) impound waiver fee payable to the lender and passed through to
secondary market investor (only on loans without escrow accounts);
(4) processing fee payable to the lender and passed through to
Local Loan Processor; (5) document preparation fee payable to the
lender and passed through to third-party vendor; (6) tax related
service fee payable to the lender and passed through to third-party
vendor; and (7) attorney fee payable to lender and passed through
to closing attorney. OnePipeline.com, Inc. will charge a lender a
membership fee to participate in OnePipeline's Program and a flat
fee for each Completion Certificate issued to the lender.
[0083] g. Loan Originators
[0084] In a preferred embodiment, mortgage loans will be originated
through the System and Program by licensed real estate sales
professionals, such as real estate agents/salespersons and, in
limited cases, real estate brokers. The individual real estate
agents and individual real estate brokers (i.e., brokers that are
not corporations or similar business entities) will enter into an
employment agreement with OnePipeline, and become part-time W-2
employees of OnePipeline.com. The employment agreements will
expressly require the Loan Originator to originate mortgage loans
exclusively for OnePipeline.com, and prohibit the Loan Originators
from receiving compensation for performing loan origination
services for another mortgage lender or mortgage broker.
[0085] In the future, other non-traditional originators, such as
investment advisors, financial advisors, accountants and other
professionals may be added to the Program as Loan Originators, in
each case to the extent permitted by applicable law. Loan
Originators may also have an affiliation with a mortgage lender,
which defines the selection of loan products the Loan Originator
may offer.
[0086] i. Local Loan Processors
[0087] In a preferred embodiment, wherein the loan is being
processed through the system of the invention, loan processing
functions which would trigger mortgage broker or similar licensing
requirements under applicable state law will be delegated to
properly licensed Local Loan Processors who will receive
compensation intended to be fair compensation for services actually
rendered by them. The Local Loan Processors will be either mortgage
brokers and mortgage bankers.
[0088] j. Services Performed
[0089] As noted above, in a preferred embodiment, a Loan Originator
will initiate the mortgage loan process with a borrower using
OnePipeline's System. The services that a Loan Originator will have
to perform, in all cases, in order to be fully compensated include
the following: (1) obtaining the applicant's signature on
disclosures, (2) obtaining the applicant's signature on the credit
authorization, (3) pre-qualifying applicants, (4) assisting
applicants in selecting loan products, (5) taking the loan
application or obtaining loan application information, (6)
reviewing the credit decision with the applicant, (7) explaining
the good faith estimate and other disclosures to the applicant, (8)
collecting documentation from the applicant that is needed in
connection with processing and underwriting the loans, (9) updating
the applicant and responding to applicant inquiries, (10) locking
the interest rate, and (11) scheduling and attending the
closing.
[0090] If a Loan Originator does not perform all required services,
the services will be performed by OnePipeline's staff, Lender's
staff, an Independent Contractor (to the extent permitted under
applicable state law) or by a Local Loan Processor, and the
compensation received by the Loan Originator will be reduced
accordingly.
[0091] By way of additional background, the basic of the rules and
regulations which form the heart of the present invention are now
described in more detail.
[0092] RESPA Compliance
[0093] The following is a brief summary of RESPA and its
implementing regulation, Regulation X, and their requirements. It
is not intended to be comprehensive. For example, RESPA and
Regulation X may not apply in all situations, and their application
is not discussed below. Users should consult RESPA, Regulation X
and independent legal counsel for complete explanation of RESPA,
Regulation X and their requirements.
[0094] The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") is a
federal statute that was enacted by Congress in 1974. A federal
regulation implementing RESPA ("Regulation X") also has been
promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development ("HUD"). HUD is the federal agency charged with
administering and enforcing RESPA, Regulation X and their
requirements.
[0095] RESPA was enacted to provide Borrowers with greater and more
timely information on the nature and costs of the home
buying/settlement process, and to protect Borrowers from
unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain practices
believed to be abusive. Among other requirements, RESPA and
Regulation X prohibit the payment or receipt of "any fee, kickback
or thing of value" (i.e., a referral fee) in exchange for the
referral of settlement service business. Settlement service
business includes, among other services, loan origination services
such as taking applications, obtaining income verifications and
communicating with a borrower or lender.
[0096] RESPA and Regulation X permit a lender to make reasonable
payments to its agents and contractors for services actually
performed in the origination, processing or funding of a loan.
Based on interpretations of this provision in RESPA and Regulation
X, real estate sales professionals and others may, in certain
circumstances, provide loan origination services and receive fair
market compensation for the services they actually perform.
[0097] The preferred embodiment of the invention in
OnePipeline.com's program and system are designed around this
provision. Applicant's loan originators are required to perform
certain settlement services in connection with loans originated by
OnePipeline.com, and the compensation received by these loan
originators and regional loan processors is intended to be fair
market compensation for the services they actually perform.
[0098] Other Federal and State Compliance
[0099] The following is a brief summary of other federal and state
statutes, regulations and laws that impact OnePipeline.com's system
and program, and a user's performance of services under this system
and program. It is not intended to be comprehensive. Users should
consult the statutes, regulations and laws, and independent legal
counsel, for a complete explanation of other applicable federal and
state statutes, regulations and laws.
[0100] Among other federal laws, the Truth in Lending Act ("TILA")
and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA") impact
OnePipeline.com's program and system, and the user's performance of
services under applicant's system and program. The TILA, and its
implementing regulation, Regulation Z, were enacted and promulgated
to assure meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that the
Borrower will be able to compare more readily the various terms
available to the Borrower. Under the TILA, certain disclosures are
required to be made to the Borrower prior to the consummation of a
mortgage loan transaction.
[0101] The ECOA, and its implementing regulation, Regulation B,
were enacted and promulgated to require that lenders engaged in the
extension of credit make that credit equally available to all
creditworthy Borrowers without regard to race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, marital status, age, receipt of public
assistance or the fact that the Borrower in good faith exercised
any right under the Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. In
addition to the prohibition against discrimination, the ECOA and
Regulation B also contain, among others, requirements regarding the
provision of appraisal reports, evaluation of applications, spousal
signatures, and the provision of adverse action notices.
[0102] Regarding state laws, most jurisdictions have enacted
licensing statutes that may require real estate sales
professionals, builders, financial institutions/lenders and
mortgage brokers to obtain a license and satisfy various other
financial, educational and operational requirements. Most
jurisdictions also have enacted laws that impose, among others,
requirements regarding the types of fees that may be charged to a
Borrower in connection with a mortgage loan transaction and the
persons entitled to receive such fees, as well as certain
jurisdiction-specific disclosures that must be provided to the
Borrower.
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
[0103] The environment in which the present invention is used
encompasses the use of general purpose computers as client or input
machines for use by loan originators, lenders and other parties
interested in the mortgage loan process. Such client or input
machines may be coupled to the Internet (sometimes referred to as
the "Web") through telecommunications channels which may include
wireless devices and systems as well.
[0104] Some of the elements of a typical Internet network
configuration are shown in FIG. 1, wherein a number of client
machines 105 possibly in a branch office of an Real Estate Service,
or financial institution, lender, etc., are shown connected to a
Gateway/hub/tunnel-server/etc. 106 which is itself connected to the
internet 107 via some internet service provider (ISP) connection
108. Also shown are other possible clients 101, 103 possibly used
by other loan originators, or interested parties, similarly
connected to the internet 107 via an ISP connection 104, with these
units communicating to possibly a home office via an ISP connection
109 to a gateway/tunnel-server 110 which is connected 111 to
various enterprise application servers 112, 113, 114 which could be
connected through another hub/router 115 to various local clients
116, 117, 118. Any of these servers 112, 113, 114 could function as
a server of the present invention, as more fully described below.
Any user situated at any of these client machines would normally
have to be an authorized user of the system as described more fully
below.
[0105] An embodiment of the Mortgage Loan Management System of the
present invention can operate on a general purpose computer unit
which typically includes generally the elements shown in FIG. 2.
The general purpose system 201 includes a motherboard 203 having
thereon an input/output ("I/O") section 205, one or more central
processing units ("CPU") 207, and a memory section 209 which may or
may not have a flash memory card 211 related to it. The I/O section
205 is connected to a keyboard 226, other similar general purpose
computer units 225, 215, a disk storage unit 223 and a CD-ROM drive
unit 217. The CD-ROM drive unit 217 can read a CD-ROM medium 219
which typically contains programs 221 and other data. Logic
circuits or other components of these programmed computers will
perform series of specifically identified operations dictated by
computer programs as described more fully below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0106] In consideration of it's major aspects, the present
invention is a system and methodology, comprising a `container`
concept, wherein the mechanics of real estate transactions
beginning with loan origination and proceeding serially and in some
instances in parallel through the closing, funding and disbursement
and reporting of funds may be accomplished. The system also
controls the timing of the process and the time allocated to the
completion of each loan occurrence. When the time allocated to a
process expires, the task is transferred as required by the rule
base. The system, constituting the present invention, is designed
to programmatically manage and document all attendant processes
with compliance to applicable regulatory rule sets and requirements
of participating workers. In a preferred embodiment, data exists
within the executing programs as `objects`, the meaning of which as
commonly understood by those skilled in the art of `object-oriented
programming`. In a preferred embodiment, the software programs
comprising a portion of the present invention are also
object-oriented. An integrated relational database management
system is utilized to maintain persistent data and to permit and
facilitate queries and reports against the persistent data. While
the embodiment of the present invention embraces certain elements
of a `closed loop`, or self-contained decision-making process, it's
strength lies in the ability to orchestrate the workers or agents
participating in the lending transaction with respect to
responsibilities and financial compensation.
[0107] The system of the invention encompasses a means whereby the
object-oriented `instances` or discrete occurrences of data, may be
stored and retrieved from the relational database management
system. In the preferred embodiment, such storage and retrieval is
accompanied by programmatic conversion of said data instances to
`formats`, or preferred representations upon which the required
program(s) may act. Such data storage occurrences and the
accompanying manipulations of said data follow preferred
programmatic documentation procedures such as sequentially `nested`
descriptors. An example of a sequentially `nested` descriptor would
be, `borrower.occupation`, where the nested descriptors are
separated by a `.` or `dot`, and in such manner are understood to
mean, `the identified borrower's occupation`. Such `dot` notation
will hereafter be used to describe the higher level of programmatic
functionality when such explanation is necessary. Those skilled in
the art will understand JAVA.TM. programming, Object oriented
Programming, and the use of automated "Agents" to perform
programmed tasks whenever activated to do so, HTTP, XML and other
communications protocols as described in more detail below.
[0108] An exemplary way to articulate the concept and embodiment of
the present invention is the idea of a `container`, which brings
together the loan originator, the subject real property attributes,
and the lender, as well as means to validate transaction
profitability and bundle said transactions for sale to lenders. Or
in an alternative view, as a means for generating the required
compliance tasks for a specific loan transaction, provide the tasks
to a lender and monitor the completion of all required tasks by the
lender's service providers. The present invention provides decision
points wherein the loan originator makes selections from menu(s)
generated by the compliance engine acting upon the original
information supplied by the originator. The selection process
introduces the refined data into an integrated `workflow` process
wherein rule-based engines and other workers or agents act toward a
common goal of closing, funding, shipping, and collecting
transaction fees on a loan.
[0109] Referring to FIG. 3 there is illustrated, in schematic form,
a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The business model
is comprised of several functional elements, including at the
highest level, embodiments which effect loan origination 301,
closing, processing 303, funding 305, and shipping 307, with
transfer of funds. In concert, these elements may be referred to as
the `pipeline` or system which embodies the whole of the several
elements comprising the present invention.
[0110] As indicated above, the present invention is a method and
apparatus for automating the process of generating a set of tasks
required for controlling, and regulating a mortgage loan
application, underwriting the loan, and tracking the tasks through
the closing process, wherein the tasks comply with all known
Federal, State and local requirements for the specific loan.
Elements of an alternative embodiment include loan origination,
authenticating the loan originator, underwriting the loan, closing,
processing, funding, and shipping, with transfer of funds, within
the regulatory legal framework of funding and reporting, required
for these processes. In a preferred embodiment, which is described
in detail below, some or most of these functions may be performed
by the lender or application service providers (ASPs) with the
system of the invention providing the set of required tasks
generated by a Compliance Engine and simply monitoring the
completion of those tasks.
[0111] Referring now to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D, the principal
elements of a preferred embodiment of the present invention are
illustrated in more functional detail. Original inputs from a
lender/loan originator come into the system 401 through the `Loan
Origination Gateway` (451 in FIG. 4C) or portal, which serves as an
`entry point` or gateway to the `pipeline` or system for loan
originator data and borrower data. The loan originator data 403 is
used as input data to an authentication module (453 in FIG. 4C) to
verify the lender/loan originator's ID and password. Those skilled
in these arts will recognize that this authentication process for
the client/user may include digital signature authentication as
well as other types of cryptographic verification and
authentication of users. If the lender/loan originator's ID and or
password do not authenticate, a message is sent back to the
originator indicating that fact and the system exits. If the loan
originator is found to be qualified, the loan originator data and
borrower data are passed to the Compliance Engine 405 (476 in FIG.
4D) for later use. The borrower-supplied credit data is then passed
to a Loan Origination & Program Matching module 407 (456 in
FIG. 4C). The Loan Origination & Program Matching module
returns a list of loan products for which the borrower is qualified
409. In a preferred embodiment, this function is provided by a
PremierPricer.TM. program supplied by GHR Systems.TM. Inc. The
PremierPricer.TM. Component is described in more detail at the GHR
Systems web site, which can be found at www.ghrsystems.com, which
description is hereby incorporated fully herein by reference.
Additional detail on the interface to this PremierPricer.TM.
Component is provided below. In an alternative embodiment, the Loan
Origination & Program Matching module is one which is supplied
by applicants as an integral part of the pipeline system, wherein
up-to-the-minute product and pricing information is provided when
the module is supplied with basic transaction parameters (i.e.,
LTV, loan amount, property location, property type, etc.).
[0112] Continuing with reference to FIG. 4A, borrower then selects
a loan from the list of loan products for which the borrower is
qualified and submits a loan application 411. In a preferred
embodiment, the system, recognizing the loan application selection,
submits a credit report request to a credit bureau 413 and passes
this data to the GHR Systems PremierPricer.TM. Component 413. A
list of loan products for which the borrower is qualified are
returned to the lender & borrower 415. If the borrower is not
qualified for any loans, 419 the loan request is referred to a loan
officer and the system exits 429. If the borrower is qualified, he
selects one of the listed loans (his original selection may or may
not be on this list) 421, 423. Referring now to FIG. 4B the lender
uses this data to process the loan and inputs loan approval data to
the system 431.
[0113] The loan data is passed to the Compliance Engine 431 (477 in
FIG. 4D). As part of this set of input data the user/lender selects
optional tasks for this loan and inputs his selections along with
data indicative of his fee arrangement with the borrower 432.
Referring now to FIG. 4D, this data is passed by the system to the
Compliance Engine 479 and the Compliance Engine uses these data
(the loan data 477 and the user task selections 479) to generate a
required set of tasks for this specific loan (433 in FIG. 4B). This
required set of tasks is generated 478 by selecting the tasks from
the task file 480 which are specifically required by the particular
loan (i.e. loan type, location, value, etc.) and the contexts 481
(i.e. the combinations of circumstances where the tasks apply). The
resultant set of tasks for the specific loan 483 is separately
recorded 482 in a file which can be modified as new tasks may be
added or deleted, and as task completions are identified 485.
[0114] In a preferred embodiment, the system can supply this
required task list in its entirety to the lender if the lender
wishes to manage the task completions himself through his own
automated systems (see 441, 443 in FIG. 4B). In this case, the
system would merely monitor task completion data 445 (see also 485,
486, 487 and 488 in FIG. 4D) and if required, issue a Completion
Certificate 447 when the tasks are completed and the loan process
closed. If the user/lender wants OnePipeline to handle the loan,
the Compliance Engine can transfer the set of tasks for this loan
to an internal Loan Processing & Workflow engine 437. This
internal Loan Processing & Workflow engine (Forte
Conductor.TM., Framework Lendware.TM., etc) (see also 462, 463,
464, 466 and 467 in FIG. 4C) will automatically transmit specific
tasks to specific workers who have been previously identified as
responsible for those kind of tasks 438, will supply task
completion data to the Compliance Engine 440 when tasks are
completed. The Compliance Engine will supply the completion data to
the system so as to generate worker compensation and loan
completion reports (see 468 in FIG. 4C), and Completion
Certificates 442. The final process module in the system, the
Banking & Loan Management process (469 in FIG. 4C), adds the
loan, if it was provided by OnePipeline, and its related financial
parameters to the inventory of loans managed by applicants. In a
preferred embodiment, this Banking & Loan Management process
469 includes a secondary banking engine which manages the packaging
and placing of loans with secondary financial institutions so as to
optimize the financial returns on the loans handled by applicants.
This process would be managed by Lendware.TM. via an on-site
installation or by a Framework.TM. application service provider
(ASP) or equivalent implementation. In an alternative embodiment,
this secondary banking engine which manages the packaging and
placing of loans with secondary financial institutions so as to
optimize the financial returns on the loans handled by applicants
would be a package developed internally by applicants.
[0115] A depiction of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention is shown in FIG. 5 which describes the elements shown in
FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C in a different depiction. Each of these
features is described in more detail below. The `Loan Origination
Gateway` 501 or portal, serves as an `entry point` or gateway to
the `pipeline` or system. The loan originator enters data for both
himself and for the borrower. This data is passed to the
Authentication module 503 which uses these data as inputs to the
Compliance Engine 520. The Compliance Engine 520 uses these data
from its associated worker's description 521 and legal context 523
files to determine whether the loan originator can originate this
loan for this property. If so, the Authentication module 503
"authenticates" the transaction and passes the information to the
Loan Origination System 505 for analysis of corespondent pricing
and for underwriter approval. As indicated above, this function
could be performed by the system or through the interface to an
equivalent service such as the PremierePricer.TM. product supplied
by GHR Systems.TM. Inc. Then the loan originator is asked to
indicate which tasks he will do (of the optional tasks available)
519. These optional task and fee data along with the original Loan
Originator data and borrower data and underwriter data are then
passed to the Compliance Engine 520 wherein the mandatory tasks
identified based on the legal requirements for this loan originator
and this location of the property, and the selected optional tasks
are combined by the Compliance Engine 520 into a required set of
tasks for this loan and passed as inputs to the Loan Fulfillment
System 545. The Loan Fulfillment System 545 assembles the inputs
and task requirements for input to the Mortgage Workflow Engine 553
which automatically manages the task execution by various
responsible parties. In the process of managing the execution of
the required tasks the Mortgage Workflow Engine 553 automatically
communicates with parties having an interest in this loan via the
Task Maintenance & Status Reporting Gateway 550 and
communicates with various service providers via the Transaction
Service Provider Gateway 555. When the loan is finally closed (i.e.
all designated tasks completed) this status is communicated to the
Compensation & Task Performance Report system 557 for the
generation of these reports. The loan completion status is also
communicated to the Secondary Banking & Loan Inventory
Management system 563 which adds the completed loan data to the
loan inventory and periodically, using a Secondary banking Engine
559, optimally packages certain loans for transfer to secondary
finding sources.
[0116] Having described a preferred embodiment and an alternative
embodiment of the applicants invention, we now describe the major
components in more detail. FIGS. 7-11 indicate the basic original
entry into the automated system and shows the kinds of data that is
inputted. These data are then processed as follows.
[0117] The `Loan Application Gateway`
[0118] Referring to FIG. 33, A loan originator, in any of several
manifestations, may originate a mortgage loan request on behalf of
a client, a `borrower`. The `Loan Application Gateway` provides for
the Lender/Loan Originator to enter his data and borrower data 3401
and envisions at a minimum, three (3) ways by which the system may
be accessed by a loan originator; (1) via Internet website 3405 of
the assignee of the present invention, the data typically being in
HTML format; (2) via custom-written software 3403 which connects in
a data transmission-enabled manner to the present invention and
would typically be in XML format; and (3) via `wireless` devices,
including web-enabled cell phones, wireless, modem-equipped
hand-held or laptop computing devices, satellite communication
devices, and other such wireless data and communication methods and
devices 3407 as may come into common use, these data typically
being in the WML or WAP formats, or other formats as may come into
common use. The principle purpose of the `Loan Application Gateway`
3400, in serving as a portal, is to provide a way for the loan
originator to exchange required data with to the "Loan Application
System` without having to worry about what input method he is using
and/or the related data formats and protocols. Consequently the
major purpose of the input gateway is to perform the middleware
tasks of--recognizing the input channel and data format and
protocol used 3409 and convert the data to the standard Application
Programming Interface (API) format 3411 which will be used by
downstream modules. This standard Application Programming Interface
(API) format 3411 is described in more detail below in the section
covering the Compliance Engine.
[0119] The input data originates from the input screens provided by
the system. Upon making the connection to the OnePipeline system,
the loan originator is presented with introductory screen sets
(FIGS. 7-12) and input screen sets (FIGS. 13-18) whereby the
particular information which describes, to the OnePipeline system,
the circumstances of the borrower, as well as the property under
contemplation for purchase. Suitable reference and `help` screens
are made available to the loan originator to assist in the entry of
required data. Notably, display information and on-screen prompts
for data input are tailored to the nature and speed of the data
link as well as the display limitations of the terminal device in
use by the loan originator.
[0120] Referring to FIGS. 7-18, such data or information is
required for originating and underwriting a loan, and typically
includes the following: a subscribing loan originator's
identification FIG. 7, pertinent information sufficient to identify
the pending borrower FIG. 13, and information on the subject
property FIG. 14. The subscribing loan originator's identification
FIG. 7, in turn, provides the present invention with a profile of
the originator and the location of the property in question thereby
providing sufficient information to facilitate authentication of
the originator's qualification, according to regulations, to
originate a loan, and other such information as is deemed necessary
to logically connect the originator with agents, workers, or
services which have been associated with the originator as `loan
affiliates`.
[0121] These `affiliates` constitute a variety of resources which
may be called upon on a loan-by-loan basis to provide services
common in the industry, to the originator in order to complete the
loan.
[0122] The Authentication System.
[0123] In a preferred embodiment of the system, a Lender may make
use of the OnePipeline system merely to obtain the set of tasks
required for a specific loan, including tasks required by
applicable federal and/or state law, and to obtain a Completion
Certificate, or he may originate a loan through OnePipeline's
network of Loan Originators also obtaining a Completion Certificate
based upon the systems monitored performance of the required tasks
involved. In either case the Loan Originator's qualifications are
not verified by the Compliance Engine. That is, the Compliance
Engine does not check the lenderID and property location to
determine whether this Loan Originator is qualified to represent
this loan applicant.
[0124] In an alternative preferred embodiment, this authentication
of the loan originator/lender is performed. This process will now
be described. Upon completion of data entry by the loan originator,
the OnePipeline system launches a validation or `authentication`
process 403 in FIGS. 4A and 503 in FIG. 5. The authentication
module verifies the identity of the loan originator through the use
of conventional means, a security `login` typically requiring user
names and passwords, which are programmatically verified as
belonging to the loan originator. Various data security mechanisms
may be incorporated in this sub-system as well, including the use
of digital signatures as required. The completeness of the required
input data is also verified. The Authentication module also
authenticates the loan originator as being qualified to originate a
loan for the property location specified. The module gets the loan
originator and borrower input data 401 and calls the `Compliance
Engine` 405, to determine whether the loan originator can originate
this loan. If the initial queries to the legal context databases
(these are described in more detail below with respect to the
compliance engine description) indicate that the loan originator is
not qualified then this "not-qualified" data is returned to the
loan originator. If the loan originator is found to be qualified to
originate loans in the locality a "yes" is returned and the
authentication module may instruct the Compliance Engine to
complete a "worker profile" for this loan originator, borrower and
property.
[0125] The Automatic Compliance Engine
[0126] The Automatic Compliance Engine (the "Compliance Engine"),
(458 in FIGS. 4C and 520 in FIG. 5), is now described in a
preferred embodiment. The Compliance Engine is called a number of
times by several modules.
[0127] As described above, many government, professional, and
business institutions impose requirements on land and mortgage
lending transactions. A requirement can be the disclosure of
specified information to the borrower, filling out a required form,
or the gathering of specified information, to name a few.
OnePipeline.com, Inc. retains the services of legal professionals
throughout the country who continuously gather these requirements
and organize them into a comprehensive rule base. The purpose of
the Automated Compliance Engine is to apply these rules in an
automated way to identify all requirements that apply to a specific
loan and to track the completion of those tasks. The output of the
engine is a task list comprised of all the tasks which the engine
has determined need to be completed for a specific loan, augmented
with task completion information for completed tasks.
[0128] In a preferred embodiment, the task list is prepared by
selecting a subset of tasks from the list of all task definitions
known by the Automated Compliance System. Tasks are selected by
evaluating expressions written in a dynamically interpreted
programming language that test facts pertaining to the specific
loan information. If the expression evaluates to true, then all
tasks associated with that expression are added to the task list.
All of the expressions in the rule base are sequentially evaluated
for each loan instance. The Automated Compliance Engine is thus a
rule based system, where each expression represents the `if` part
of a rule, and the subset of tasks associated with the expression
represents the `then` part of a rule.
[0129] For example, the following is a set of tasks for a given
context:
1 <context> <id>12</id>
<name>Texas</name> <if>val(`loan.property.addre-
ss.state`) == `TX`</if> <then> <taskName>TX
Mortgage Broker/Loan Officer Disclosure</taskName&g- t;
<taskName>Property Disclosure--Seller to
Buyer</taskName> <taskName>TIL</taskName>
<taskName>URLA</taskName> <taskName>Right to
Receive Appraisal Disclosure</taskName> <taskName>TX
Residential Construction Contract Disclosure</taskName>
</then> </context>
[0130] Once required tasks are identified, the engine applies
lender task profiles in order to override task description, the URL
to print a form, and other task information provided in the
standard task definitions with more specific values from the Lender
Task Profiles. This allows a high degree of flexibility in
customizing the engine for specific lender requirements, including
changing the wording of the description of the task or changing the
form that must be filled out.
[0131] Once the task list has been initially prepared, it is
presented to those persons responsible for completing the tasks.
This may be as a simple task list transmission to a lender who is
doing his own loan origination and/or processing and simply wants
OnePipeline to monitor task completion, or it may be an automatic
transmission to an automated workflow process engine. In a
preferred embodiment, the automated workflow process engine may be
Framework.TM. Inc.'s "Lendware.TM." program or a functional
equivalent, such as one based on Forte Software.TM. Inc.'s Forte
Conductor.TM. product. In this case the Workflow process engine
presents the tasks to the persons identified as being responsible
for doing the task.
[0132] As each task is completed, the Compliance Engine receives
notice of the completion event and the task list is updated to
include the identification of the person completing the task and
the date and time of completion. The task list is considered
completed when all required tasks have a completion date.
Compensation may be issued to those who performed specified tasks
with assurance that all required tasks have been completed and that
the compensation is within the bounds of the laws and policies of
the participating institutions.
[0133] Data Representation
[0134] In the preferred embodiment, all Compliance Engine inputs
and outputs are in represented externally in Extended Markup
Language format (XML) which is described in the document found at
www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-- xml-19980210 which is incorporated fully
herein by reference. XML provides an extensible hierarchical data
structure where each element of information is labeled with a tag
and optionally contains a value and any number of child elements.
Internally, the same information is represented and manipulated in
a standard tree format using the Document Object Model tree (DOM)
which is described in the document at www.w3.org/TR/REC-DOM-Le-
vel-1/level-one-core.html#ID-1590626202 and which is incorporated
fully herein by reference. Conversion between internal and external
representation is provided by output methods of the DOM tree
implementation and input methods of the Java API for XML Parsing
(JAXP) which is described in the document at the URL
java.sun.com/xml/docs/api/ which is incorporated fully herein by
reference.
[0135] For convenience in referring to DOM tree elements, but not
of necessity, the tree implementation is extended to provide easier
tree traversal using a simple "get(String path)" method that takes
a path argument such as `task.name`. The tags between the dots
`.`are parsed out of this path and used to search for corresponding
elements in the tree. In this example, the get method searches for
the first-occurring element of the tree with tag "task". Once
found, the get method then searches for the `name` tag among the
child elements of the `task` element, and so on for all the tags
listed in the path. Further descriptions herein will use this path
notation to refer to specific data elements in the data model trees
defined below.
[0136] Alternative ways to represent and access the information
could include files, objects, database records, arrays, structs,
TCP/IP socket streams, `if-then-else` statements in a programming
language, or other ordinary means for representing structured
information.
[0137] Data Mode
[0138] In recognition of the need to automate as many of these
activities as possible, to the mutual advantage of the real estate
and mortgage loan community, the Mortgage Bankers Association of
America (MBAA) recently originated an effort to develop data
structure standards to provide standardization of common business
transactions in the mortgage industry. This effort is coordinated
by a workgroup of mortgage industry representatives and is called
the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO).
Initial deliverables of MISMO include 1) an XML Transaction
Architecture to encompass data exchanges from loan origination, the
secondary market and servicing; 2) a data dictionary to provide
business definitions and corresponding tag names of each of the
data elements included in the architecture; and 3) a data model to
provide relationships between the elements in the business data.
The current versions of these deliverables are contained at
www.mismo.org and are fully incorporated herein by reference.
[0139] This description refers to the detailed data model in the
MISMO web site mentioned above (www.mismo.org). The Data Model is
described therein as follows:
[0140] "The Data Model is a tool used to understand the
relationships between the data elements in the data dictionary. It
is a reference to aid in building the XML DTD's. This is not the
XML implementation of the MISMO Standard."
[0141] MISMO Data Model Documentation
[0142] Address
[0143] Address Definitions
[0144] Agreement
[0145] Agreement Definitions
[0146] Entities Attributes
[0147] Entity Listing
[0148] MBA Data Model
[0149] Credit Report
[0150] Party
[0151] Party Credit Definitions
[0152] Party Declarations Definitions
[0153] Party Finance
[0154] Party Finance Item Definitions
[0155] Party Person Definitions
[0156] Product
[0157] Product Definitions
[0158] Property
[0159] Property Definitions
[0160] MBADataModel_v1.ER1
[0161] The Compliance Engine XML/HTTP Transaction API described
below includes Example values for clarification.
[0162] The core knowledge of compliance requirements is represented
in the `rules` structure, consisting of `rules.contexts` and
`rules.operations`. Each `rules.contexts.context` represents an
if/then rule, where the `context.if` part describes a specified
loan situation (context), and the `context.then` part is a list of
`taskname` references to the tasks that are required in that
context. Each `context.if` definition is expressed in a programming
language statement that examines the facts of a specific loan and
evaluates to true or false, as described in the algorithm
description below.
[0163] Each `rules.operations.task` defines detailed information
about a specific task, independent of the contexts in which it may
be required. This information includes a description of the task, a
URL link to any forms that may be required for the task, a time
period within which the task is expected to be completed, and
potentially other information pertinent to a task. References from
the context structure in each
`rules.contexts.context.then.taskname` are matched with the
corresponding name in `rules.operations.task.name`. In this manner,
a detailed task definition is associated with one or more specific
contexts, by task name reference.
[0164] This separation between tasks and contexts is a convenience
that allows a task to be defined in a single place yet be
associated with multiple contexts. Alternatively, the
`rules.operations` list could be eliminated by replacing every
`rules.contexts.context.then.taskname` with an equivalent `task`
structure as presently defined in `rules.operations.task`, although
many of the tasks would need to be defined and maintained
redundantly in this mode.
[0165] Elements of a `rules.operations.task` definition may be
overridden by a corresponding element in an `override.tasks.task`
definition whose `rules.operations.task.name` matches the
`override.tasks.task.name`. This allows customization by supplying
customer-specific information in the task definition, such as a
customer-specific form, description in more familiar language, or
any other task definition element. Any number of `override`
structures may be applied in sequence, each overriding the result
from the previous `override` application. This allows overrides
from customers, and their brokers, agents, and other affiliates to
be applied in any desired priority ordering that ultimately
determines which override changes will be final. The method of
applying the override information is described in the algorithm
below.
[0166] The `loan` structure contains all the information pertaining
to a specific loan application. The loan application contains
information about the borrower, the property to be mortgaged, its
location, the loan amount, and the type of loan applied for. This
is the information that is evaluated by the
`rules.contexts.context.if` expression to determine whether the
conditions specified in the context definitions are true in the
case of a specific loan.
[0167] Compliance Engine XML/HTTP Transaction API
[0168] The Compliance Engine Application Program Interface (API)
defines structures for communication between the Automated
Compliance Engine and the external environment. The request is
initiated by an external agent with accompanying request parameters
described below, and the response is a complete Task Status Report
consisting of the `tasks` list output of the engine plus the
completion information of completed tasks. Each output `tasks.task`
defines a task that the engine has determined is required in the
case of the specified loan. The list will typically be a subset of
all defined tasks. Each task includes the detailed task definition
information from `rules.operations.task`, with some elements
possibly overridden by corresponding task override information from
`override.tasks.task`.
[0169] Data is exchanged via pre-authenticated HTTP in XML format
(DTD available). It is presented in indented format for
readability. All XML elements are required.
[0170] The lender must provide, for each loan product, a
description containing the product attributes that are required for
compliance analysis, such as whether ARM, fixed, balloon, index,
etc. Each loan application is linked to this information via the
loanProductId compliance parameter, described below. This must be
updated whenever the product attributes change.
[0171] The MISMO standard mentioned above contains most of the
information required by the Compliance Engine to perform its work,
but not all. The key missing pieces are the type of loan product
the borrower is applying for, and the lender and agent
identification.
[0172] Loan products differ from each other in terms of whether
they are adjustable rate (ARM) or fixed, whether the rate is tied
to T-bills or some other index, whether there is a Balloon payment,
whether the property will be owner occupied or rented out, whether
there is cash out or not, etc.
[0173] The loan product information is complex, and there are
several compliance rules that arise out of different
characteristics of the lender's loan product. In a preferred
embodiment, rather than try to identify all facets of the loan
product in a structured way and apply rules each time those facets
are examined, instead, the loan product information is analyzed by
hand, one time, up front, and a decision is made as to what
compliance tasks are required for that type of loan. Then when it's
time to generate a task list, there is a single rule that indicates
if you have loan product type XYZ then you must do tasks 1, 2, and
3. The main piece of information that is not provided by MISMO is
the loan product ID, which is the id given the loan product by a
lender.
[0174] Besides the loan product ID, the compliance API also
requires the lender id, which is used in conjunction with the loan
product id to fully identify the loan product, and it also tells us
where the loan originator's pay will come from, which lender
profile to apply, the lender to send notifications to, etc. The API
also requires the loan originator agent id, which identifies who
the loan originator is so he/she can be paid appropriately when
that time comes. The loan originator id is assigned by
OnePipeline.
[0175] The lender may also provide a task list profile that defines
override values for task.description and task.form for any task.
These values override the OnePipeline default values for these
fields, if present. This allows lenders to describe tasks in their
preferred terminology and to use their own forms, subject to
compliance requirements.
[0176] These data provided via the Loan Application Gateway 3400
(described above) include the following exemplary type data:
[0177] New Task List Transaction
[0178] This transaction creates a new loan compliance record in the
OnePipeline compliance database, and creates the task list.
[0179] Input:
2 complianceRequest requestType newTaskList //same as HTTP
Request-line URI resource lender (loan) lenderId //onepipeline
assigned lenderLoanId //lender assigned agent Id //loan originator,
onepipeline-assigned agentId loan //loan compliance parameters.
loanOriginationFee //$. Requires review if over 1% of loanAmount.
loanProductId //must match id in lender-provided product spec.
loanAmount propertyType //single, multiple, occupied, etc., from
list financingOptions //cash out, refinance, purchase, etc., from
list state //property location, 2-letter state code
[0180] Output: Task Status Report (see below)
[0181] Update Transaction
[0182] This transaction updates the loan compliance record when one
or more tasks are completed, or when loan compliance parameters are
changed. If loan compliance parameters are changed, a new task list
is generated, and the old one is moved to the taskListArchive
section. Task completion information is retained in both the
current task list and in the archived task lists.
[0183] Input:
3 complianceRequest requestType update lender (loan) lenderId
lenderLoanId tasks task taskId //matches taskId from task in task
list agentId //onepipeline agent id completedDate //date and time
in SQL format task taskId agentId completedDate ... loan
loanOriginationFee //$. Requires review if over 1% of loanAmount.
loanProductId //must match id in lender-provided product spec.
loanAmount propertyType //single, multiple, occupied, etc., from
list financingOptions //cash out, refinance, purchase, etc., from
list state //2-letter postal state code: NY, CA, TX, etc.
selfEmployed //Y or N
[0184] Output: Task Status Report (see below)
[0185] Task Status Report Transaction
[0186] Output:
[0187] Format and structure is the same for all transaction types.
When changed loan compliance parameters require regenerating the
task list, old task lists are preserved in the taskListArchive
section. Completion information is present only for completed
tasks, in both tasks and taskListArchive sections.
4 complianceResponse requestType taskStatusReport httpStatus //Same
as HTTP response code. Success: 200 OK lender (loan) lenderId
lenderLoanId date //status report date and time in SQL format tasks
task taskId //onepipeline unique task id number taskName
//onepipeline unique task name displaySequence lenderTaskName
description //may be overridden via lender profile form //.PDF
printable form URL. May be overridden. stepNumber //HUD step 1, 2,
3, 4, or 5 completion //Present only for completed tasks agentId
//onepipeline agent id completedDate //date and time in SQL format
task //same as above ... taskListArchive archiveDate (date) //date
moved into taskListArchive date //task list creation date and time,
in SQL format lender (loan) //same as lender structure above, as of
date ... tasks //same as tasks structure above, as of date ... loan
(loanProductData) //same as request, with replaced loanproductId
information ... archiveDate (date) ... stepCompletion (completion)
step (stepNumber x) stepNumber //HUD steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
complete //Y or N feePercent //percentage to be paid for this step
fee //feePercent * loanOriginationFee, $ agentId //onepipeline
agent id if agent completed agentPayable //fee $ if agent
completed, else zero step //same structure as above ... step ...
step ... step ...
[0188] Algorithm
[0189] Refer to the description of XML, JAXP, and DOM in the data
representation description above, and to the data model description
and detail data model elements also described above.
[0190] At startup, the Automated Compliance Engine reads the
XML-formatted `rules` from external storage into memory. This XML
stream is parsed by the JAXP parser into a DOM internal tree. For
each `rules.operations.task`, the `task.name` is used as a key in
adding task detail definition elements to a java.util.Hashtable to
enable looking up a task definition by `task.name`. Similarly, an
array is loaded with each `task` indexed by `task.id`, to enable
looking up each task by the unique `task.id` integer value. A
separate hashtable is loaded with task override information for
each lender, again using the `task.name` as the key. Also, a socket
connection to a network is opened by a web server or other HTTP
service to enable Compliance Engine users to submit requests to the
Compliance Engine server and to return responses. HTTP socket
connections are describer described in the document found at
www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.html and which is incorporated
fully herein by reference.
[0191] Once initialized, the Compliance Engine server operates in a
stateless request-response fashion, similar to a web server,
following the HTTP protocol. Alternative protocols could be used.
The request and response are both formatted externally in XML
format, and internally in DOM trees, as described in the data
representation description above.
[0192] The Compliance Engine API provides for three different
request types: New Task List, Task Completion, and Task Status
Report. These are described below. The response in all cases is a
Task Status Report containing a `tasks.task` list. The remainder of
this algorithm section describes how the task list is created or
updated in response to these requests.
[0193] The Compliance Engine also incorporates an `event generation
mechanism`, the purpose of which is to trigger actions upon the
occurrence of specified events. These events may include a `pushed`
report where a task list is periodically updated according to
specified parameters and delivered.
[0194] New Task List
[0195] The New Task List request consists of a `loan` structure
that contains information about a specific loan sufficient to
determine which compliance tasks are required.
[0196] The `tasks.task` list is prepared as follows. Each
`rules.contexts.context.if` expression is evaluated, one at a time,
in a loop from first to last. The `if` expression is written in the
JPython programming language, which is an interpretive scripting
language that can evaluate string expressions at runtime. The
Python Programming Language is described in the book "Internet
Programming with Python" by Aaron Waters, Guido van Rossum and
James C. Ahlstrum, M & T Books (Div. of Henry Holt & Co.)
1996, which is incorporated herein by reference. Other languages
could be used. The expressions typically reference a specific
element in the `loan` structure to see if the element contains a
specific value.
[0197] For example, to determine if the loan property is in the
state of Utah, the expression could be
"val(`loan.property.address.state`)==`UT`". The "val( ) method
takes a string describing a path into a DOM tree, and returns the
first value of the first DOM node found on that path. If the actual
value of the `loan.property.address.state` node of a specific loan
was `UT`, the expression evaluates to true, otherwise false. When
such an `if` expression evaluates to true, all of the associated
`rules.contexts.context.then.taskname` references are followed by
using the `taskname` value as a key to look up the referenced task
detail definition through a java.util.Hashtable populated at
startup.
[0198] After finding the task detail in the hashtable, the
`rules.operations.task.name` task detail definition structure could
be copied directly to an output task list; however, for convenience
in the preferred embodiment, the integer value of the included
`rules.operations.task.id` element is used to set a corresponding
bit in ajava.util.BitSet. This `id` integer value is unique for
each task in the `rules` set. After all rules have been evaluated
and all applicable bits are set, the resultant BitSet contains a
true bit for every task with a true `if` expression. The BitSet
thus represents the subset of all tasks which the Compliance Engine
has determined to be required in the case of the specified loan.
The purpose of this BitSet representation is to allow, in the
future, rapid and simple boolean operations (and, or, or not
operations on the BitSet) to combine task lists from different rule
sets to improve flexibility and/or increase performance. One way to
increase performance, for example, is to create a BitSet at startup
time from a rule set that contains contexts that are always true
for every loan. This initially created BitSet can be combined with
the dynamically created BitSet using a bitwise `and` operation in a
manner that avoids unnecessary re-evaluation of some rules.
[0199] Once a final BitSet is constructed, the program loops
through each bit in the BitSet, and where a true bit is found in a
particular bit position, the bit position is used as the index to
retrieve the corresponding `task` definition structure from the
array that was indexed at startup time using the matching `task.id`
integer value. This `task` detail definition structure is then
copied and the copy appended to the DOM output tree containing the
output task list.
[0200] After constructing the list of task detail definitions for
all required tasks, the task override information is applied. This
is accomplished by iterating through each task on the output task
list, and looking up the task override information for the lender
specified in the request. If a task override structure is present
in the table, then the program loops through each element in the
override structure task definition and replaces the corresponding
element in the output task definition. For example, if the override
task structure includes a lender-provided task description, then
the value of that description is copied over the top of the more
generic description from the original rules structure.
[0201] Exemplary Task List
[0202] An exemplary task list generated by the Compliance Engine in
a preferred embodiment is as follows:
5 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rules>
<contexts> <context> <id>1</id>
<name>all loans</name> <if>true</if>
<then> <taskName>GFE</taskName>
<taskName>Transfer of Servicing Disclosure</taskName>
<taskName>FLN</ta- skName>
<taskName>ECOA</taskName> <taskName>Flood
Insurance Disclosure</taskName> </then> <phase />
</context> <context> <id>57</id>
<name>Wyoming</name> <if>state(`WY`)</if&-
gt; <then> <taskName>TIL</taskName>
<taskName>URLA</taskName> <taskName>Right to
Receive Appraisal Disclosure</taskName>
<taskName>Finance/Lock-in Disclosure</taskName>
</then> </context> <context>
<id>12</id> <name>Texas</name>
<if>val(`loan.property.address.state`) == `TX`</if>
<then> <taskName>TX Mortgage Broker/Loan Officer
Disclosure</taskName> <taskName>Property
Disclosure--Seller to Buyer</taskName>
<taskName>TIL</taskName>
<taskName>URLA</taskName> <taskName>Right to
Receive Appraisal Disclosure</taskName> <taskName>TX
Residential Construction Contract Disclosure</taskName>
</then> </context> <context>
<id>103</id> <name>Texas and Loan Amount >
50000</name> <if>((val(`loan.property.- address.state`)
== `TX`) & (ival(`loan.loanAmount`) > 50000))</if>
<then> <taskName>TX Commitment/Lock-in
Disclosure</taskName> </then> </context>
</contexts> <operations> <task>
<id>56</id> <name>TX Commitment/Lock-in
Disclosure</name> <description>The borrower must
receive a Commitment/Lock-in Disclosure form.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeline.com/TX_Commitment_Lock-
in_Disclosure.pdf</form> <role>originator<-
/role> <feePercent>15</feePercent> </task>
<task> <id>3</id> <name>TIL</name>
<description>The borrower must receive the Truth In Lending
disclosure.</descrip- tion> <form></form>
<feePercent>15</feePercent>
<role>originator</role> </task> <task>
<id>1</id> <name>URLA</name>
<description>The borrower(s) must sign and return the
completed Uniform Residential Loan Application.</description>
<form>http://forms-
.onePipeline.com/FNMA_1003.pdf</form>
<role>originator</role> <feePercent
>10</feePercent> </task> <task>
<id>2</id> <name>GFE</name>
<description>The borrower must receive the Good Faith
Estimate.</description> <form>http://forms.onePipe-
line.com/Good_Faith_Estimate.pdf</form>
<feePercent>10</feePercent>
<role>originator</role> </task> <task>
<id>4</id> <name>Transfer of Servicing
Disclosure</name> <description>The borrower must
complete, sign, and return the Transfer of Servicing Disclosure
Statement prior to closing.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeline.-
com/Servicing_Disclosure_552R.pdf </form>
<role>originator</role> <feePercent>5</fe-
ePercent> </task> <task> <id>6</id>
<name>FLN</name> <description>The borrower must
receive the Fair Lending Notice.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeline.c-
om/Fair_Lending_Notice.pdf</form> <feePercent>5<-
/feePercent> <role>originator</role> </task>
<task> <id>7</id> <name>ECOA</name>
<description>The borrower must receive the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeli-
ne.com/Equal_Credit_Opportunity_Act_Disclosure. pdf</form>
<feePercent>5</feepercent>
<role>originator</role> </task> <task>
<id>8</id> <name>Flood Insurance
Disclosure</name> <description>The borrower must
receive the Flood Insurance Disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeli-
ne.com/Flood_Insurance_Disclosure.pdf </form>
<role>originator</role> <feePercent>10</f-
eePercent> <originatorDays>30</originatorDays>
</task> <task> <id>5</id> <name>Right
to Receive Appraisal Disclosure</name> <description>The
borrower must receive the Right to Receive Appraisal
Disclosure.</description- >
<form>http://forms.onePipeline.com/Right_To_Receive_Appr-
aisal.pdf </form> <role>originator</role&- gt;
<feePercent>0</feePercent> </task> <task>
<id>10</id> <name>Finance/Lock-in
Disclosure</name> <description>The borrower must
receive the Finance/Lock-in Disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeli-
ne.com/Finance_Lock_in_Disclosure.pdf </form>
<role>originator</role> <feePercent>0</fe-
ePercent> </task> <task> <id>55</id>
<name>TX Mortgage Broker/Loan Officer Disclosure</name>
<description>The borrower must receive a Mortgage Broker/Loan
Officer Disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeli-
ne.com/TX_Mortgage_Broker_Loan_Officer.sub.--
Disclosure_1048TX.pdf</form> <feePercent>5</fee-
Percent> <role /> </task> <task>
<id>54</id> <name>Property Disclosure--Seller to
Buyer</name> <description>The property disclosure must
be completed and kept with loan documents.</description>
<form>http://forms.onePipeline.com/Property_Disclosure_Seller_to_Bu-
yer. pdf</form> <role>originator</role>- ;
<feePercent>0</feePercent> </task> <task>
<id>211</id> <name>TX Residential Construction
Contract Disclosure</name> <description>The borrower
must receive the TX Residential Construction Contract Disclosure,
which is to be provided by the contractor for new
construction.</description> <form>http://forms.onePipe-
line.com/TX_Residential_Construction_Contract.sub.--
Disclosure.pdf</form> <role>originator</role>-
; <feePercent>0</feePercent> </task>
</operations> </rules> </overrides> <tasks>
<task> <name>TX Mortgage Broker/Loan Officer
Disclosure</name> <description>Execute ABC Company Loan
Officer Disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.ABC.com/A-
BC_Loan_Officer_Disclosure.pdf</form> <role>Loan
originator</role> </task> <task> <name>TX
Residential Construction Contract Disclosure</name>
<description>The borrower must receive the ABC Company
Residential Construction Contract Disclosure.</description>
<form>http://forms.ABC.com/A-
BC_Residential_Construction_Contract_Disclosure. pdf</form>
</task> </tasks> </override>
[0203] In a preferred embodiment, the original compliance task list
for a specific loan is transmitted to the lender for Compliance
Management or passed to an automated workflow engine to initiate
the dynamic workflow process. FIGS. 37-41 contain a set of system
screen shots showing an exemplary list of tasks required to
complete a sample loan.
An Alternative Embodiment
[0204] In an alternative embodiment, a more general compliance
system may be used, and is now described with reference to FIG. 5.
Referring now to FIG. 5, the `Originator and Processor Compliance
Engine` 520 is comprised of two principle elements--the `Worker
Description` 521 and the `Legal Context` 523. These elements are
described in their preferred embodiments as follows:
[0205] The `Worker Description` 521 comprises an assemblage of data
sources which define the types 525, roles 527 and locations 529 of
the workers or agents which may participate in the mortgage
origination process. The participation decision for a worker or
agent is based upon the combination of features which the worker
embodies and which make them unique when combined one with another.
In the preferred embodiment, the worker provides a data profile
representative of the worker's type--that is, the type of service
the worker may provide. The worker is typically representative of
only one `type` for example, either a `Real estate sales
professional`, `mortgage broker`, `banker`, etc. The specific
`role(s)` that a particular worker or agent has in the process
is/are also defined. The `role(s)` that a worker assumes are
aligned with the tasks requiring completion which a worker of that
type can legitimately perform, according to the governing rule base
for that specific worker type. These `roles` may include such tasks
as surveys, inspections, credit worthiness checks, employment
verification, etc. Orchestrating the interrelationship of these
information sources is a `Role Sequencing` definition or data table
which assures a meaningful, orderly, and legal application of the
available data. Those skilled in these arts will understand that
various methods similar to those described above in a preferred
embodiment could be used for such sequencing activities. In an
exemplary process the data passed from the Authentication module
includes the loan originator used ID. This user ID is used as an
argument to find the recorded worker type in the Worker's
description databases where a user ID1, for example, would produce
a Type ID1. This type ID1 would then be used to find the
corresponding roles for this type of user and to determine the
locations where this user id is licensed/qualified to do business.
These data are written into a `worker's profile` structure.
[0206] Referring again to FIG. 5, the `Legal Context` 523 could
comprise an assemblage of data sources which would contain the
regulatory elements pertinent to the compliance and underwriting
process as required by the `Originator and Processor Compliance
Engine` 520. Included in this element would be tables and other
data sources which are typically comprised of state and county
regulations 531 similar to those described above with reference to
the preferred embodiment, licensing regulations 533, federal
regulations 535, and professional organizational rules 539, all of
which may govern or otherwise influence the underwriting process.
Orchestrating the interrelationship of these information sources
would be a `Rule Sequencing` engine 541 which assures a meaningful,
orderly, and legal application of the available data. When the
`Role Sequencing` data table and `Rule Sequencing` 541 engines have
completed the required processing, a profile 543 or a composite of
the borrower requirements and property profile with applicable
worker attributes is made available to the other modules as
required (i.e. the Authentication module, Loan Origination module,
workflow engine, and Task maintenance & status reporting
gateway module).
[0207] The `Loan Application & Program Matching System`
[0208] Referring again to FIG. 4C, the `Loan Origination &
Program Matching System` 456, (also see 505 in FIG. 5) is comprised
of a multiplicity of sub-systems, to be later described. After this
loan originator has been `authenticated` as described above, this
system serves as an infrastructure to identify various loan
products or instruments suitable for this unique combination of
borrower and property, and further offering a preferred
recommendation of loan products and participating workers or agents
to effect the loan. The system communicates with the loan
originator and requires him to complete the actions and provide the
additional borrower data and instructions shown in FIGS. 12-17.
[0209] As indicated above, in the preferred embodiment of the
invention, this Loan Application & Program Matching System` is
preferably performed by a system such as GHR Systems.TM. making use
of their PremierWare.TM. product. This GHR product is also an
object oriented product, however the objects employed are Microsoft
COM.TM. objects which require Windows NT.TM.. The web server
architecture of applicants system is UNIX based which necessitates
using Java and the Common Object Request Broker (CORBA) system to
communicate between the UNIX and COM based object systems. The
architecture of this communications interface is described below
with reference to FIG. 34.
[0210] With reference to Onepipeline's use of this PremierWare.TM.
product, the following description pertains. The input and output
data elements that play a role in OnePipeline.com, Inc.'s use of
the GHR Underwriting Framework known as PremierWare are now
described. OnePipeline implemented the framework within a
distributed architecture encompassing several technologies
including Java, CORBA, COM, and Delphi (Object Pascal). First, how
the GHR components interact with each other are described, followed
by the OnePipeline implementation around that interaction.
[0211] GHR Systems' PremierWare framework is a set of software
components that adhere to the component object model (COM)
sponsored by Microsoft. Inc. The framework is provided to
facilitate the qualification of borrower credentials, i.e., income,
debts, etc., against mortgage loan programs. The desired result
being to locate a loan program for which the borrower is qualified.
The framework is functionally divided internally representative of
three primary operations:
[0212] Product Filtration: Narrowing the number of programs
available for qualification processing.
[0213] Qualification: Extracting the programs for which the
borrower is qualified to apply.
[0214] Ancillary Utilities (Helping): Packaging and unpacking data
as it moves in and out of the GHR API.
[0215] Product Fileration
[0216] If no product filtering is performed before qualification,
then qualification processing is completed on all products in the
GHR products database. Filter criteria can be set using any or all
of the data elements below:
6 GHR Term Date Type LenderID String (bstr) MaxReturnedProducts
Integer Modbits Integer PropertyState String i.e., `UT`
PropertyCounty String PropertyZip String LockType Integer LockDays
Integer PricePreference Integer SpecificRate Integer SpecificPoints
Integer AllLoans Boolean FHALoans Boolean VALoans Boolean
ConventionalLoans Boolean FixedRateMortgages Boolean
AdjustableMortgages Boolean BaloonMortgages Boolean
[0217] The result of a Product Filtering operation is a set of loan
programs that serve as the input to a Qualification operation.
Within the framework, the Pricer object's
GetProductsForQualification method is used to perform a filtering
operation. Once a set of loan programs is received from
GetProductsForQualification, then qualification can commence.
[0218] Qualification
[0219] The first step in qualification is selecting a Qualification
Method. There are fourteen methods in total, which are grouped into
four Modes. The four Modes are:
[0220] Buyer/Purchase
[0221] Cash out Refinance
[0222] No Cash out Refinance
[0223] Shopper
[0224] The methods of Qualification are listed below by Mode:
7 Buyer/Purchase Cash out Refinance No Cash out Refinance Shopper
BuyerBaseLoan CashoutRefiMaxCashout No Cash RefiIncIFee Shopper
BuyerAvailableCash CashoutRefiSpecifyCashout NoCashRefiSpecifyLoan
BuyerMaxLoan CashoutRefiSpecifyLoanAmt NoCashRefiSpecifyLTV
BuyerBaseLTV CashoutRefiSpecifyLTV NoCashRefiNoCostRefi
BuyerDesiredPITI
[0225] The grids below and on the following pages outline these
modes and the various methods available in each Mode with each
method's input parameters. There is a core set of input parameters
that are used for all methods, and then under each method, there
are one or more variations that are indicated in context.
8 Buyer/Purchase Mode BuyerBaseLoan Qualification Method Qualifies
a borrower for a specific property (i.e. sale price is known). GHR
Term Date Type ProgramID String PGC (Product Group String Code)
RequestedRate Integer 8125 = 8.125% RequestedPoints Integer 1250 =
1.250 pts RequestedCeiling Integer 8125 = 8.125% RequestedMargin
Integer 8125 = 8.125% BaseLoan Integer Income Integer MonthlyDebt
Integer CurrentHsgExpense Integer YearsExpectedinHouse Integer
EstimatedCloseDate String IgnoreIncomeRatios Boolean
OverrideRations Boolean FrontRatioOverride Boolean
BackRatioOverride Boolean EstimatedTaxDollars Integer
EstimatedHazInsDollars Integer VAStatus Integer AssociationFee
Integer FICOScore Integer FICORejectCode1 String FICORejectCode2
String FICORejectCode3 String State String County String Zip String
Modbits Integer SalePrice Integer Buyer/Purchase Mode
BuyerAvailableCash Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower based
on his/her cash available for closing. All items are the same as
the BuyerBaseLoan except `BaseLoan` is replaced by `AvailableCash`.
GHR Term Date Type AvailableCash Integer Buyer/Purchase Mode
BuyerMaxLoan Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower for the
maximum loan amount. All Properties are the same as the
BuyerBaseLoan except BaseLoan is removed. Buyer/Purchase Mode
BuyerBaseLTV Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower based on the
percentage of download payment. All Properties are the same as the
BuyerBaseLoan except BaseLoan is replaced by BaseLTV. GHR Term Date
Type BaseLTV Integer Buyer/Purchase Mode BuyerDesiredPITI
Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower based on his/her desired
monthly combined principle, interest, taxes, and insurance payment.
All Properties are the same as the BuyerBaseLoan except BaseLoan is
replaced by DesiredPITI. GHR Term Date Type DesiredPITI Integer
[0226]
9 Shopper Mode Shopper Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower
who is shopping for a house and does not have a specific property.
Also known as "affordability analysis." All Properties are the same
as the BuyerBaseLoan except BaseLoan is removed but MaxLTV,
MaxPITI, and AvailableCash are added as well as two percentage
fields: EstimatedTaxesPercent and EstimatedHazInsPercent and a
MaxPointsAsGift field. GHR Term Date Type AvailableCash Integer
MaxPITI Integer MaxLTV Integer EstimatedTaxesPercent Integer
EstimatedHazInsPercent Integer MaxPointsAsGift Integer
[0227]
10 No Cash Out Refi Mode NoCashRefiIncIFee Qualification Method
Qualifies a borrower with a loan amount that includes the original
mortgage balance and closing costs. Date GHR Term Type ProgramID
String Defined in Buyer Mode PGC String Defined in Buyer Mode
RequestedRate Integer Defined in Buyer Mode RequestedPoints Integer
Defined in Buyer Mode RequestedCeiling Integer Defined in Buyer
Mode RequestedMargin Integer Defined in Buyer Mode Income Integer
Defined in Buyer Mode MonthlyDebt Integer Defined in Buyer Mode
CurrentHsgExpense Integer Defined in Buyer Mode YearsExpectedin
Integer Defined in House Buyer Mode EstimatedCloseDate String
Defined in Buyer Mode IgnoreIncomeRatios Boolean Defined in Buyer
Mode OverrideRatios Boolean Defined in Buyer Mode
FrontRatioOverride Boolean Defined in Buyer Mode BackRatioOverride
Boolean Defined in Buyer Mode EstimatedTaxDollars Integer Defined
in Buyer Mode EstimatedHazIns Integer Defined in Dollars Buyer Mode
VAStatus Integer Defined in Buyer Mode AssociationFee Integer
Defined in Buyer Mode FICOScore Integer Defined in Buyer Mode
FICORejectCode1 String Defined in Buyer Mode FICORejectCode2 String
Defined in Buyer Mode FICORejectCode3 String Defined in Buyer Mode
CurrentMtgBalance1 Integer CurrentMtgBalance2 Integer
CurrentMtgBalance3 Integer CurrentMtgRate1 Integer CurrentMtgRate2
Integer CurrentMtgRate3 Integer CurrentMtgPITI1 Integer
CurrentMtgPITI2 Integer CurrentMtgPITI3 Integer CurrentMtgRemaining
Integer Term1 CurrentMtgRemaining Integer Term2 CurrentMtgRemaining
Integer Term3 CurrentMtgELOC.sub.-- Boolean 2.sup.nd
CurrentMtgELOC.sub.-- Boolean 3.sup.rd CurrentMtgToBe Boolean
PaidOff1 CurrentMtgToBe Boolean PaidOff2 CurrentMtgToBe Boolean
PaidOff3 InvestmentRate Integer OrigLastWithdrawal.sub.-- String
2.sup.nd OrigLastWithdrawal.sub.-- String 3.sup.rd State String
Defined in Buyer Mode County String Defined in Buyer Mode Zip
String Defined in Buyer Mode Modbits Integer Defined in Buyer Mode
SalePrice Integer Defined in Buyer Mode No Cash Out Refi Mode
NoCashRefiSpecifyLoan Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower
with a specified refinance loan amount. All properties from
NoCashRefIncludeFee remain in addition to BaseLoan. GHR Term Date
Type BaseLoan Integer No Cash Out Refi Mode NoCashRefiSpecifyLTV
Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower with a specified
percentage of existing loan balance. All properties from
NoCashRefIncludeFee remain in addition to BaseLTV. GHR Term Date
Type BaseLTV Integer No Cash Out Refi Mode NoCashRefiNoCost
Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower with a rate-points
combination that allows the closing cost to be insulated from the
borrower. In general, negative points are awared to provide
"cash-back" to the borrower, which is applied toward closing costs.
All properties from NoCashRefIncludeFee remain in addition to
BaseLoan. GHR Term Date Type BaseLoan Integer Cash Out Refi Mode
CashoutRefiMaxCashout Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower
with the maximum possible cash out amount. Properties are the same
as the NoCashRefIncludeFee qualification method. Cash Out Refi Mode
CashoutRefiSpecifyCashout Qualification Method Qualifies a borrower
with an amount that will pay off the existing loan balance with a
specified cash out to the borrower at closing. Properties are the
same as the NoCashRefIncludeFee qualification method plus an
AvailableCash field. GHR Term Date Type AvailableCash Integer Cash
Out Refi Mode CashoutRefiSpecifyLoanAmount Qualification Method
Qualifies a borrower with a specified loan amount and cash out
amount. Properties are the same as the NoCashRefIncludeFee
qualification method plus AvailableCash and BaseLoan fields. GHR
Term Date Type AvailableCash Integer BaseLoan Integer Cash Out Refi
Mode CashoutRefiSpecifyLTV Qualification Method Qualifies a
borrower with a specified loan to value ratio. Example: 70% LTV for
an existing loan balance of $70,000 will result in a loan amount of
$100,000. Properties are the same as the NoCashRefIncludeFee
qualification method plus AvailableCash and BaseLTV fields. GHR
Term Date Type AvailableCash Integer BaseLTV Integer
[0228] Credit Profile Inputs
[0229] Each of the qualification methods also accept two input
arrays for specifying aspects of the borrower's credit profile.
These elements improve the accuracy of the Qualification Results. A
Credit Report is retrieved electronically from a certified
credit-reporting agency and prepared for use by the GHR interfaces.
The two array elements are:
[0230] Liabilities
[0231] Public Records
[0232] The data elements for setting these arrays are provided
below:
[0233] Liabilities
[0234] SetNumberOfRecords(Integer);
[0235] BorrowerNumber
[0236] LateDaysLiabilityTypeMonthsFromDateReported
[0237] Public Records
[0238] SetNumberOfRecords(Integer);
[0239] BorrowerNumber
[0240] MonthsRecordClosed
[0241] MonthsRecordOpened
[0242] RecordType
[0243] Amount
[0244] GHR Qualification Results
[0245] Two sets of records are returned from each qualification
request. A set of products (Loan Programs) and a corresponding set
of closing costs. There is a one-to-many relationship from each
Loan Program to the array of Closing Cost Records. The layout of
these fields is depicted below:
11 PreQualOutput Record (Loan Programs) GHR Term Date Type
RejectionFlags Integer TotalLoanAmount Integer BaseLoanAmount
Integer SalePrice Integer ClosingCosts Integer StartingPITI Integer
APR Integer ReturnRate Integer SizeLTVPointsAdjustment Integer
Factor Integer HER Integer TER Integer LTV Integer PI Integer MI
Integer Taxes Integer HazIns Integer RequiredCash Integer
PITIInCash Boolean PITIReserves Integer OriginationFee Integer
UpfrontMI Integer MIFinanced Boolean TBDFee Integer QualRate
Integer Arm Boolean Index Integer Margin Integer Cap Integer
Ceiling Integer ClosingCostsUsed Integer Term Integer
BreakEvenMonthNoReinvest Integer BreakEvenMonthReinvest Integer
BreakEvenMonthNoReinvest Integer WC BreakEvenMonthReinvest Integer
WC AIR Integer ARMIndex String Prepaid Integer Miapboob Boolean
MIRenewall Float CashFinanceDMI Float ProgramID String PGC String
ReturnPoints Integer
[0246]
12 Closing Cost Record GHR Term Date Type ComputeImpounds Boolean
Apr Boolean PaidOutsideClosing Boolean VHAAllowable Boolean
AppliesToMods Boolean Financed Boolean Points Boolean
InitialPremiumFinanced Boolean State String County String FromZip
String ToZip String MortgageType String Description String Type
String TableId String Name String PerUnitAmount Float Percent Float
Fee Float Seller Float Lender Float Relo Float InitialPremium Float
RenewalPremium Float Premium Float BuyerID Integer Mods Integer
HUDNumber Integer ImpoundType Integer Unit Integer MonthsToEscrow
Integer AssocHUD Integer
[0247] OnePipeline Implementation
[0248] In OnePipeline's architecture, the GHR components are
wrapped with a CORBA interface using Borland's Delphi development
tool (Object Pascal). This interface exposes a single method
`Qualify` that accepts five input parameters:
[0249] Qualification Method
[0250] Filter Parameters
[0251] Qualifications (Borrower Data)
[0252] Borrower Liability Data (From Credit Report)
[0253] Borrower Public Record Data (From Credit Report)
[0254] With the exception of `Mode`, which is an integer value, all
the other parameters are Strings. The Strings are formatted
(delimited) with structures to be easily disassembled for use
against the GHR COM interfaces. The format makes use of industry
standards such as XML and XMLT. Data is sent to and from the CORBA
interfaces utilizing IIOP over TCP/IP.
[0255] Any CORBA client can tie directly into the GHR CORBA server
once the input parameters are satisfied. In our implementation, a
set of JavaBeans comprise the client side of our architecture.
There is a JavaBean representing each of the Qualification Methods
expressed by GHR. The JavaBeans expose mutater methods for setting
each element of the input parameters for Filter Parameters,
Borrower Liability Data, Borrower Public Record Data, and
Qualifications. The Qualification Mode is encapsulated within the
JavaBean corresponding to the GHR qualification method. All of the
JavaBeans expose a Qualify( ) method through inheritance that
performs all of the CORBA location and marshalling functions
necessary to interact with the GHR CORBA Server. The result of the
Qualify( ) method call is a delimited String representing the
`PreQualOutput Records` and `Closing Cost Records` described above.
Navigating the output is facilitated by a special
IqualifiedProducts JavaBean which receives the formatted return
String, parses the records, and exposes methods for accessing
individual elements of semantic importance as also outlined in
Qualification Results section above. These JavaBeans are dependent
on the visibility of the GHR CORBA Server via an IIOP channel and
are not well suited for integration with the outside world.
[0256] To expose the functionality of the Qualification features of
the OnePipeline system to the outside world, the JavaBeans
encapsulation of the GHR CORBA Server's API is further abstracted
to facilitate clients via the HTTP protocol. A Java enabled HTTP
server is positioned to intercept function calls via the outside
world and pass them into the JavaBeans which in turn make their
normal CORBA requests to the GHR CORBA Server.
[0257] Referring now to 34, with reference to the descriptions
above, this OnePipeline-GHR Systems communications interface is
defined in functional overview. An HTTP server receives inputs from
applicants' system, wherein requests for data are processed and an
instantiation of a GHR client JavaBean occurs based on type of
qualification desired 3503. These GHR JavaBeans provide an API into
the GHR CORBA Server using distributed computing data marshalling
over the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) 3505. The IIOP request
is transmitted to a GHR CORBA server 3509 where the data from the
client JavaBeans are accepted, unmarshalled and used to trigger the
instantiation of the GHR Systems COM objects. The GHR system using
its COM objects, processes the request and returns qualified loan
programs (if any). These data are formatted into an XML data stream
and sent back to the client JavaBean. 3511. The OnePipeline system
code receiving the XML datastream, parses the datastream and
creates an HTML document for return to the calling web browser for
end-used interaction.
[0258] In an alternative embodiment, subprograms for performing the
functions equivalent to those of the GHR system would be developed
internally to applicants system.
[0259] The `Originator Task Menu and Origination Fee Assessment`
Function.
[0260] As indicated above, upon completion of the loan selection
and formal loan request, the loan originator is given the screen
shown in FIG. 28A and is asked to specify the loan origination fee
and to choose the functions in steps 3, 4 and 5 which the loan
originator will do. The `Originator Task Menu and Origination Fee
Assessment` function 519 in FIG. 5 uses these selections as well as
the other non-selected required tasks to construct the inputs which
are passed to the Compliance Engine as described above.
[0261] The `Loan Fulfillment Workflow Process.
[0262] The composite of information which is passed to the `Loan
Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 545 in FIG. 5 as a new `context` or
data embodiment, and by which a new, discrete, mortgage process is
created comprises the summation of data or information supplied by
the `Compliance Engine` 520, the list of tasks related to the
specific loan as described above. In a preferred embodiment, the
list of tasks for the specific loan are delivered by the Compliance
Engine to the Loan Fulfillment System (462 in FIG. 4C) which
comprises a Loan Processing and Mortgage Workflow Engine such as
Framework, Inc.'s Lendware.TM. product. In an alternate embodiment
the `Loan Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 545 in FIG. 5 is contained
within applicants' system and would be built around the Sun
Microsystems.TM. Inc. Forte.TM. Conductor.TM. engine product to
manage and control the related business processes and to provide a
runtime shell to facilitate coordination of application services
within the business process. The various business applications
related to the steps to be processed in completing the mortgage
loan closing are pre-defined to the Forte Conductor system (just as
they are in the Lendware product) so that when the `mortgage
functions` and their designated `actionees` (if any) are passed to
the `Loan Fulfillment Workflow Engine` and to its Forte Conductor
engine, these `functions` are executed in an integrated environment
where both the function process definition and each of the
supporting applications is pre-defined and will execute
automatically. The supporting applications are a set of application
proxies, each representing the business service provided by its
application and the pre-defined actions to take are contained in an
XSL rule base, consisting of rule documents. Specific rule
documents are assigned to proxies so they can interpret and
transform messages.
[0263] The `Loan Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 545 and its Forte
Conductor engine assures that processes happen in the correct
sequence and in accordance with the (software controlled)
pre-determined, programmatic branching conditions defined by the
`Worker Profile Attributes` 543 business process definition. The
`Loan Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 545 may call upon any
combination of `workers`, heretofore described as computers, data
tables, software, persons, organizations, companies, or other data
sources, etc. to perform the required tasks. The `worker` or
`agent` is typically manifested in one or more of the following
ways: as an individual, an organization, one or more data tables, a
data processing system, or the like.
[0264] In this alternative embodiment the pre-programmed functional
steps executed by the Forte Conductor system are shown in FIG. 6.
The types of activities represented by the icons on FIG. 6 include
the following;
13 Icon Description Opening Beginning of a new process, in this
case a new loan door Closing door Ending of a process Computer
Automated activity that does not require human interaction Monitor
Manual or partly manual activity requiring human interaction Alarm
Clock Timer activity which initiates the next activity based on
passage of time
[0265] The process definition drawing shown in FIG. 6 defines the
process activities for the OnePipeline.com compliance workflow
system. By performing the defined activities under the strict
control of the Conductor workflow engine, the engine ensures that
all required tasks are completed, and in the required sequence. The
engine presents activities only to workers whose role designations
match the role designations of the activity. The earlier system
activities assigns roles in advance to workers only after verifying
that the pre-requisite qualifications are satisfied. In this
fashion, loan originators are assured that all applicable
pre-qualifications are satisfied and that they actually performed
all the services for which they were compensated. When a loan
process is initiated in the workflow system a call is made to the
Forte Conductor software to instantiate a new loan workflow process
for the specific loan, as indicated by the parameters passed in the
calling sequence.
[0266] This workflow process is better understood with reference to
FIG. 6. Referring now to FIG. 6, the loan originator 601 gathers
credit data, gets authorization and requests pull credit 603. The
automated system 607 pulls credit 609, processes the credit report,
parses FICO, public records and liabilities 611, and the credit
profile is saved to the Oracle.TM. data base 612. If this credit
clearing process exceeds 15 minutes a timeout occurs 615 and a
message is sent to the user indicating a failure in the credit
processing. When the credit profile is completed and saved to the
Oracle.TM. data base 612 and the loan originator 601 has completed
the loan wizard and Express app via the website 604 the system then
begins the underwriting assessment 617. If the FICO previously
determined in step 611 is not less than 620 the process driver
submits the request to automated underwriting 621. If it is
approved 623 the system generates task lists and compliance
documents (GFE, TIL, Disclosures, etc.) 625 and submits them, to
the loan originator 627, to the premium broker processor 649, to
the premium broker account executive 651, for their individual
completion of their respective tasks to complete the loan process.
The loan originator 627, the premium broker processor 649, and the
premium broker account executive 651, all electronically submit a
task completion message to the system 631 and it compares the
submissions against authorization criteria 633. If the criteria are
met the system determines whether the user has requested that the
loan rate be locked 635 and if so the loan is locked-in with the
investor 661 and a message is passed to the clear-to-close auditor
665, 659 where a determination is made as to whether the
transaction is clear-to-close 667. If so a message is passed to the
closer 669 to close the loan 677. A message is then passed to the
funder/shipper 671 to fund/ship the loan. The funder/shipper 671
does two things: first it verifies the investor purchase of the
loan 683 and notifies the controller 675 to update the general
ledger that funds have been received 689 and tells the end
transaction mechanism 691; secondly the funder/shipper 671 tells
the controller 675 to update the General Ledger to disburse the
funds 687 which submits a requisition to payroll 685 who notifies
the end transaction mechanism 691.
[0267] The system has capabilities to determine that the required
criteria have not been met/completed 633 and determine whether to
resubmit the loan request to automated underwriting 639, 640 or to
notify the underwriter 641 to iterate on the credentials review
process 643 and either deny 645, 647 the loan or approve it 645,
623 and generate the task lists again 625.
[0268] Thus the loan process in this alternate embodiment is driven
through the required tasks by the Forte Conductor engine to assist
in the complying with the various regulations and yet automate the
process in a helpful and efficient manner. In the preferred
embodiment the ASP system LendWare or its equivalent drives the
loan process and the individual task workers in a manner similar to
that described above. In the preferred embodiment the task
completion data is passed to the Compliance Engine which monitors
the list of tasks for each loan and which can also communicate
directly with some task workers when certain critical events occur
or timeouts are perceived.
[0269] The `Task List Maintenance and Status Reporting Gateway"
[0270] The `Task List Maintenance and Status Reporting Gateway" 550
in FIG. 5 or 463 in FIG. 4C serves as a portal to communicate to
and from other agents and workers who are qualified to perform
assigned tasks. These tasks are those which would be assigned by
the `Loan Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 545 or by the ASP workflow
processor Lendware 463 to other agents or workers to complete prior
to the closing of the loan and distribution of funds. While this
gateway is similar to the `loan origination gateway` it is
significantly different in that the middleware layer must handle
the conversion of data format and protocol of the Forte Conductor
engine or the Lendware workflow engine to and from the formats and
protocols of the agents/workers to which the workflow process is
communicating. Accordingly, The `Task List Maintenance and Status
Reporting Gateway` 550 in FIG. 5 is used to transmit messages from
the workflow engine to these other agents and to receive responses
from authenticated agents. These agents would be performing tasks
such as `title search`, `survey`, `credit check`, etc. The `Task
List Maintenance API and Status Reporting Gateway` 550 can also use
the same interface modes as envisioned for The `Loan Origination
Gateway` 505. Envisioned are at least, three (3) ways by which the
system may access and be accessed by a loan agent/worker: (1) via
Internet website, (2) via custom-written software which connects in
a data transmission-enabled manner to the present invention, and
(3) via `wireless` devices, as previously described for the `Loan
Origination Gateway` 505.
[0271] A loan originator or borrower may also come into the system
via this gateway to check the status of the loan process, etc. As
indicated below every entrant via this gateway must never-the-less
be authenticated before entry is allowed. Conveyance of task lists
to a loan originator and associated workers and reporting of
borrower loan status are accomplished through a programmatic
presentation 552 which embodies the following: `borrower status
report(s)`, `originator's task list`, and `other worker's task
lists` (as described above)--said information exchanged through
this `task maintenance & status reporting Gateway` (the "TMSR
gateway"). This `TMSR gateway`, functions in a manner similar to
that used during the loan origination process. Reports may be
conveyed by a variety of programmatically controlled means, such as
web pages, PDF.RTM. files, word processing format files, etc. The
TMSR gateway receives the direction messages from the `Loan
Fulfillment Workflow Engine` 553 in the standard Forte Conductor or
Lendware API format, and using the middleware layer described
before, converts the format and message protocol into that required
to communicate with the desired agent/worker. Similarly, the TMSR
gateway can receive messages from the various agents/workers in
various formats and protocols (i.e. HTML, XML, WML, WAP, etc.) and
converts these messages and protocols into the standard API formats
used in the preferred embodiment.
[0272] Referring now to FIG. 36 the principle purpose of the `TMSR
Gateway` 4200, in serving as a portal, is to provide a way for the
loan originator and borrower to check the status of the loan
process and for the `loan process workflow engine` to communicate
to and from the other agents/workers who are doing some task
required by the process, without having to worry about what input
method or output method is required to communicate with a given
entity, and/or the related data formats and protocols. Consequently
the major purpose of the TMSR gateway is to perform the middleware
tasks of--recognizing the input channel and data format and
protocol used 4209 and convert the data to the standard workflow
engine Application Programming Interface (API) format 4211 which
will be used by the workflow engine. Similarly, on receiving a
message to be transmitted from the workflow engine, the TMSR
gateway middleware structure is required to determine the format
& protocol used by the addressee and convert the message from
the workflow engine API format into the format and protocol of the
addressee 4215 and then transmit the message 4217 to the addressee
4203 or 4205 or 4207. The input data originates from the input
screens provided by the system, and from the output data
pre-defined in the various task elements in a typical loan workflow
process. The workflow engine will typically transmit a required
message whenever an event occurs which requires a message be sent
or resent (because of a timeout for example).
[0273] The TMSR gateway is required to pass the received data to a
second authentication module 549 in FIG. 5 or 464 in FIG. 4C. This
authentication module once again verifies the used ID and password
of the inputting user. In the preferred embodiment this check does
not verify the legal qualifications of the user. In an alternative
embodiment, the user ID is checked to determine the worker Type,
and the roles this type worker may perform for this location of the
property and for his location are verified against the role he is
attempting to play. Similarly the compliance engine checks to see
if the various legal regulations allow this agent/worker to perform
the role they are attempting to play. If so the authentication
module 4212 in FIG. 36 will pass the data submitted to the
aforementioned workflow engine 4213 for its processing of the
incoming data in response to the task assigned.
[0274] Transaction Service Provider Gateway
[0275] Returning now to FIGS. 4C and 5, the `Vendor Management API
Gateway 467 in FIG. 4C or the `Transaction Service Provider
Gateway` 555 in FIG. 5 serves to manage `tasks` assigned to
external agents or workers or vendors with whom Applicants' have a
special vendor relationship. That is, a vendor who supplies
appraisals in a given locality, loan processing, credit checks,
title searches, flood certification, mortgage insurance, etc. The
`Vendor management API Gateway` or the `Loan Fulfillment Workflow
Engine`, (see FIG. 6 for example) in developing a task list for the
loan originator (627 in FIG. 6), recognizes some tasks as falling
under the responsibility of the loan originator as determined in
the loan origination process, and some tasks which are to be
automatically forwarded to certain service provider agents or
vendors. The communication of these assignments, occurs in a
different manner than those described above relative to the TMSR
gateway. Since these tasks tend to be more routine and repetitively
performed by the specific vendors, the workflow engine will send a
message to the designated vendor and wait (i.e. maintain the
telephonic or electronic connection) until the vendor supplies the
desired response (which normally would be within a few minutes) or
until a watchdog timer expires. If the timer expires the workflow
engine will try the communications again as well as notify a system
manager that the vendor has not responded.
[0276] For example referring now to FIG. 36 the `transaction
service provider gateway` (the "TSP gateway") 4400 is described.
The functioning of the `Vendor Management API gateway` under the
control of Lendware, for example, would function similarly.
Whenever the workflow process for this loan 4401 recognizes an
event/task which requires a communication to a vendor/partner
(service provider), the workflow process constructs the message and
passes it to the TSP gateway 4403. The TSP gateway determines the
format and protocol required to communicate with the indicated
service provider and translates the message from the workflow
process format into the required format and protocol for the
service provider 4405. The TSP gateway then establishes a
persistent communications link with the service provider 4407 and
sends the message and waits for a response 4409. If the service
provider does not respond in a given time a watchdog timer expires
4411, 4413 in which case the system administrator is notified 4415
and the message is resent 4409. If the service provider responds
within the allotted time 4423, 4425 the circuit connection is
released 4427 and the response is translated from the format and
protocol of the service provider into the format required by the
workflow process 4429 and the response is passed back to the
workflow process 4431.
[0277] During the course of the workflow process execution of the
various tasks as shown in FIG. 6, the workflow process engine
records each transaction into an Oracle database in order to create
and maintain an audit trail of tasks performed for this loan, when
performed, by whom, etc. This database is used for certain reports
triggered by other tasks in the workflow process as well as ad-hoc
reports of tasks completed for various compliance and maintenance
reasons.
[0278] Worker Compensation and Task Performance Report Module
[0279] The `Worker Compensation and Task Performance Report` Module
468 in FIG. 4C or 557 in FIG. 5, provides a mechanism for producing
reports to accounting to distribute funds to those agents/workers
who have earned them in a particular loan transaction. These
reports in a preferred embodiment are normally triggered by the
Compliance Engine but may be triggered in an alternative embodiment
by the loan workflow process for that loan at certain pre-defined
points in the workflow. This module also provides the capability
for generating regulatory completion reports and/or Completion
Certificates as required for each loan.
[0280] The `Secondary Banking Process` Module
[0281] The `Secondary Banking Engine` module 469 in FIG. 4C or 561
in FIG. 5 serves to manage loan transactions as they are introduced
to the secondary lending pool, and move them programmatically
through the process of `closing`, `funding`, and `shipping` the
loan transaction. In one embodiment, 469 in FIG. 4C, is managed by
Lendware via on on-site installation or equivalently by Framework
ASP. In an alternative embodiment, the secondary banking functions
would be managed and processed within applicants' system.561 in
FIG. 5. In the alternative embodiment, the `Secondary Banking
Engine` 561 would also serve as the mechanism whereby the
transactions and funds distributions involving the bundling and
selling of loans to the secondary banking institutions are verified
and reported in the following manner: (a) `Locked Loan reports,
tracking all loans locked by borrowers, and reported on a regular
schedule, (b) Commitment report, tracking all unfulfilled loan
commitments, (c) Funding report, which tracks and reports initial
funding status (d) Funded, but not Shipped report, (e) Shipped but
not Purchased report, and (f) Purchased Loan report.
[0282] In an alternative embodiment, a special task of the
secondary banking module is to manage use of the finds in the
warehouse credit line. The management objective is to optimize the
financial return generated by the funds in the warehouse line of
credit. If too much of the warehouse line is consumed in covering
mortgage loans processed, the overall return on these funds is
diminished. Accordingly the management task is to move mortgage
loans from the warehouse line to secondary investors as quickly as
possible. This may be done by selling individual loans to secondary
investors, or by pooling multiple loans, according to various
credit conditions and pooling rules for sale to other secondary
investors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST MODE
[0283] Referring now to FIGS. 31-32 the various types of computer
hardware and computer software used in a preferred embodiment at
the present time are depicted. In FIG. 31 it is clear that Sun.RTM.
Ultra5.TM. workstations 3101 and general purpose Personal computers
(PC) 3103 may be used as input devices to the system. A Sun
E250.TM. dual processor server 3105 is used as a development/test
system running the Sun.RTM. Solaris.RTM. operating environment,
Oracle.RTM. 8I, Forte.RTM. Conductor.TM. with a SynerJ.TM. server.
A single processor Sun E250.TM. server 3107 is used in the
Sunnyvale facility. Also in this facility are three Sun E4500.TM.
dual processors 3117, 3119 and 3121, an IBM NetFinity 7000.TM. quad
processor with a Microsoft.RTM. NT.TM. server 3115 and a Hitachi
Shared Disk array 3123. There are also three IBM NetFinity 5000.TM.
servers 3109, 3110 and 3111 located in the Salt Lake City
facility.
[0284] In FIG. 32 it may be seen that loan originators interface to
the applicants system using a standard Internet browser such as
Internet Explorer.TM. 3201 with the initial interface in
applicants' system being with Lotus.RTM. Domino.TM. 3203. The
system then performs the Pre-qualification and Loan application
& Approval using GHR.RTM. Systems PriemierWare.TM. 3209. The
Sun Solaris.RTM. operating environment in the system server (at
3203 in FIG. 32) interfaces with the GHR system 3209 and to
FastDirect.TM. 3211 via IIOP through a CORBA to COM bridge and a
Delphi Automation interface to Windows NT.TM.. Solaris.TM.
interfaces in this configuration to the Oracle 8I.RTM. server via
Forte.RTM. Conductor.TM. 3207 through Forte Enterprise JavaBeans,
Forte Distributed JavaBeans and IIOP.
[0285] Having described the invention in terms of a preferred
embodiment, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that
various types of general purpose computer hardware may be
substituted for the configuration described above to achieve an
equivalent result. Similarly, it will be appreciated that
arithmetic logic circuits are configured to perform each required
means in the claims for performing the various features of the
rules engine and flow management. It will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that modifications and variations of the
preferred embodiment are possible, such as different computer
systems may be used, different communications media such as
wireless communications, as well as different types of software may
be used to perform equivalent functions, all of which fall within
the true spirit and scope of the invention as measured by the
following claims.
* * * * *
References