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The Title Report Print Edition
June 25, 2012
This edition debuts our continuing coverage of the 2012 National Settlement Services and Compliance Summit. The topics include:
- Data security
- Sales strategies
- Business diversity
- Loan buybacks and other customer problems
- Economic challenges
Alongside all of that conference content is coverage of an investment conference, in which CEOs from First American and Fidelity presented their different operating and investment strategies. Also, we wrap up our initial “Breakdown” series with the policy, loss and market share data for Missouri through Wyoming. |
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 Closing protection letters do not cure all that ails lenders, industry
Posted Date: Friday, June 15, 2012
During the last few years, the title industry, its customers and
regulators have been attempting to find a way to curb the increasingly
visible problem of defalcation. One of the weapons in that fight is the
closing protection letter (CPL) — something that is a fairly widespread
practice in the industry. States have latched onto this solution,
putting forth legislation to oversee and extend the use of this
protection. But are CPLs a silver bullet for solving the defalcation
problem?
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Title Agent 101: Set a solid sales team structure
Posted Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012
Nothing helps business better than a good sales team, but that’s also
like saying nothing helps a football team better than a potent passing
attack — and as the Cleveland Browns can attest, it’s easier to say
something than it is to successfully put into practice. So how do you
get there? A presentation at the National Settlement Services and
Compliance Summit offered some tools that can be useful for title agents
looking to improve their sales efforts. Unfortunately, there was no
guidance offered to help t
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WFG hires Donald O’Neill for lender, default services groups
Posted Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012
Williston Financial Group, the parent company of WFG National Title Insurance Co., has appointed Donald O’Neill as executive vice president of institutional services. Read on for more from the announcement.
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Crisis averted? Fidelity reverses stance on N.C. mechanics’ lien coverage
Posted Date: Thursday, June 14, 2012
A month after informing its approved attorneys in North Carolina that it
would be curtailing mechanic’s lien coverage and materialmen’s lien
coverage in the state unless changes were made to the statutes governing
these liens, the Fidelity family of title insurers sent a letter saying
that significant progress toward a legislative solution that it will
maintain its current policy on mechanic’s lien coverage.
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ISGN, Medallion Analytics announce systems integration
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Medallion Analytics, a mortgage technology company that provides
compliance and control across the entire loan origination and settlement
process, and ISGN Corp., a provider of end-to-end technology solutions
and services to the U.S. mortgage industry, announced that its Medallion
HUD Prep and Medallion Post-Close Audit solutions will be integrated
with ISGN's Gators Settlement Services and Vendor Management System.
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Indecomm’s iTitleHub service now covers more than 1,000 counties
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Indecomm Global Services, a business process outsourcing company, has
seen its iTitleHub solution become available in counties which comprise
the majority of all title and closing transactions across the United
States. Read on for more about the company’s capabilities.
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Summit tidbits Day 1: Data security fear, sales strategies and business diversity
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
For those of you not in Cleveland for the National Settlement Services
and Compliance Summit, first off, shame on you. Not for missing the
event as much as missing out on my favorite city in the world,
Cleveland. But other than that, what you need to know is the mood of the
conference this year seems to be all business. Here are my favorite
tidbits from the conference floor on Day 1.
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Live coverage: From loan buybacks to the new consumer, customers dished on today’s fears and success
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
At The Title Report, we talk a lot about the issues affecting
title insurers today, but the National Settlement Services and
Compliance Summit provided a forum for industry customers to relay their
problems in the market that will inevitably influence your job going
forward. The main concerns for the Realtor, homebuilder and lender on
stage revolved around potential regulations, the changing mindset of the
consumer and the increased difficulties in solidifying even the most
mundane transactions. Th
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Summit live coverage: Households, regulators, lenders face housing market challenges
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Consumer deleveraging and an uneven recovery in the jobs market are
among the factors that continue to weigh on the nation’s housing
picture, according to Mark Sniderman, executive vice president and chief
policy officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Sniderman was
the keynote speaker for the opening session of the National Settlement
Services and Compliance Summit in Cleveland. Read on to learn what
challenges policymakers face as they work to spur a housing recovery.
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October Research announces winners of industry awards
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
October Research, LLC, publisher of The Title Report, The Legal Description, Valuation Review, RESPA News and Dodd Frank Update,
today announced the winners in its inaugural awards program, launched
to honor men and women in the mortgage and settlement services
industries for exemplary accomplishment in the areas of leadership,
innovation and philanthropy.
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Pioneer Tech Group adds chief technology officer
Posted Date: Friday, June 08, 2012
Pioneer Technology Group, a provider of court, official records and real
estate systems and a secure document management resource for the real
estate and title insurance industry, announced the addition of a chief
technology officer.
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Report: Escrow theft levels higher in less-regulated states
Posted Date: Friday, June 08, 2012
Do state regulations play a part in the industry’s loss experience?
Demotech used its reach in the industry to examine this question — what
is the difference in the claims experience among the states; what
regulations do those states have; and is there any conclusion to be
drawn? Most specifically, are the unregulated states more prone to theft
or defalcation? Subscribers, read on for a look at the conclusions.
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SoftPro named as finalist in 2012 American Business Awards
Posted Date: Friday, June 08, 2012
SoftPro was named a finalist in five categories in the 2012 American
Business Awards, and will ultimately be a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie
Award winner in the program. Read on for more information about
SoftPro’s achievement.
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Closeline Settlements opens up shop in new California office
Posted Date: Friday, June 08, 2012
Closeline Settlements, which touts itself as a national title company
headquartered in Maryland, has announced the opening of a new office all
the way out in Sacramento, Calif. Read on for more details about this
latest development.
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Title Talk: Doug Bello chats about outsourcing, retirement plans, more
Posted Date: Friday, June 08, 2012
In May, D. Bello Associates announced that its founder and namesake,
Doug Bello, would be retiring later this year and moving into more of an
advisory capacity. He will continue to act as president and sit on the
board of directors. After posting the announcement, The Title Report
reached out to Doug to hear more about the decision, his time in the
industry and what this next chapter of his life is going to be.
Subscribers, read on to see what Doug had to say.
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Insight Title hires VP of default services
Posted Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012
Insight Title Co. and Bankers & Lenders Title brought aboard a vice
president of default services in order to help manage its growing
footprint and operational expansion. Read on for more about this hire.
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Fidelity, First Am CEOs pitch company strategies at investment conference
Posted Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012
The nation’s two largest title insurance players took the stage to
discuss their financials, current market share and future goals at the
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods 2012 Mortgage Finance Conference. The
companies can seem similar based on market size but are always
contrasted in scope. Here is what the chief executive officers of
Fidelity National Financial and First American Financial told the room
full of investors.
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Two title agencies join forces in the Hoosier state
Posted Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012
Two Indiana title agencies, including one that has been in business
since 1886, announced they are combining efforts to become better
efficient in the Fort Wayne market. Read on for more from these two
companies.
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Stewart Morris Jr. joins ALTA board
Posted Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012
The American Land Title Association board of governors announced the
appointment of Stewart Morris Jr. to its 11-member board. Read on for
more of the national association’s news.
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Data Trace completes title plant coverage in third state
Posted Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012
Data Trace Information Services LLC, a provider of data services to the
settlement services industry, announced that it has completed its title
plant for the entire state of Arizona. Read on for more from the
company’s announcement.
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Premium boosts from key states improve numbers for title industry
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Title premiums are up so far in 2012 compared to the same period a year
ago, according to the American Land Title Association. The national
association’s 2012 First-Quarter Market Share Analysis showed the
industry generated $2.32 billion in title premiums during Q1, up from
$2.25 billion from Q1 2011. Read on for a closer breakdown of the
numbers.
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Ticor Title, Fidelity National announce joint position
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 05, 2012
A senior real estate industry executive joined Ticor Title as vice
president, direct major accounts of Nevada and vice president, national
major accounts for Fidelity National Title Group. Read on for more about
this individual.
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Title company issued cease, desist order in Michigan
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 05, 2012
The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) has
ordered a Southfield, Mich., title insurance company, its vice president
and several other company officers to cease and desist from the sale,
solicitation or negotiation of any line of insurance in Michigan. Read
on for more from the regulator’s order.
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The Breakdown: Everything is bigger in Texas except losses per policy
Posted Date: Friday, June 01, 2012
Our “Breakdown” series for subscribers is looking at 2011 year-end
numbers for policies written and loss paid by state, courtesy of data
from Demotech. This is the final part of this initial series, which has
gone alphabetically, state by state. So, in part five, you’ll see data
points on South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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PropertyInfo introduces upgraded SureClose Print Driver
Posted Date: Friday, June 01, 2012
PropertyInfo Corp., a Stewart company, has upgraded its SureClose
Advantage print driver for users. Read on for more information on this
upgraded feature and how it can improve document management.
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Fitch: Title industry capital position to improve in 2012
Posted Date: Friday, June 01, 2012
According to the risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio from Fitch Ratings,
the title insurance industry’s capital position has leveled out but
still remains below its historic norms. Title insurers do not have
risk-based capital standards imposed by regulators, so Fitch’s RAC is a
company-created formula that helps it better measure the capital of a
title insurer and assess it in terms of investment grade. Read on for
all of Fitch’s number crunching and analysis in this latest report.
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First quarter foreclosure sales numbers up
Posted Date: Thursday, May 31, 2012
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released
its Q1 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that sales of
homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for
26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the first quarter, up
from 22 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter and up from 25
percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2011. Read on for more
information about the report.
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WFG National Title launches TitleNet
Posted Date: Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Williston Financial Group National Title Insurance Co. has launched
TitleNet, a national network of independent settlement services
providers which will service high volumes of settlement transactions.
Read on for more from the announcement.
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