Interthinx released its new Watchlist Review Module, a stand-alone application that enables lenders to check all loan participants against several industry lists to ensure compliance with Fannie Mae’s Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) as well as rules from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

“Much of the risk involved in the mortgage loan transaction rests with the loan participants,” said Gayle Shank, vice president of product management at Interthinx. “Knowing whether these individuals — including the personnel involved in the closing — are on any industry lists is a critical due-diligence step that federal regulators expect lenders to take. Those who fail to do so greatly increase the risk associated with a loan transaction.”

Shank pointed out that the BSA requires lenders to screen closing participants against industry watchlists but said lenders lacked a comprehensive way to do so. The new Watchlist Review Module solves that problem by screening individuals and companies against all exclusionary lists at the same time. “It’s a great time-saver for lenders because it eliminates the need to visit and search various individual websites,” she noted.

The module uses name-matching software combined with algorithms to identify matching records. The system provides a customizable, intuitive report through a single-source interface.