GMIPoll , a survey of 17,500 consumers in 18 countries, found that online security fears could be one of the reasons that online banking has not taken off in the U.S. to the extent that it has in Europe. Online banking security fears are noticeably lower in countries which ranked high in online banking use, such as Germany and the Netherlands, where banks have fortified security measures by introducing two-factor authentication policies where some banks now require a third identification number from users, GMIPoll said.

Personal factors were cited as reasons for slower adoption because countries that banked online the least said person-to-person interfaces were an important element of the banking experience. France and Mexico , with 74 percent of respondents, said they highly value the personal touch.

The study showed worldwide youth between the ages of 18 to 29-year-old banked online more than any other age demographic. Online usage among youth corroborated overall survey results with 85 percent of the Netherlands' younger population blazing the online banking trail and Germany, Canada and Poland (73, 64, and 62 percent, respectively) not far behind, GMIPoll said. Only 43 percent of young Americans bank online more than half the time.

Worldwide, consumers said online banking is here to stay, even if security breaches are preventing them going online right now. Seventy-nine percent of consumers worldwide, and 81 percent of Americans, agreed that online and telephone banking have improved overall service quality; and even Russia, which came in last in its online banking usage, responded positively with 75 percent, GMIPoll said.
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Atlanta-based Street Resource Group Inc. (SRG) partnered with Calabasas, Calif.–based Interthinx to integrate fraud prevention tools into its SRG Warehouse Loan System. SRG integrated DISSCO, a forensic, electronic fraud prevention tool that searches hundreds of data fields and identifies misinformation from a loan application.

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Portellus, Laguna Hills, Calif., and QuestSoft, Irvine, Calif., integrated QuestSoft's Instant Geocoder XML databases into Portellus’ loan origination system (LOS). Portellus’ Mortgage Solutions Framework allows service-oriented integration throughout its LOS to provide users with the ability to geocode loans for HMDA purposes. The integration also allows users to pool these loans for sale to banks or investors. 

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1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Charlotte, N.C., established a relief fund and contributed $25,000 to help its employees and their families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Three MetroBranches in the hurricane’s path were damaged by the storm.

1st Metropolitan is offering branch managers and staff of the MetroBranches the option of relocating to Charlotte, N.C. to ease their burden. The managers and staff would work out of the corporate office with free nationwide licensing. 1st Metropolitan will also help them establish a new client base quickly by offering free direct mail leads in areas not ravaged by Katrina. The national mortgage broker also contacted regulators of affected branch’s neighboring states to learn if they will temporarily honor licenses from Louisiana.

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VirPack, Vienna, Va., enhanced its electronic image loan delivery product, VirPack Direct, to support delivery to Wells Fargo Funding, Des Moines, Iowa. Correspondents can electronically deliver fully indexed loan files to Wells Fargo Funding for purchase review.

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WellFound Decade Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., announced that Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, Anchorage, Alaska, deployed WellFound Decade’s Mortgage Integration Foundation (MIF) to integrate into its systems. By implementing the MIF, Alaska USA can migrate to a Web services platform. The main components should be in place within only 120 days project initiation. Within 30 to 60 days of selecting a vendor for their point of sale (POS), Alaska USA Federal Credit Union can expect to have the system completely integrated. 

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Mavent Inc., Irvine, Calif., entered into a strategic partnership with Empower, part of Jacksonville, Fla.–based Fidelity Information Services. Mavent will integrate its product, the Mavent Expert System, into Fidelity's Empower loan origination system (LOS).

The Mavent Expert System submits loan data for reviews against nearly 300 legislative acts, 200 license types and the rules and regulations of over 60 regulatory authorities. Mavent Compliance Warranty protects customers against loss arising from fines and regulatory civil money penalties associated with reviews performed by the Mavent Expert System.
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The continued strength of the real estate market, low interest rates and an abundance of capital for purchases and refinancings all fuel the ongoing strength of the North American CMBS market and contribute to the low delinquency rate which continues to fall since early 2004.
    
Chun said the surveillance group identified a large number of transactions with exposure to areas affected by the two hurricanes [Katrina and Rita] during the third quarter, but the structural attributes and diversity of assets in most CMBS deals caused few bonds to actually be affected by the severe weather. "To date, the ratings on only one deal have been placed on CreditWatch negative because of exposure to the affected region," Chun said.

Creekwood Capital Corp.'s 8.47 percent collateralized notes are secured by 33 multifamily units, 21 of which are in the New Orleans area. “The borrower has since paid off the transaction in an effort to expedite the reconstruction process. Generally, we have found that in many of the deals with larger exposures, the damage has been confirmed as minimal or is expected to be covered by insurance," Chun said.
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Four Horizon Apartments was completed in two phases: Phase One in 1980 and Phase Two in 1982. Omni Apartments Communities will be providing property management services. Asking rents at the Aurora property, 15 minutes from Denver International Airport, average $615 per unit.

Denver, the largest city in Colorado, is 26th largest in the U.S. The Colorado Department of Demography (DoD) projects the Denver metro population to grow by 258,643, or 10.1 percent between 2004 and 2010.

The apartment community consists of 35 three-story buildings with one- and two-bedroom apartments and an average unit size of 850 square feet. The apartments consist of individually controlled central heating and air conditioning, washer/dryer hookups, wood-burning fireplaces, patios/balconies and vaulted ceilings in select units.
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Welcome Home provides a tuition free, Internet-based training program designed by the MBA to prepare past and present Spanish-speaking members of the armed forces and their immediate family members for careers in all phases of the residential and commercial lending industry. 

The effort seeks to provide an estimated 1,000 new graduates a year for potential careers in mortgage sales, origination, underwriting, servicing, collections, and commercial and multifamily lending.

"This program is an outstanding opportunity for military personnel who are fluent in Spanish and English to receive training to begin a new career in the mortgage industry, and helps our industry provide even better service to the Hispanic community," said Jonathan Kempner, president and CEO of MBA. "We are excited to extend this opportunity to immediate family members of military personnel."

"Welcome Home recognizes that some of the barriers to homeownership are langauge and lack of accurate information about the home buying process," said Craig Nickerson, vice president of expanding markets for Freddie Mac. "This program goes a long way towards addressing those barriers while at the same time helping service men, women and their families pursue careers in the real estate industry."

In addition to MBA, Welcome Home partners include the United States Department of Defense Reserve Forces Policy Board, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, National Puerto Rican Coalition, and the Hispanic War Veterans of America.  Program sponsors include Freddie Mac, Univision, and Puerto Rico Telephone, Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T), CitiMortgage, GMAC Mortgage and U.S. Bank Home Mortgage.

Welcome Home is open to all bilingual (English/Spanish) active duty personnel, Reserve and National Guard personnel, veterans who have received an honorable discharge and their immediate family members.

After completing the required coursework and receiving an achievement certificate, students will be asked to complete an on-line form to identify the type of job they are seeking, as well as geographical preferences. 

BB&T, CitiMortgage, GMAC Mortgage, and U.S. Bank Home Mortgage and other interested lenders will receive the students' Personal Information Forms and make contact to arrange a pre-application interview with the graduates.

For more information about Welcome Home, visit www.welcomehomegi.org.
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The Equity Financing Index surpassed 50 for the 13th time in the past 14 quarters as it hit 54 for the ninth straight quarter. A score above 50 means more respondents saw improving conditions than saw worsening conditions over the past three months. Most respondents, 61 percent, said conditions were unchanged in equity financing while 19 percent said conditions improved and 11 percent said they were worse.

The Debt Financing Index, however, dropped to 38, the first under-50 reading since July 2004. "This clearly reflects the rise in interest rates over the past few months," said Mark Obrinsky, chief economist at NMHC. "It may also reflect some tightening of lending standards."

Jamie Woodwell, senior director in research for the commercial/multifamily group at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the numbers can be deceiving as 30 percent of respondents noted that now is a worse time to borrow compared with 54 percent who say conditions are unchanged. "The majority say conditions continue to be unchanged, which I read as great for borrowing." Woodwell said.  The remaining respondents, 11 percent, either did not know or the question was not applicable to them while five percent said it was a better time to borrow.

More than half of the respondents indicated that there has been little impact on the apartment market by people displaced from Hurricane Katrina damage. The survey also asked about the impact of those displaced by hurricane Katrina on apartment markets. Nearly one-third (33 percent) noted that apartment occupancy is up somewhat while 11 percent indicated that occupancy is up substantially in their markets.

“Clearly some apartment markets, such as Houston and Dallas, have experienced significant occupancy increases in the past month because of the hurricane evacuees, but that demand in-crease has not had a significant impact on the overall apartment sector,” Obrinsky said.

Respondents also noted higher sales volume than three months earlier outnumbering lower sales volume by nearly 4 to 1 (42 percent to 11 percent). The Sales Volume Index was unchanged at a record 66, and represented the tenth consecutive quarter of increasing sales volume.

The survey’s Market Tightness Index rose to another high of 87 in October from 80 in July, as 75 percent of respondents reported an improvement in demand for apartments, measured by lower vacancy rates, higher rents or both. Two percent reported looser conditions.

“Even with record-level single-family home sales, demand for apartment residences by individuals and families continues to strengthen virtually across the board,” Obrinsky noted. “If the homeownership market should start to cool, demand for apartments could rise even further.”
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