Under New Legislation, MERS Turns Transparent

In support of new federal legislation, MERSCORP, Inc. has unveiled a new program to inform borrowers of changes to the owner of their loan, in effort to bring greater transparency and accountability to the lending process. The Helping Families Save Their Home Act of 2009, which became law on May 20, 2009, requires that, when a loan secured by the primary home of a borrower is sold, transferred or assigned, the new owner of the loan notify the borrower in writing of the transfer of ownership. And they must do so within 30 days. MERS, which serves as the repository of information on over 60m loans, will now be able to inform borrowers of future changes to their loan’s investor. For all loans registered in the MERS system, The company’s InvestorID program will automatically send a mortgage transfer notice to the primary borrower when the ownership of their loan changes. “This program will be another tool for the real estate finance industry and the Administration’s efforts to bring greater transparency to the mortgage lending space,” said R.K. Arnold, MERS president and CEO. Write to Kelly Curran.