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Secure Insight (SSI) (originally founded as Secure Settlements) is a national financial industry risk management and data evaluation company. The company maintains a nationwide database of third party professionals who interact with consumers in residential mortgage transactions. It is located in , New Jersey and was founded in 2009 although it began to conduct business in 2012. It is privately owned. Its services are designed to help banks, mortgage lenders and credit unions meet the increasing regulatory scrutiny of government regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created out of the Wall Street Reform Act of 2008 (commonly referred to as "Dodd-Frank") which published third party service provider risk management rules in April 2012. Its primary subjects of evaluation are title agents, escrow officers, notaries and also attorneys. In 2014 the company partnered with certain syndicates of to launch a new form of consumer fraud protection called "Mortgage Settlement Insurance" covering losses to consumers and others victimized by fraud at real estate closings, however the response has not been positive to date due to the unwillingness of banks to attach more costs to the mortgage process. SSI's efforts to introduce the concept of "vetting" as a necessary business tool to help protect consumers from fraud were not met with universal support by the subjects of the investigation and risk analysis who viewed it as an intrusion on their own privacy. Both California and New Jersey were lobbied to adopt rules to try and limit SSI's influence over the industry by claiming the service was unnecessary, that subjects of investigation were at risk of an invasion privacy and the practice was a "pay to play" effort, which the company denied. Mortgage fraud losses are reported to be as high as $10 Billion or more annually, as reported by by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Vetting and monitoring of third parties is now generally accepted as a necessary cost of doing business and a valuable tool to ensure consumer confidence in mortgage transactions after Dodd-Frank.
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