The robust mortgage data management tool meets the need for accuracy and transparency

      MIAC’s DataRaptor® data management tool was born out of a rapidly changing mortgage environment.  As lenders began their march down the credit spectrum and into an ever broadening maze of products, along the way came an increasing need to know more – more about every facet of the collateral that was being created and the borrowers that were buying into these new products.  The need to review, track, and understand an entirely “new” set of loan characteristics became critical - new not because they didn’t exist before, but new because analysts didn’t pay close attention before.

      Originally, the goal with DataRaptor was to create a flexible data management tool with strong, imbedded reporting capability.  When MIAC introduced DataRaptor V4.1 in the fall of 2006, we accomplished just that.  DataRaptor had the ability to handle data input from multiple sources in varied formats.  Audit and analytical tools were built into the model to allow business logic to be applied against source data, resulting in the best possible inputs to MIAC’s valuation model as well as other, internal systems. The imbedded reporting tool in DataRaptor, using the Crystal Reports framework, allowed our clients to “slice and dice” their loans across every imaginable collateral and borrower characteristic.  Most importantly in an age of Sarbanes Oxley, MIAC created a tool that provided a transparent audit trail from source data to valuation input, which was explainable and defendable to our clients’ internal and external auditors alike.

      DataRaptor was a giant leap toward satisfying the data management needs of our clients.  As with any new tool, a little bit of a good thing left our minds racing with more ideas for functionality to take DataRaptor to the next level and give our clients a competitive edge in the marketplace.  And so we fast forward to the fall of 2008, with MIAC poised to introduce DataRaptor V4.2.  Our goal with the newest version of DataRaptor was to build on the successes of our previous version and to incorporate additional features that would address our clients’ increased need for tools to help them not only better understand their portfolios but to make informed decisions based on this increased understanding.

      Brave New World
      None of us have been able to escape the headline news related to home prices over the past several months.  Understanding the impact of these changing economic conditions on mortgage asset values is critical for our clients.  DataRaptor V 4.2 incorporates an interface with HPI data from both OFHEO and First American, giving our clients increased access to information that will ultimately lead to more defendable valuations.  DataRaptor V4.2 also incorporates an automated interface with the last version of S&P’s LEVELS, giving our clients who license the S&P product access to loan-level default and loss severity assumptions.  The audit tools within DataRaptor allow data to be scrubbed before passing into LEVELS, leading to a significant reduction in errors and the best possible results.

      As the news regarding decreasing home prices and increasing defaults continues to dominate the daily headlines, investors, lenders and servicers are increasingly looking at loan modifications and refinancing as ways to maintain value in their investments.  Increases in the FHA loan limits have made an FHA refinance a viable option for many borrowers who are facing declining property values and other credit issues.  DataRaptor V 4.2 has an imbedded FHA eligibility module which allows users to evaluate individual loans for refinance potential within FHA’s expanded programs.  The module will return an eligibility decision for several different types of refinances along with the relevant loan limit for each refinance type given the property location.

      MIAC has taken the reporting capabilities within DataRaptor to the next level, incorporating an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) tool that allows for fast, flexible, multidimensional reporting across all data elements within the system.  Users identify dimensions (or characteristics) and measures (or facts) upon which they want to report.  The aggregated data are stored in a cube, which allows for complex queries to be executed very quickly.  Query results, or reports, can be exported to Excel, HTML, and text.

      In addition, DataRaptor V 4.2 has been configured to allow for targeted user permissions and change tracking, which gives users strengthened internal controls critical for Sarbanes Oxley compliance.  Additional flexibility and performance optimization has also been added in the pooling process.  Users can now create and store multiple pooling trees, or aggregation rules, to be applied when creating output from DataRaptor, and additional output types have been added. 

      Whether you are currently using DataRaptor, or just looking for a more robust data management tool, you will be excited to see all that DataRaptor V 4.2 has to offer.  In the ever changing mortgage market we live in today, DataRaptor will be the key to unlocking the full potential of your portfolio analytics!