MISMO Releases First Data Standard for the Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Industry
February 17, 2006
The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), the not-for-profit data standards subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), announced today the completion and release of its first data standard for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry. The release of Commercial Servicing Transfer Standard Version 1.0 marks the completion of the first phase of MISMO’s broad effort to develop and promote data standards for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry. This initial standard is the first of many planned for the industry. Ultimately, MISMO standards will reduce costs, streamline processes, improve accuracy, increase data transparency, and boost investor confidence in mortgages as an asset class.
Data standards provide one key method by which firms can simplify the different ways they transmit information electronically. This simplification provides direct benefits, such as streamlined communication between trading partners, simplified access to more products and services, and reduced error rates during the origination and servicing of mortgages. MISMO was established by MBA and its members to develop and promote the adoption of these standards. MISMO’s approach to commercial/multifamily data standards is designed to accommodate the complex characteristics of this type of lending. The Servicing Transfer standard is broad in scope and can be applied to any circumstance in which a servicer must import commercial loan data into their system for the first time. Examples of this include the boarding of individual loans, the acquisition of servicing rights for entire portfolios and the awarding of servicing in a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) issuance. The Servicing Transfer standard was prioritized as MISMO’s first commercial standard because it answers the industry’s need for a standardized way to move large amounts of data and improve what is currently a labor-intensive process. Its range of data points also provided a key validation of the concepts upon which the commercial architecture was based.
“After years of hard work, we are thrilled that this standard has become a reality,” said Dave Bodi, co-Chief Operating Officer of Midland Loans Services/PNC Real Estate Finance and Chair of MISMO’s Commercial Steering Committee. “Launching the Servicing Transfer Standard is a huge accomplishment that will pave the way for other data standards to be released, to the benefit of the industry, overall.”
MISMO is now moving onto the next phases of its mission for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry – providing additional standards that will bring efficiencies to all industry sectors and promoting the overall adoption and implementation of the standards. MISMO’s commercial standards are developed by workgroups that address the specific needs of targeted sectors such as Servicing and Originations, and are open to participation from any interested party. Complete information on the MISMO organization, its efforts in the commercial/multifamily and residential mortgage industries, and its complete library of mortgage standards, including the Commercial/Multifamily Servicing Transfer Standard Version 1.0, are available at www.mismo.org.
Source: MBA / MISMO
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.