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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM sales—a plan most banks were using before the settlement was announced, according to CRC. While California Attorney General Kamala Harris managed to negotiate a deal that includes $12 billion in principal reduction for homeowners in the Golden State, CRC says the banks have been reluctant to uphold that responsibility. "[O]nly 2,334 California borrowers have received principal reduction (or 'first lien modification forgiveness')," the organization pointed out in its statement. "This represents $335 million, or just 2.7 percent, of the $12 billion in principal reduction that Californians were promised in the settlement and desperately need." Under the terms of the settlement, the five participating servicers are required to complete the total $12 billion in principal re- ductions for Californians by 2015, with much of that fulfilled in the first year. CRC says underwater homeowners in the state should be "concerned" if the servicers' progress in the first three months since the settlement agreement was signed is any indication of their efforts. While they've been slow in implementing the people who qualify for assistance and that need it the most," CRC said. Capsilon Releases Enhanced Version of Katalyst 8 8, the most recent version of the company's electronic document management and collabo- ration solution. Enhancements to Katalyst 8 in- clude a re-architected image conversion system that retains data when converting documents to images; an automated document recognition capability that can distinguish between more than 250 industry-standard documents; and a new desktop application that allows users to compare documents side-by-side and work on multiple loan folders simultaneously. "Katalyst's newest release reduces errors, Capsilon announced the launch of Katalyst principal reduction programs, servicers in the state have been busy handling short sales, with 85 percent of the settlement-mandated relief distributed in California so far coming from short sales. Kevin Stein, associate direc- tor for CRC, says servicers' apparent lack of interest in pursuing principal reduction pro- grams demonstrates a difference in priorities between Californians and banks. "The California piece of the settlement emphasized principal reduction because that is what is needed to stabilize families and neighborhoods in California, and yet the banks' initial performance shows that meet- ing Californians' needs is not their priority," Stein said. In addition, the organization expressed streamlines processes, and offers a more com- plete collaboration experience, giving banks, credit unions, and other mortgage lenders the opportunity to improve document quality, conversion, and storage, which translates to improved customer service," said Sanjeev Malaney, CEO of Capsilon. Since 2004, San Francisco-based Capsilon has been a provider of cloud-based docu- ment sharing and imaging and collaboration solutions. California DRE Has Busy Year Revoking Licenses concern over what it called a lack of transpar- ency regarding who is receiving relief from settlement actions. The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight does not currently col- lect demographic information about borrow- ers and neighborhoods on the receiving end of required loss mitigation efforts, informa- tion CRC says is necessary to determine if banks are engaging in unfair practices. The organization urged settlement monitor Joseph Smith to require such demographic information from the partici- pating servicers. "The discriminatory and unfair practices exhibited by the banks over the years have left Californians no reason to trust that they are getting this relief to all of Estate (DRE), which is responsible for licensing and regulating activities of real estate brokers and salespersons, had to take action against more license holders than in previous years. In the most recent fiscal year ending June The California State Department of Real ago when 79 were issued. Desist and refrain orders are generally issued to prevent an unlicensed person or entity from engaging in acts for which a license is required. "While purging the unscrupulous opera- tors from the real estate industry is vitally important to protecting consumers, it is only one piece to the puzzle," said Bill Moran, DRE Enforcement chief and acting chief deputy real estate commissioner. "Consumer education is the key piece to really protecting consumers. We need to educate consumers on how to avoid scams." The DRE attributed the rise in disciplin- ary actions to the collapse of the real estate market, which left more distressed home- owners vulnerable to rescue scams. In mid-August, the DRE issued a consumer alert warning Spanish-speaking homeown- ers about scammers who specifically target non-English speaking Latinos. The alert warns homeowners to be wary of any promises guaranteeing mortgage relief in exchange for an upfront fee. Potential targets should also avoid paying in cash for home loan relief, as the money is much harder to recover, officials said. In addition, consumers should never transfer or sign their home over to a third party who says they'll help repair the borrower's credit. Non-English speakers are specifically warned not to trust someone offering help just because they speak Spanish or share a similar background. "Based on the cases we prosecute, it is clear that Spanish-speaking fraudsters are targeting homeowners by tak- ing advantage of the culture of trust within the Latino community," said Wayne Bell, chief counsel for DRE. Interthinx Releases New Forecasting Tool 30, 2012, DRE has suspended, surrendered, and revoked 1,109 real estate licenses. That to- tal represents a 100 percent increase compared to the 553 actions taken five years ago. DRE real estate license revocations increased nearly 14 percent to 781, up from 686 revocations in the last fiscal year. DRE license suspensions were up nearly 80 percent, 190 this fiscal year vs. 106 in the previous year. License surrenders, which occur when license holders give up their rights while a disciplin- ary action is pending, rose 20 percent to 138 compared to 115 in the year prior. The DRE also issued 213 desist and refrain orders, up 170 percent compared to five years has introdcued TrueOutlook, a tool that allows financial institutions to predict the quality of loans in a portfolio. According to a company release, TrueOutlook lets institutions of all sizes forecast and stress test portfolios against different origination strategies and economic factors. This exercise helps lenders know to what extent risk is within their control. And with TrueOutlook, small to mid-tier banks and credit unions have access to technology previously available only to larger financial institutions. "It's a comprehensive, cost-effective service that can be used for all U.S. con- sumer retail portfolios," said Michael Smith, chief technology officer and chief architect 83 Agoura Hills, California-based Interthinx

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