Black Knight launches mortgage broker LOS

Black Knight took another step toward covering every inch of the lending industry, with the release of its mortgage broker loan origination system.

Cloud-based LoanCatcher gives brokers working in the wholesale market a platform that automatically transfers data from Black Knight’s existing Empower LOS. The product was largely the result of the acquisition of NexSpring Financial in March. Black Knight spent the past six months tweaking the NexSpring product, integrating its customer relationship management and price search tools with brokers specifically in mind, Mark Besch, origination technologies product director, told NMN.

“While Empower is a perfect solution for everyone from midsize to mega lenders, it’s just not a sensible fit for the broker community Black Knight is committed to supporting,” Besch said. “On the other hand, LoanCatcher, as a multi-tenant solution, makes it possible to bring substantial efficiencies and an economy of scale down to the brokerage and even individual broker level in a way that is both efficient and cost-effective. Simply put, it gives brokers affordable access to best-in-class technology via the cloud.”

The new product falls in line with Black Knight’s strategy of using mergers and acquisitions to supplement internal product development, as Chief Executive Officer Anthony Jabbour explained during the company’s most recent earnings call. Black Knight bought six companies since March 2020, including NexSpring, marketing firm Top of Mind, e-notary DocVerify and pricing engine Optimal Blue.

The wholesale lending segment continues to show sharp growth overall as total volume increased to $580 billion in 2020 from $325 billion in 2019 and $189 billion in 2018, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance. Brokers compiled $372 billion in originations during the first half of 2021, a 63.9% increase from $227 billion in 2020’s first half.