[November 13, 2000] "Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) was originated by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) to coordinate the Internet based efforts to standardize real estate finance transactions. MISMO has identified three deliverables to provide to the mortgage industry to further this goal. First is an XML Transaction Architecture to encompass data exchanges from origination, the secondary market and servicing. Second, a data dictionary to provide business definitions and corresponding tag names of each of the data elements included in the architecture. Third is a data model to provide relationships between the elements in the business data. In order to develop and maintain these standards, MISMO works in an interactive community using the latest technologies on the web. Workgroup listserves keep interested organizations up to date on MISMO activities. Virtual discussions on the business elements, architecture and relationships are occurring in real time on MISMO's on-line workrooms. MISMO subscribers can take advantage of their ability to steer the direction of the standard through on-line voting. These ballots for proposed changes to the architecture ensure a fair and democratic process."
"The MBAA XML Work Group was created in May 1999 as an outgrowth of the MBA Technology Committee's Emerging Technologies Work Group. The initial goal of the XML Work Group was to produce a pilot XML DTD based on the Automated Underwriting Standard data set. Work group members represent a wide cross-section of the mortgage industry including lenders, the GSEs, service providers (mortgage insurance, appraisal, credit reporting, flood services), software vendors (loan origination systems, tools providers), and Internet service and software providers. Work group membership is open to any interested mortgage industry party, not just MBA members. We have developed the pilot AUS DTD and are in the process of developing examples and tools to support implementation. One of our goals is to provide the documentation and support required to ensure uniform and universal implementation of XML by the mortgage industry. In addition, we are soliciting comments from the industry regarding immediate needs to determine what our next projects should be. Information regarding the work group and its activities and documentation is available on the web at www.mbaxml.org."
[October 16, 1999] From an MBA announcement, "MBA Announces New Internet Data Standards Organization. Inclusive Workgroup Continues Efforts to Serve Entire Industry" - "During a press conference at its 86th annual convention, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) announced it would take an active role in the maintenance and administration of mortgage industry data standards through its new Internet data standards organization Mortgage Industry Data Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). MISMO aims to ensure that the standards development process is open and democratic, responsive to business needs of the users, and designed to include and support the entire industry. Driven by the MBA's Technology Committee's XML Workgroup, the announcement demonstrates MBA's commitment to the development and implementation of Extensible Markup Language (XML) for the mortgage industry. Past MBA Workgroups with similar structure and objectives have exhibited proven results. Since 1991, over 20 mortgage industry specific X12 transaction sets have been developed and approved by MBA Workgroups. Most are still actively supported, including all HUD claims and notifications, as well as activities by major credit reporting agencies, mortgage insurance companies, and major appraisal software vendors. The development of XML-based standards started in early 1998 when the MBA Emerging Technologies Workgroup began exploring XML as an additional standard which could easily integrate with existing X12 infrastructure while providing a means for standards compliance for new systems more suitable to XML. In May 1999, a separate XML Workgroup formed to develop a pilot XML standard, which is to be submitted for review at the 86th Annual Convention."
"Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) was originated by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) to coordinate the Internet based efforts to standardize real estate finance transactions. Announced at the MBA Annual conference in Boston 1999, MISMO's goal is to provide standardization of common business transactions in the mortgage industry... MISMO has identified three deliverables to provide to the mortgage industry to further this goal. First is an XML Transaction Architecture to encompass data exchanges from origination, the secondary market and servicing. Second, a data dictionary to provide business definitions and corresponding tag names of each of the data elements included in the architecture. Third is a data model to provide relationships between the elements in the business data."
The Chairperson of the MBA XML Workgroup is James Lesher (Percentage Corp).
For information on participating in the MBA XML Workgroup, please contact David Williams at 202-861-6529 or David_Willams@mbaa.org
The Web site hosts several online discussions ('Tech Talk'), including one on "The role of XML in the Mortgage Industry."
References:
[November 12, 2001] "MERit Credit Engine Adds Merged XML Credit Reports." - "The MERit Credit Engine, MCE, has added capabilities to provide Merged XML Formatted Credit Report data using The Mortgage Banker's Association of America's MISMO standard. The MERit Credit Engine shortens development time and satisfies a mission-critical need for companies developing systems that require credit report data directly from Experian, Equifax, and/or Trans Union. It operates using a SQL Server database, and allows implementers to retain control of their entire system, without added per-transaction costs. The MCE, requests raw data from credit reporting agencies, converts it to a standard format, and inserts the subject's file into the local SQL database to simplify analysis and integration. The XML capabilities take the standardization to another level, allow the data to be shared by participants in a loan transaction, within a network or across the Web... The MERit Credit Engine's XML option is able to provide data in the correct format for those parts of the standard related to credit reports: double or tri-merged (using the MCE merge option) as well as single-bureau. The XML credit report standards now make it possible, in the home lending field, for identical data files to to be submitted to Fannie Mae as well as Freddie Mac for an underwriting decision." [source]
[June 19, 2001] "Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Agree To XML Standard." By Robert Bryce. In Interactive Week (June 18, 2001). "Freddie Mac and its larger cousin, Fannie Mae, are fierce competitors in the secondary mortgage market. But the two companies could make paperless real estate purchases a reality, thanks to their support for Web-based mortgage transactions. Both organizations have agreed to support eXtensible Markup Language (XML) standards established by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. That support will likely mean dramatic changes for hundreds of companies, from lenders to vendors, that participate in the domestic housing market. That market is expected to generate roughly $1.52 trillion worth of new mortgages this year. But the mortgage process is slowed and made more expensive by the reams of paper needed for loan applications, credit reports, surveys and other documents... Freddie Mac estimates that moving to the MISMO standard could reduce origination costs for each loan by up to $700 - savings that would be passed on to consumers. With 2000 revenue of $30 billion and $44 billion, respectively, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are the monsters of the mortgage business. Together, they buy about two-thirds of all conventional single-family home mortgages. The two companies are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress - and given access to federally backed lines of credit - to help promote home ownership. They buy mortgages from lenders, package them as securities and resell them on the open market to investors... Like many other companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae want to minimize the amount of paper they handle. The MISMO was created in January 2000 to create an XML format that could be used from the initial loan application through the '"securitization' of that loan on Wall Street and the servicing of the loan by vendors. 'The obstacle is getting consensus across the industry for what we call "data",' said Gabe Minton, senior director, industry technology, at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, which oversees the MISMO. The current version of the MISMO standard enables the translation of 2,000 terms, including the borrower's name and address. But as the standard evolves and more paper-based elements of the mortgage process are converted into XML, the number of terms that the standard will define will likely exceed 4,000, Minton said..."
[March 27, 2001] Announcement: "Newest Version of Mortgage Transaction Standards Issued." [source, alt]
"MISMO XML DTD Engineering Guidelines." Version 8, "updated 2001-03-20." By: MISMO Architecture Workgroup. The document discusses DTDs/Schemas, and ongoing design issues. "MISMO will define the XML element and attribute names that will represent the mortgage-related data elements in a standard manner, and also define how the mortgage information is organized. This document is a valid specification as set forth by the MISMO architectural workgroup for a set of guidelines to assist in the development of XML file specifications for the mortgage industry. It is very important to emphasize to the readers of this document what we are standardizing. MISMO set out to standardize loan data sent between two organizations at a point in time. This standard is intended to span multiple transactions between trading partners. MISMO has not created a standard by which to archive loan data. Although companies are free to archive the files as they are sent back and forth within the industry, the data points and structures were not designed with archival in mind, rather, they were designed to be stateful data at an instance between organizations when they needed to move data from one to the other." [cache]
MISMO Specifications, Version 1.0. Released June 2000.
Press release 1999-10-12. "MBA Announces New Internet Data Standards Organization. Inclusive Workgroup Continues Efforts to Serve Entire Industry." [local archive copy]
Automated Underwriting System (AUS) Common Data Set DTD. By Jim Lesher.
DTD for the Mortgage Credit Report. By Mike Bixby.
[December 28, 2000] "MISMO Application Workgroup Chair Presents XML Status Report. Dynatek's Todd Luhtanen provides update on XML Data Interchange Standards for mortgage industry." - "The Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) Mortgage Application Workgroup Chairman, Todd Luhtanen, today offered his evaluation of the organization's progress related to the establishment of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) data standards for the mortgage industry. According to Luhtanen, MISMO's first year in operation has been a successful, cooperative effort by all lenders, vendors and agency participants and he anticipates all MISMO strategic objectives to be met, if not surpassed, in the organization's second year of operation. Luhtanen, also director of technology for Dynatek, an established provider of mortgage software, was elected to serve on the Governance Committee of MISMO. The committee was formed by the MBA to establish XML data interchange standards for the mortgage industry, and held its third and final working session of 2000 during the last week of September. More than 100 industry leaders attended the five-day conference in Milwaukee, Wisc. to discuss the latest developments concerning mortgage industry standards with XML, the universal format for structured documents and data on the Web. Luhtanen's first task was determining the scope of the Mortgage Application Workgroup and then structuring the timeline for its activities. Luhtanen's chief focus is to lead MISMO's efforts in establishing a thorough data model representing the origination aspects of the mortgage lending process. This group's mission is to build on the established logical data dictionary, encompassing information from all distinctive workgroups throughout the mortgage industry. The working draft of the 'Mortgage Application Logical Data Dictionary' is slated for release by the end of 2000. The Mortgage Application workgroup is defining the primary data set to be used throughout the origination process. Until this time, standards have focused on external processes like credit, underwriting and service ordering. The workgroup will extend and combine these processes and bring them all together. The integration of these processes will result in an XML document that could begin at a consumer based Web site, move to an LOS system, be passed to a credit agency, and returned with credit data attached. From there, it could be sent to an AUS system and returned. All other services could happen in the same manner. This will allow the XML mortgage application to live longer than the transaction it was initially created for and the result of one transaction can become the input of the next transaction. Each vendor performs his portion of servicing the loan, and it is then passed on to the next vendor in the process. The responsibility is on the receiver to understand his or her own business, rather than the sender being required to understand the business of all vendors involved. This will allow greater freedom of service providers to enhance their services, resulting in faster time to market improvements and additional services, while protecting their competitive advantage. The core data concept is integral to this vision and has provided the necessary data elements for the basis of the process. The first release of the mortgage application will include credit, underwriting and additional data necessary to provide initial disclosure information for loans..."
[December 28, 2000] "XML standards draft near. MISMO expects 'dictionary' to be ready soon." By [Staff]. In Inman News Features (December 27, 2000). "The XML standards group of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America is expected to have a working draft for standards within a few weeks. The 'Mortgage Application Logical Data Dictionary' is expected to cover the origination aspects of the mortgage lending process. Previous standards have been set for credit, underwriting and service ordering. Those standards are expected to be meshed with origination standards by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization and its Mortgage Application Workgroup. MISMO's goal is to create a XML-based document that could start at a consumer-based Web site, move along to an LOS system, be forwarded to a credit agency, be sent back with attached credit data, and then sent to an AUS system and later returned. 'MISMO and this workgroup are moving extremely fast and continue to make exceptional progress in industry standards,' said Todd Luhtanen, chair of the workgroup and technology director at Dynateck, which provides mortgage software... MISMO's members include Dynatek, MortgageFlex, Interlinq, Gallagher, Cybertek and Alltel, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several other organizations. Some 100 industry leaders attended a recent five-day conference in Milwaukee, Wis., to discuss the latest developments concerning mortgage industry standards with XML, or Extensible Markup Language. XML will provide universal data standards for documents and make electronic transmission of documents easier and more efficient, in a universal format. At mid-November's National Association of Realtors annual convention in San Francisco, another XML standards group was announced, in response to the Homestore.com- and NAR-driven Real Estate Transaction Standards XML group. Called Alliance for Advanced Real Estate Transaction Technology, it brought together nearly 20 companies in Web realty, that were concerned that standards were moving too slowly and that RETS members had agendas designed to protect self interests..."
[May 19, 2000] "Standards Issued For Internet Data Sharing By Real Estate Finance Firms." - "Standards that will allow real estate finance companies to more easily share data over the Internet recently were issued in draft form by a coalition of mortgage industry groups led by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA). In March, MISMO released version 1.0 of its dictionary of common data, focusing on elements relevant to the mortgage origination and underwriting processes. The organization also launched a Web-based repository tool to provide a central location for managing data elements and generating XML document definitions. The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) released the draft version of its XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) Data Standards, which cover secondary commitment and delivery transactions and credit, underwriting, mortgage insurance application, and service request processes, in conjunction with the MBA National Secondary Market Conference in San Diego in early May. MISMO, which was formed to address electronic commerce issues in the mortgage industry, is comprised of MBA members, technology companies, and key industry players, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. A review period of two weeks has been established to allow comments on the standards from the industry. MISMO expects to receive responses from business and technical professionals on the completeness of the specifications. At the end of the comment period, the standards may undergo minor modifications. Final standards are expected to be issued June 1. The standards, released as Draft 1.0, are available on the MISMO Web site: www.mismo.org. Comments on the specifications can be e-mailed to mismo_comments@disa.org. Online data dictionaries supporting Draft 1.0 also are available on MISMO's Web site."
Open Letter Concerning the MBA and Its Role with Regard to Standards Development
RMIC's XML Related Documents - "These are some samples of DTDs and XML templates that RMIC has developed. Included are the 1003, 1008, MI App, and LP submission. These are a subset of the origination documents that we have developed, but they should give a general idea of the approach that we have taken."
Contact address: David Williams.
[March 18, 2000] "Todd Luhtanen of Dynatek Elected to MISMO Governance Committee. Loan Origination Software Provider To Help Set Industry XML Data Interchange Standards." - "Todd Luhtanen of Dynatek has been elected to serve on the Governance Committee of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). MISMO was recently formed by the MBA to establish XML data interchange standards for the mortgage industry. Todd Luhtanen, Dynatek's Director of Technology, has been elected to the board to help lead the effort to establish a thorough data model representing all aspects of the mortgage lending process. In addition to the MISMO Governance Committee, Luhtanen also serves as a member of the XML Architecture Work Group. Over recent months, XML's flexibility and ease-of-use as a data interchange has gained significant support within the mortgage industry. In an effort to consolidate multiple proprietary XML initiatives in the industry, MISMO will manage the data standards to ensure that financial organizations involved in the loan process can share information and progress toward becoming e-commerce enabled... Both Luhtanen and Dynatek have been long-time advocates of the MBA's effort to develop useful data communications standards. Luhtanen added that Dynatek is currently developing financial solutions with other companies, and as soon as MISMO publishes the XML standards, Dynatek can incorporate XML into its interfaces."
[March 22, 2000] "First American Supports New Technology For Information Exchange. Works to Standardize Industry Definitions for XML." - "The First American Financial Corporation, a leading provider of business information and related products and services, today announced that it supports standards proposed by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) for the adoption of Extensible Markup Language (XML) by the mortgage industry. A proponent of XML standardization, First American has been working closely with the MBA, through the company's participation in the Mortgage Information Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), to develop a common language for the technology that will allow centralized data to be accessed over the Web. XML is much more flexible than its hypertext cousin HTML, and allows for greater accuracy in describing, categorizing, customizing and delivering information online. Standardized XML will facilitate business-to-business electronic commerce in the industry. It uses a common vocabulary to describe the data elements throughout the online mortgage transaction process, from the loan application to processing and closing. Each of these stages in the transaction can have different data formats. First American and the MBA recognized that a coordinated effort was needed to establish an XML industry standard, because XML without a standard could develop into numerous company-by-company standards. First American has been recognized as a top e-business innovator for its approach to implementing new technologies to meet the rapidly changing needs of its customers. The company currently offers three multi-product systems for electronically accessing critical business data. FASTWeb, an Internet-based product ordering and delivery system with more than 48,000 registered users; FASTDirect, a direct connection between a customer's loan origination system and First American's products and services; and FASTWin, a Windows-based desktop application for product ordering via dial-up modem connection, will all leverage XML standards to provide business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce solutions."
[February 29, 2000] "Premier E-Commerce Group Navigates XML Development, Teams with Mortgage Industry." - "The ever-expanding e-commerce organization, Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA), endorsed a contract to provide its collaborative services to Mortgage Bankers Association of America's (MBA) Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). Partnering with an array of groups developing XML specifications, DISA will work with MISMO to craft a Mortgage Data Dictionary, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) representation of mortgage data, a mortgage data model, and repository tools. Working to consolidate independent XML initiatives within the industry and to provide comprehensive business solutions for the real estate finance industry, MISMO is comprised of organizations such as Freddie Mac, Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation, First American Financial Corporation and many others. MISMO's recent formation of a Governance Committee, charged with developing an infrastructure that supports the different segments of the mortgage industry, propels the organization's policies and procedures. To unify proprietary XML formats, MISMO's first objective is to establish a core data set to develop the data dictionary for the mortgage industry. MISMO's ultimate goal is to provide a single repository of XML document type definitions (DTD) schema for real estate finance transactions, developed in a vendor-neutral environment. MISMO anticipates the release of its first specification, 1.0, to occur in early April 2000. Offering today's XML development organizations an array of collaborative services, DISA also plays an active role in groups, such as the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA), the Interactive Financial Exchange (IFX) Forum, the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, the XML/EDI Group and many others. With expertise on metadata specification and XML DTD schema development, DISA's collaborative services offers its clients everything from membership management administration and information technology services to standards development operations and database publishing. DISA, a Virginia-based not-for-profit association, is the leading provider of educational and networking forums on e-business. Promoting e-commerce in a global marketplace, DISA provides technical and management services to standards and XML specification development organizations, including MISMO, OTA, the IFX Forum, the XML/EDI Group, and ASC X12."
[December 22, 1999] "New Data Dictionary to simplify Mortgage e-COMMERCE process." - "Two key players in the electronic mortgage arena announced today they will work together to develop a universal data dictionary for the mortgage industry's use in e-commerce. This announcement marks a milestone in streamlining the way the mortgage industry conducts its e-commerce activities, assuring that all players will speak a common language in handling data exchange requirements. The entities working together on the project include: (1) The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's (MBA) Internet data standards organization; and (2) XML-Mortgage Partners (XML-MP), a coalition of mortgage industry lenders, software developers and e-commerce providers. 'These two efforts have been working independently towards the same goal,' said David Williams, MBA's Assistant Director, Industry Technology. 'This common ground should establish a cornerstone on which all future mortgage transactions can be based.' The project will meet to consider a draft data dictionary as early as January 2000. 'The data dictionary represents the attainment of a transactional framework for the web, as well as the development of a complete web e-commerce solution,' said Joseph T. McCartin, Executive VP/Chief Information Officer, Fleet Mortgage Group, Inc. and chairman of MBA's Technology Steering Committee. Ultimately, the workgroup will produce four deliverables : the Mortgage Data Dictionary; an XML-based representation of the mortgage data; a mortgage data model; and repository tools. These important e-commerce tools are expected to be ready before mid-2000. 'The goal is to establish a flexible, easy-to-use data exchange standard,' according to Bob Dart, CEO, VMP Electronic Laser forms. 'This joining of the standards will streamline e-commerce data exchange requirements for the mortgage lending community'."
[August 21, 1999] "New Group Launches XML Data Standards Project. Mortgage Lenders, software developers and e-commerce firms join forces to create XML Mortgage Partners." - "A coalition of mortgage industry lenders, software developers and electronic commerce providers officially announced the charter of XML Mortgage Partners, Inc. (XML-MP), a non-profit corporation dedicated to developing and distributing an industry-wide data standard to benefit the mortgage lending community. VMP Electronic Laser Forms and Ultraprise Corporation, the founders of the group, outlined the project's agenda at an XML-MP steering group meeting in Montreal. Representing a wide cross-section of the mortgage industry, eight companies ranging from mortgage lenders, software developers, and e-commerce businesses, are part of the XML-MP steering group: Chase Home Finance, Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Dynatek Inc., Fiserv/Unifi, mortgage.com, Ultraprise Corporation, VMP/ELF and Waterfield Mortgage. XML-MP is developing an XML data standard to improve the way financial data is transmitted over the Internet by mortgage industry participants. Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is growing in popularity for business-to-business electronic commerce, and will become the Internet data standard within two years. XML offers industries, particularly data intensive segments like mortgage banking, a common way to communicate over the Web. A single mortgage loan may involve contact with more than 40 different companies during the loan application, processing, closing and secondary market stages of the transaction. Each of those businesses may have different file formats and data processing requirements. XML makes it easier for companies to share information because it provides a common, flexible, and easy-to-use vocabulary to describe the data elements in loan, borrower, and property information."
[March 18, 2000] "New XML standards: MBAA works with Data Interchange Standards Group for April Release." In Inman News [Features] (March 1, 2000). "The Mortgage Banker's Association of America is working on standards for XML, or extensible markup language -- a more comprehensive version of HTML -- and has contracted with an e-commerce to provide such services. Data Interchange Standards Association, which has partnered with several XML standards groups, will provide collaborative services to MBAA's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. The organization is trying to consolidate an array of independent XML initiatives. DISA will develop a Mortgage Data Dictionary in XML, representing mortgage data, a mortgage data model and repository tools. At the top of the list are unifying proprietary XML formats and a creating a core data set for establishing the dictionary, which will serve as a single source for XML document definitions. The first specifications may be released as early as April."
