Figure, a blockchain-focused financial service company and Apollo, a global alternative asset manager, announced today completing a transaction involving the origination of digital mortgage loans and transfer of ownership via blockchain technology, according to a press release shared with FinLedger.
The companies say the secure process was a “first of its kind” in the mortgage industry and has the potential to revolutionize the $3 trillion mortgage ecosystem.
During the transactions, Apollo purchased eNote digital mortgage assets, originated by Figure on the Provenance Blockchain and registered on its Digital Asset Registration Technologies (DART) platform, via an investment vehicle it manages on a blockchain-based marketplace.
The release says that when coupled with a connected digital currency account, this technology enables real-time, multi-party settlement that incurs less risk than traditional methods.
“With technology impacting all areas of our lives, it is time for participants across the mortgage ecosystem to experience an improved process that simply works better and costs less,” said Daniel Wallace, GM of Figure Lending.
“Blockchain can provide enhanced protections and transparency in the ownership process for consumers and real-time settlement for investors, replacing trust with truth to create a faster, more efficient process for everyone. This important development demonstrates just one way that blockchains will provide significant improvements that streamline the mortgage lending space,” Wallace said.
DART, a combined lien and eNote registry system developed by Figure, is used in place of the existing MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) database. The system monitors blockchain-based asset transfers and enables an efficient alternative to the MERS loan tracking database, which often takes weeks to process settlements for paper promissory notes.
The release adds that this system enables immediate and automated asset onboarding, real-time settlement for loan pledges and sales, and uses an integrated registration system that can automatically reflect transfers on loan interests.
“When Apollo and Figure formed a strategic partnership, we saw the potential to apply the Provenance blockchain – built specifically for the financial services industry – to processes across the investment lifecycle. We are excited to have now completed our first use case with this mortgage transaction, executed in a way that we believe can dramatically improve efficiency in the mortgage and lending ecosystem,” said Apollo Partner Robert Bittencourt.
In other recent proptech news, Baselane launched its property-focused banking platform to simplify rental property finances for individual landlords. JLL‘s Valuation Group also launched a new property intelligence and technology tool, Valorem, which gives clients the ability to organize and manage their portfolio’s property and valuation data.