\n<\/p>\n
UniversalCIS<\/strong> and Credit Plus<\/strong>, firms that provide credit reports, income verification and related solutions to mortgage lenders, today announced a merger they claim will make them the largest in the sector.<\/p>\n As a result of the merger, the companies will combine their leadership teams. UniversalCIS Chairman Perry Steiner will become Chairman and CEO of the company, Jerry Haftmann will become vice chairman and Credit Plus\u2019 CEO Greg Holmes will be the new company\u2019s chief revenue officer. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the merger.<\/p>\n UniversalCIS has been on an acquisition tear of late. In 2020, during a banner year for the mortgage industry, it acquired Universal Credit<\/strong>, CIS Credit<\/strong> and Avantus<\/strong>. The combined firm subsequently rebranded as UniversalCIS. In January 2021, UniversalCIS entered the appraisal management sector with the acquisition of SharperLending<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In March, private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners<\/strong> acquired a majority stake<\/a> in UniversalCIS, and Steiner said it expected to make more acquisitions. UniversalCIS followed through on that promise with the acquisition of the lending solutions arm of DataFacts<\/strong> in August.<\/p>\n Paul Ryan<\/a>, the former Speaker of the House, and John Dalton, the former Navy Secretary, serve on the company\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n Credit Plus and UniversalCIS said their firms\u2019 merger will result in a firm with a book of 6,500 clients, spanning banks and non-bank mortgage lenders, credit unions and mortgage brokers. The combined company will have 750 employees and operations in 12 states, and will be headquartered in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n The two firms said they aim to redefine parts of the mortgage process that have remained unchanged for the past 10 years. By enhancing \u201ccertain areas around decisioning and workflow efficiencies,\u201d Steiner said, the firms hope to take a bigger step toward the completely digital mortgage.<\/p>\n Navigating the mortgage industry\u2019s digital transformation comes with its own perils, as ransomware attacks<\/a> target firms in the mortgage and title industries.<\/p>\n Once a matter of \u201cchecking the box,\u201d guarding against ever more sophisticated attacks has become a major part of doing business, Steiner said. The firms said that although it was not a specific rationale for the merger, their combined resources will allow them to make investments in security.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no industry or company in the world that is safe from ransomware attacks,\u201d Steiner said. \u201cI feel for the mom and pop [companies] who don\u2019t have the deep pockets to protect against the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Credit reporting firms UniversalCIS and Credit Plus merge<\/a> appeared first on HousingWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n