IMX^® Exchange Receives Patent for Interactive Loan Trading

San Ramon, Calif., January 25, 2000 - IMX^® Exchange, the leader in e-commerce for the wholesale mortgage industry, today announced it has been issued patent 5,995,947 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its unique loan information and real-time trading system.

As described in the patent, the IMX Exchange invention provides a method and system for trading loans in real time by enabling users to make loan applications and place them up for bid by a number of potential lenders. A transaction server maintains a database of pending loan applications and their statuses; each party to the loan can search and modify that database consistent with their role in the transaction. Loan originators can review the status of pending loan applications and are notified of and can accept a lender's bid when it is received. Lenders can search the database for particular desired types of loans, sort selected loans by particular desired criteria, bid on loan applications, and are notified when their bids are accepted. The patent, which is not limited to mortgage loans, also describes multiple user connectivity options including Internet, intranet, dial-up or leased communication lines.

"Receiving this patent is another milestone for IMX Exchange," said Richard Wilkes, President and CEO of IMX Exchange. "We are very pleased that the Patent Office has recognized the unique technology innovations created by our developers. This reflects the strength and depth of our engineering team, and the vision of our founder, Steve Fraser. We commend them for their creativity and for their dedicated effort in bringing this to fruition for IMX."

Other features of the IMX Exchange invention described by the patent include the methods and systems for: detecting duplicate loan applications; designating trading partners with whom users do or do not wish to conduct business; prequalifying prospective borrowers; and tagging loans with identifiers, such as CRA, which may be of interest to lenders. The patent also describes loan originators as possibly being brokers, loan processors, managers or prospective borrowers.

Wilkes added, "The founders of IMX Exchange shared a vision for a more efficient way to originate all loans, including mortgages. It is exciting to know that what was once only a dream is recognized today as the largest electronic neutral trading network for the mortgage industry."

About IMX Exchange

IMX Exchange, the leader in e-commerce for the wholesale mortgage industry, is an Internet-based, business-to-business trading network that brings together mortgage brokers and lenders in the most efficient manner possible. Using a nationwide bid-ask exchange, lenders directly access loans posted by originators the moment they appear in the primary market.

IMX Exchange members number more than 6,000 mortgage originators representing over 1,300 mortgage brokerages in 40 states, as well as a broad network of national, regional and local mortgage lenders. Active trading began on IMX Exchange in October 1997 and nearly $2 billion in mortgage assets have been traded on the network to-date. Having proven both the underlying technology and the basic business model with pilot operations focused primarily in California during 1998, IMX Exchange is continuing its nationwide rollout activities with plans to be open for trading in all 50 states by early 2000.

For more information on IMX Exchange, visit
www.imxexchange.com or call (800) 401-4639.

Back To Press Releases