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Wave Systems Corp.: Housing Market Crisis Prompting Renewed Focus on Electronic Mortgages

^{Published on 2009-03-13 14:05:20, Last Modified on 2009-11-03 19:23:35 - Market Wire}
 

LEE, MA and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - March 13, 2009) - MBA's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo -- The long awaited promise of electronic mortgages is finally here. Despite the mortgage industry's reputation as the "last bastion" of manual process, the slumping mortgage market has lenders taking a hard look at adopting electronic mortgage alternatives to boost efficiency and save money, eliminating the need for ink signatures, as well as expenses related to paper document processing and overnight mail.

Now, with the unveiling last month of President Obama's "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan" to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure, there's further incentive for servicers and lenders alike to streamline the loan modification process for borrowers. Not only can loans be modified much faster using e-mortgage technology -- often within the first 24 hours -- but lenders and investors can reduce regulatory risk by improving data quality and creating more transparency.

The adoption of electronic mortgages will be a central theme next week at the MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, taking place March 15-17. Representatives from eSignSystems, the leading name in electronic signatures and e-vaulting solutions and a division of Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: [ WAVX ]) ([ www.wave.com ]) will be on hand to demonstrate the advanced functionality of their eSign Transaction Management Suite (eTMS), which enables lenders to securely deliver, track, sign, purchase, refinance and modify loan documents electronically. Demonstrations or briefings can be arranged with Kelly Purcell, executive vice president of eSign by contacting (602) 615-8092.

e-Modifications Ramping Significantly

Use of electronic mortgages offers lenders protection against borrowers challenging their debt obligation. In this difficult environment, some borrowers are now challenging investors to produce evidence of the original mortgage or challenging the loan disclosure process. Given the high volume of originations in years past, it can be difficult for investors to quickly locate and produce paper evidence. And, in the case of third-party originated loans, the disclosure process may not have been controlled by the ultimate investor.

eSignSystems' eTMS offers a better alternative.

Houston-based SigniaDocs, a national provider of electronic document and QC management services, integrated eSign's electronic signature and vaulting functionality on its e-mortgage platform to offer better tracking and control of electronically signed, legally binding loan modification documents.

"Ever since going live with our first servicing customer supporting electronic modifications, we have received a significant number of calls to do the same for others," said Tim Anderson, President of SigniaDocs and an eSign platform customer. "They have discovered that having the ability to securely post documents online within minutes after the borrower has been qualified for a loan program has increased same-day closure rates to 50 percent -- and over 80 percent by the next day. That's a tremendous pick-up over paper delivery of documents, where experience has shown that over 50 percent of borrowers do not even open the envelopes they receive. Even if they do, it takes 46-60 days to get the paperwork processed."

Upon signature, the electronic record, along with transaction evidence, is securely retained in an electronic vault for future proof. Key documents and evidence can be retrieved online in seconds.

About Wave Systems

Wave provides software to help solve critical enterprise PC security challenges such as strong authentication, data protection, network access control and the management of these enterprise functions. Wave is a pioneer in hardware-based PC security and a founding member of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), a consortium of nearly 140 PC industry leaders that forged open standards for hardware security. Wave's EMBASSY® line of client- and server-side software leverages and manages the security functions of the TCG's industry standard hardware security chip, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). TPMs are included on tens of millions of PCs and are standard equipment on many enterprise-class PCs shipping today. Using TPMs and Wave software, enterprises can substantially and cost-effectively strengthen their current security solutions. For more information about Wave and its solutions, visit [ http://www.wave.com ].

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the statements of historical fact, the information presented herein constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to fund operations, the ability to forge partnerships required for deployment, changes in consumer and corporate buying habits, chip development and production, the rapid pace of change in the technology industry and other factors over which Wave Systems Corp. has little or no control. Wave Systems assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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