Philadelphia, PA, January 14, 2021 – UniversalCIS, a market leader in technology and solutions to the mortgage industry, is pleased to announce the acquisition of mortgage technology provider SharperLending. The SharperLending transaction, which follows the merger of Universal Credit, CIS Credit Solutions, and Avantus, provides further enhancements to the technology platform for UniversalCIS. SharperLending provides a product extension into software solutions for the residential and commercial appraisal markets through Appraisal Firewall and related products, optimized settlement and bundled services solutions, as well as direct income verification and mortgage credit reporting technology.
SharperLending will operate as an independent business unit as a wholly-owned subsidiary of UniversalCIS. The strategic financial technology initiatives between the combined companies will provide deeper systems integrations, faster loan origination and processing, better leverage to loan operating systems, stronger technology partnerships with the GSEs, and other technical integrations to banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and channel partners.
Perry Steiner, Chairman of UniversalCIS, stated “The acquisition of SharperLending is a critical building block for the UniversalCIS technology platform, and it represents our entry into the real estate appraisal software market. This partnership will provide enhanced workflow tools for our clients, and provide greater value and a deeper level of integration in the mortgage origination process. Our primary focus will be to accelerate the level of technology investment in SharperLending’s software products.”
David Chiappe, President of SharperLending, stated, “This transaction represents a unique opportunity to combine our software platforms with a technology and solutions leader in the mortgage industry. As an independent subsidiary of UniversalCIS, SharperLending will be able to offer a greater level of resources and investment to all of our clients.” Dave Black, founder of SharperLending continued, “As a private company for over 30 years, we were very careful and deliberate in choosing our partner for our future growth, and we anticipate great things together with UniversalCIS.”
Jerry Haftmann, CEO of UniversalCIS stated, “We welcome all SharperLending customers and employees to our business. This partnership represents a natural extension to provide residential and commercial appraisal software, and SharperLending will continue to independently support its mortgage credit industry clients. We plan to integrate and leverage the SharperLending technology in all aspects of our business as we continually strive to increase efficiency in the mortgage origination process.”
About UniversalCIS
UniversalCIS is a market leader in mortgage technology, credit reporting, and related products and solutions for mortgage originators. UniversalCIS has over 4,000 clients ranging from the largest bank and non-bank mortgage originators to credit unions and mortgage brokers. UniversalCIS prides itself on the best technology, solutions, and service in the industry. UniversalCIS was created through the merger of Universal Credit Services, CIS Credit Solutions, and Avantus. For more information, please visit: UniversalCIS.com
About SharperLending Solutions
SharperLending is a leading technology provider to the mortgage industry. SharperLending provides financial technology software solutions to channel partners and lending institutions to increase efficiency, mitigate risk, and offer affordability. The company’s proven technology has processed more than two billion secure mortgage transactions. The company has three major platforms under its corporate umbrella: Appraisal Firewall appraisal platform, the XpertOnline credit platform and the EPN loan origination and settlement service platform. For more information, please visit: SharperLending.com