How to Unlock the Full Potential of AccountChek VOA

Turning Bank Data Into Loan Approvals

AccountChek Verification of Assets doesn’t just check bank balances–it can also help lenders verify rental history, as well as income and employment in certain cases, saving time and money while potentially increasing qualified loans.  

By integrating with Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service and Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) asset and income modeler (AIM), banking data sourced from an AccountChek VOA also supports:

• Review of cash flow to see if the borrower is eligible for credit expansion (helpful for applicants with a limited credit history)
• Gaining rep and warrant relief on verified income,  assets and employment data
• Closing loans faster and reducing costs per loan
• Less documentation from the borrower

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, more than 9% of mortgage applicants are denied for a handful of reasons, including those you might reasonably expect: a high debt-to-income ratio or a poor credit rating. However, two reasons indicate that better verification techniques can result in more successful and swifter processing: paperwork errors and unverified deposits.

Recently, during a study of automated validation solutions, it became clear that Informative Research’s AccountChek not only verifies assets but also a borrower’s income streams and employment—not just for three months but for 12 months—data that is securely shared via IR’s automated underwriting system with GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

For LOs who have only used IR’s AccountChek to verify assets (VOA), there are a few tips that can help successfully process an application.

1. Update the URLA Part 1 with the actual rent amount paid via the most current VOA report.  This will ensure that data pulled in the automated process matches the borrower’s application, which should reduce verification time.
   
   
2. Update the URLA Part 2 with the employer’s name that appears on the borrower’s payroll direct deposit. This name appears on the VOA form under “description” for direct deposit. This is a commonly tangled part of the process because borrowers often identify their employer by a name different from the name that appears in their bank account deposits.
   
   An employer, for example, might be called “Smith and Jones Products,” but the name under which the entity does business might be “SJP Inc..” At the same time, the organization that issues payroll might be “SJP Enterprises Ltd.” Correctly identifying income streams is vital to accomplish a positive outcome quickly.
   
   
3. Verify that the Report ID shown on the VOA statement is in the Additional Provider Data form in the field for AccountChek Asset ID
   
   
4. Be aware that the typical verifier shows 90 days of income reported, but GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may require up to 12 months’ worth of income to approve an application. To meet this requirement, IR’s AccountChek provides a toggle on the top right of our VOA to include how many days of “history available” will be shared with GSEs when the application is processed.  
   
   AccountChek always sends all available data to the GSEs via AUS, but the findings reflect positive outcomes only.

Here's How It Works

One report satisfies multiple verification needs for lenders who use Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) or Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor (including LPA Choice).

NOTE: Additionally, lenders do not have to order a special report to participate, as AccountChek already provides the needed transaction data to DU in the existing VOA report.

Once borrowers have authorized access to their financial information via AccountChek, the system retrieves the relevant information—including income deposits, expenses, and account balances—and generates a comprehensive report summarizing the data. This data is shared with the lender’s point-of-sale platform and loan origination system and in the AccountChek dashboard.
 
AccountChek’s direct integration with DU and LPA ensures the necessary data flows into the GSEs as part of the loan application submission to analyze income and employment—the two categories most likely to include defects—along with assets, but be aware that the case file creation date for VOA must be no older than 45 days.

If employment is validated but the loan will not close by the “Close-by Date,” the lender must reverify employment as required per guidelines. The lender can obtain a supplemental deposit-based verification report (DVOE). These reports contain the up-to-date histories of recurring deposits made to a borrower’s account and⸺provided that there is evidence of the most recent expected deposit from the borrower’s employer⸺DU will extend employment validation and provide an updated close-by date within the verification messaging. Employment validation achieved using these supplemental reports will receive relief from enforcement of related representations and warranties if the loan closes by the date specified in the DU messages and all other conditions of the DU validation service are met.

Priscilla Almodovar, Fannie Mae’s president and CEO, has remarked on how much automated verification technology reduces Fannie Mae’s repurchase risk.

“If you use one or more tools, we’re seeing your potential defect risk go down 33%,” Almodovar told National Mortgage News in late October. “If you use multiple tools, we’re seeing your defect rate go down by 75%.”