Ellie Mae Releases February 2013 Origination Insight Report

Ellie Mae Releases February 2013 Origination Insight Report

Credit Standards Show Signs of Easing

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ellie Mae^® (NYS: ELLI) , a leading provider of enterprise-level, on-demand automated solutions for the residential mortgage industry, today released its Origination Insight Report for February 2013. The report draws its data and insights from a robust sampling of the significant volume of loan applications—more than 20% of all originations in the United States—that flow through Ellie Mae's Encompass360^® mortgage management software and Ellie Mae Network™.

MONTHLY ORIGINATION OVERVIEW FOR FEBRUARY 2013

PROFILES OF CLOSED AND DENIED LOANS FOR FEBRUARY 2013

More information and analysis of closed and denied loans by loan purpose and investor are available in the full report athttp://www.elliemae.com/aboutus/about_reports.asp.

To get a meaningful view of lender "pull-through," Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior (i.e., the November 2012 applications) to calculate an overall closing rate of 56.8% in February 2013, up from 55.0% in January 2013 (see full report).

"Last month, the average FICO, LTV and DTI for closed loans all showed signs of easing," said Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae. "The average FICO dropped from 749 in January 2013 to 745 in February 2013, the lowest point since May 2012. Meanwhile, the average loan-to-value hit 80% for the first time since July 2012 and the backend debt-to-income ratio was 35% for the first time since June 2012--suggesting that the credit box may be expanding.

"The purchase market is strengthening as the run-up begins for the spring buying season, rising from 27% of all closed loans in January 2013 to 32% in February 2013." Corr continued, "Time to close improved considerably, dropping to 50 days in February 2013 from 54 days in January 2013."

Corr added, "HARP 2.0 continues to show traction with conventional refinances at 95%-plus LTV rising for the sixth month in a row to 12.1% in February 2013, the highest level since we began tracking in October 2011."

About Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report

In 2012, the total volume of mortgages that ran through Ellie Mae's Encompass360 mortgage management software was approximately three million loan applications, or 20% of all U.S. mortgage originations. The Origination Insight Report mines its application data from a robust sampling of approximately 44% of all mortgage applications that were initiated on the Encompass origination platform. Given the size of this sample and Ellie Mae's market share, the Company believes the Origination Insight Report is a strong proxy of the underwriting standards that are being employed by lenders across the country.

The Origination Insight Report focuses on loans that closed or were denied in a specific month and compares their characteristics to similar loans that closed or were denied three and six months earlier. The closing rate is calculated on a 90-day cycle rather than on a monthly basis because most loan applications typically take one and a half to two months from application to closing. Loans that do not close could still be active applications or applications withdrawn by consumers or denied for incompleteness or nonqualification.

The Origination Insight Report details aggregated, anonymized data and does not disclose client-specific or proprietary information.

News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc., is credited as the source.

About Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae, Inc. (NYS: ELLI) is a leading provider of on-demand automation solutions for the mortgage industry. The Company offers an end-to-end solution, delivered using a Software-as-a-Service model that serves as the core operating system for mortgage originators and spans customer relationship management, loan origination and business management. The Company also hosts the Ellie Mae Network™ that allows Encompass^® users to electronically conduct business transactions with the lenders and settlement service providers they work with to process and fund loans. The Company's offerings include the Encompass, Encompass360^® and DataTrac^® mortgage management software systems.

Ellie Mae was founded in 1997 and is based in Pleasanton, California. To learn more about Ellie Mae, visit www.EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362.

© 2013 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae^®, Encompass^®, Encompass360^®, DataTrac^®, Ellie Mae Network™ and the Ellie Mae logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Campbell Lewis Communications
Bill Campbell, 212-995-8057
bill@campbelllewis.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America California

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