Texas Dow Employees Credit Union chooses Mercury Network to lower member costs, provide better service, and ensure compliance

Oklahoma City, OK — a la mode announced today that Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU-Your Credit Union) has enhanced their real estate appraisal management operations with a la mode's Mercury Network Vendor Management Platform (VMP).

TDECU's choice for appraisal management brings several benefits to their member-owners, including lower closing costs, higher quality appraisals, and lowered overhead costs. "We found Mercury Network to be an easy way to manage the panel of appraisers we've been using for years", said Gabe Lopez, Director of Real Estate Lending for TDECU's West Region. "Our appraisal management alternatives required us to relinquish control of the process, charge more for appraisals, and even use non-local appraisers we don't know and trust. Mercury is a far better match to meet the needs of our members."

In contrast to the majority of banking institutions in the nation, TDECU's mortgage lending volume has grown almost 45% in the last twelve months due to their low rates, fewer costs, and specialty programs like their 5-Star Home Loan. The rapid growth necessitated a streamlining of operations in order to keep pace with their members' needs. Mercury Network has simplified the appraisal management process, resulting in reduced costs during this time of phenomenal growth.

TDECU holds the majority of their loans, so appraisal quality is critical in ensuring the highest quality portfolio for their member-owners. Mercury Network runs thousands of customizable quality control rules on every appraisal report, before delivery to TDECU. "We save a lot of time on every loan, and avoid going back and forth with appraisers or an appraisal management company", said Christine Kiang, Financial Services Representative for TDECU.

For the assets TDECU decides to sell on the secondary market, Mercury Network provides Native XML for compliance with the GSE's coming MISMO XML 2.6 mandate. Instead of the error-prone PDF extraction or OCR techniques some will attempt, TDECU will submit appraisal reports to the UMDP's "front end" without fear of rejection or file correction fees.

Jennifer Miller, Executive Vice President of Products for a la mode's Mortgage Solutions Division stated, "We're thrilled TDECU is joining the other credit unions on Mercury Network. Based on their commitment to the credit union mission of lower costs and the highest quality products for their members, their incredible growth even in the toughest of economies is no surprise."

Mercury Network is the premiere online appraisal Vendor Management Platform, or VMP, allowing lenders and AMCs to manage their appraisal workflow. It is used by a lengthy roster of the nation's largest lenders and appraisal management companies, and more than 10,000 appraisal transactions per day flow through its servers.

For more information on Mercury Network appraisal vendor management platform, visit www.MercuryVMP.com.

For more information on TDECU, visit www.TDECU.org.

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About TDECU

Founded in 1955, TDECU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with over 132,000 members and more than $1.5 billion in assets. TDECU currently has 23 service locations, including 19 branches, and offers a complete selection of convenient, innovative, and competitive products and services – including savings, checking, certificates of deposit, IRAs, money market accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, free online banking and bill pay, insurance, investment services, business services, and much more. Members can also access over 40,000 surcharge-free Allpoint® ATMs. For more information about TDECU, go online to TDECU.org or call 800.839.1154.

About a la mode

Founded in 1985, a la mode develops desktop, mobile, and Web tools for the real estate and mortgage industries. a la mode's mission-critical products are used by hundreds of thousands of appraisers, agents, inspectors, and lending professionals to complete the nation's real estate transactions. a la mode's state-of-the-art offices are located in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.alamode.com or call 1-800-ALAMODE.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

Contact:

Molly Dowdy

EVP, Marketing

Mortgage Solutions Division

a la mode, inc.

(405) 359-6587 x 339