MDA And HypoVereinsbank Subsidiary Announce Joint Venture Monday, July 18, 2005 MDA And HypoVereinsbank Subsidiary Announce Joint Venture http://www.mdacorporation.com Richmond, BC, July 18, 2005--(T-Net)--MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. and HypoVereinsbank Expertise GmbH have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint venture to offer automated valuation services for residential properties in Germany. The joint venture will provide services to financial institutions such as banks, building and loan associations, and insurance companies that are active in the German real estate market. The new company, called "Wertweiser GmbH", will reduce the overall time and cost involved in professional real estate valuation, by automating labor-intensive parts of this process using analytical algorithms and models applied to extensive data sources accumulated over time. Initially the company plans to offer its automated solution for use in the loan origination process of financial service providers. In the long-term, the company will also support market valuations, mortgage lending risk valuations, and the annual portfolio reappraisal required for compliance with Basel II, the international standard for banking capital. The solution is currently undergoing beta- testing at HVB internally, and the company expects commercial services to start in the first half of 2006. "MDA has found an ideal partner in HVB Expertise, a firm that has shown visionary leadership and enjoys a high level of professional acceptance in the field of real estate valuation in Europe," commented John Geddes, MDA's VP of Business Development. "HVB Expertise is the most capable company we know in Europe in the field of pragmatically improving the valuation process in compliance with the constantly changing regulatory requirements for financial service providers". Raymond Trotz, Head of Valuation at HypoVereinsbank and until recently, Chairman of The European Group of Valuers' Associations (TEGoVA) added: "MDA operates one of the largest automated valuation businesses for insurance and mortgage applications in the U.S., as well as the most heavily used Internet-based service for authoritative property information in Great Britain. As a partner, they offer the best skills for the technical implementation of this demanding project." About MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organizations worldwide. The Company operates through two reporting units: Information Products and Information Systems. MDA employs over 2500 people through offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TSX:MDA". More information on MDA is available at www.mdacorporation.com. About HVB Expertise The HVB Expertise is the real estate consulting branch of HVG Group, which acts independently of lending, transaction, and agency interests. The Company offers specialised services like valuations and market research for financial service providers, institutional investors and property companies. The Munich based company is represented by 140 specialists - including an international network Euroexpert - in 15 regional locations throughout Germany and Europe. The HVB Expertise experts analyze over 25,000 single properties and 200,000 properties in the framework of portfolio valuations every year. More information on HVB Expertise is available at www.hvbexpertise.com. For further information contact: Liza Aboud, MDA External Relations, (604) 231-2197, laboud@mdacorporation.com   See All News Releases From This Company View Company Website Email To A Friend Printer-Friendly Format