Real estate data provider Clear Capital joined the wave of firms looking to add more collateral-level transparency into the origination and securitization processes. The firm said this week it updated its systems to add the American Securitization Forum‘s  Loan Identification Number Code (ASF LINC) – a universal 16-digit identification of loan characteristics like loan type, origination date and country of origin. Jointly developed by ASF, a trade body representing issuers, investors and servicers in the securitization industry, and Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS), the system creates unique IDs for loans that are pooled, sold and securitized. It’s part of ASF’s Project RESTART, which aims to improve information flows to investors through enhanced disclosure and reporting. “We’re eager to work with the industry to help facilitate a new generation of more transparent reference data for origination and securitization models,” said Clear Capital president Kevin Marshall, in a press statement. “We strive every day to offer deeper levels of transparency at the loan level while providing intelligent valuation solutions for residential mortgage-backed securities [RMBS].” Clear Capital joins other firms like Clayton Holdings, a risk analysis, loss mitigation, operational solutions and staffing services firm, which recently endorsed ASF’s system. The move toward greater transparency in loan characteristics comes at time when the need for bond-level reporting in RMBS has never been greater, as one insider recently told HousingWire: “The percentage of fixed rates changes over time in any given portfolio, and we need to know not just how collateral performs but how it changes.” Write to Diana Golobay.