On-Line Computer Program: Walter P. Blass, who...

On-Line Computer Program: Walter P. Blass, who ran the nation’s largest independent mortgage banking operation out of a Newport Beach high-rise, has come up with an on-line computer program for mortgage brokers and lenders.

Mixstar Inc. in Newport Beach, which hopes to launch its effort next month, is designed to speed up the loan approval process by, in part, eliminating the use of messengers to deliver paperwork associated with loans.

Through America Online, one of the major interactive data networks, Mixstar will allow mortgage brokers to send documents electronically to savings and loans and other lenders, providing same-day service.

If successful, the service could put a big dent in the number of telephone calls, facsimile transmissions and overnight deliveries associated with mortgage transactions.

Blass, a former chief executive of Shearson Lehman Mortgage Corp. in Irvine, said institutions can spend as much as $200,000 a month “just on faxing.” Blass expects to offer his service through AOL for less than $50 a month, not including AOL charges.