Mortgage Industry News
News: ACES Quality Management subject matter experts to address AI, mortgage quality at leading mortgage and credit union industry conferences
Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management®, the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced today that three senior professionals will speak at two fall industry conferences including MBA's Compliance and Risk Management Conference, Sept. 27-29 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C., and the America's Credit Unions Lending Council Conference, Nov. 3-6 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
News: Fairway Home Mortgage Announces Opening of New Phoenix Branch
Mortgage and Finance News: (PHOENIX, Ariz.) Fairway Home Mortgage and the Kanyur Reverse Team are proud to announce the opening of a new branch location in Phoenix, Arizona. The new office, located at 11811 N. Tatum Blvd., Suite 1002, Phoenix, AZ 85028, represents an exciting milestone in the team's continued commitment to serving homeowners throughout Arizona with specialized retirement lending solutions.
News: Argyle expands Tidalwave integration to unify income, employment and asset verification with real-time operability to Encompass
Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading consumer-permissioned verification platform, today announced an expanded integration with Tidalwave, an agentic AI platform that automates the full U.S. mortgage lifecycle from application through closing. Argyle and Tidalwave partnered in 2025 to embed Argyle's verification of income and employment (VOIE) solution into Tidalwave's borrower workflow through payroll connectivity.
News: Click n’ Close names Blake Priest director of whole loan trading
Mortgage and Finance News: (ADDISON, Texas) Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced that mortgage industry veteran Blake Priest has joined the company as director of whole loan trading. In this role, Priest will lead the company's scratch and dent purchasing, giving correspondent partners another outlet for loans that fall outside traditional investor guidelines.
News: Optimal Blue report: Mortgage demand slips below year-ago levels as rate-and-term refi activity plunges
Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its August 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that mortgage activity continued to soften in August even as rates leveled off. Total rate-lock volume declined 9% month over month (MoM) and slipped 3% below August 2025 levels. Purchase lock volume fell 10% from July but remained 6% higher year over year (YoY), with purchase loans accounting for nearly 81% of total lock volume.
Finance Industry News
News: Dark Matter names Salvatore Piccola and Gil Valera to product strategy, professional services leadership roles
Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced it has expanded its leadership team with two experienced executives: Salvatore Piccola as senior vice president of product strategy and Gil Valera as vice president of professional services. The additions strengthen two areas central to Dark Matter's growth strategy: innovation focused on using AI to improve customer experience, help lenders realize efficiencies, and drive seamless implementation and adoption of its product capabilities.
News: FirstClose Chief Revenue Officer John Aslanian named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard
Mortgage and Finance News: (AUSTIN, Texas) FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that John Aslanian, chief revenue officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. The award recognizes C-level executives across mortgage, real estate and homebuilding for leadership that has driven measurable impact on their organizations and the broader housing economy over the past year.
News: HousingWire names Friday Harbor’s Theo Ellis a 2026 Vanguard
Mortgage and Finance News: (SEATTLE, Wash.) Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its Founder and CEO Theo Ellis has been honored with HousingWire's 2026 Vanguard Award.
News: Dark Matter CEO Vikas Rao named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard
Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced that Vikas Rao, chief executive officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. Rao recognized for transforming Dark Matter and opening new ways for lenders to build, integrate and deploy AI.
News: DocMagic’s Lori Johnson named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard
Mortgage and Finance News: (TORRANCE, Calif.) DocMagic announced today that Chief Operating Officer Lori Johnson has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. COO recognized for advancing DocMagic's latest innovations in a digital mortgage career spanning more than 30 years.












