Finance

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, today announced its ACES ENGAGE Regional Workshop Series. In 2026, ACES will take a regional approach, delivering two in-person workshops that expand access, increase interaction and provide practical, hands-on learning in a focused setting.

Mortgage and Finance News: (GARDEN GROVE, Calif.) Informative Research (IR), a leading technology provider of data-driven credit and verification solutions for the lending industry, today announced the appointment of Senior Vice President of Partner Success Mark Jones. In this role, Jones will develop and scale a strategy to expand IR's market reach and strengthen partnerships across the mortgage and fintech ecosystem.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, today announced it has been named a 2026 Startup Employer of the Year by Forbes, marking the company's second consecutive appearance on one of the nation's top employer rankings.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, announced today that Christopher Medvidofsky, director of financial planning and analysis, has been named to the HousingWire Finance Leaders list for 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced that it is one of the first AMCs to receive access to Collateral Underwriter® (CU®), Fannie Mae's proprietary appraisal risk assessment tool, marking a significant milestone for appraisal review and risk management.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced it will host its 2027 Optimal Blue Summit February 1-3 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The annual event convenes Optimal Blue clients, integration partners and capital markets leaders from across the mortgage industry for three days of insight, collaboration and forward-looking strategy.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced the launch of a new capability on the Dark Matter Developer Platform, enabling lenders to use AI agents securely within the regulated mortgage environment.

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 the launch of Income and Asset Sandbox, a new set of capabilities that allows lending teams to structure income and asset decisions in real time without committing changes prematurely or stepping outside program guidelines. The capabilities are designed to help loan officers structure deals that qualify and close earlier in the origination process.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced Virtual Economist, the first on-demand forecasting tool for mortgage capital markets leaders powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), as the centerpiece of nine platform advancements unveiled at the company's 2026 Summit. Together, the innovations further unify the capital markets profitability experience by connecting forecasting, pricing, hedging, competitive benchmarking and workflow execution within a single, end-to-end platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BANNOCKBURN, Ill., and NEW YORK, N.Y.) Vertyx, a provider of intelligent mortgage servicing technology built for enhanced portfolio performance, today announced it has partnered with Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU), through its CUSO holding company GLCU Holdings LLC, to launch Vertyx CUSO LLC, a newly formed credit union service organization (CUSO) dedicated to transforming mortgage servicing with a member-first philosophy and shared, credit union focused technology.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homebuyer assistance programs, today announced that 40-year industry veteran Merri Jo Cowen, CEO of Stellar MLS, is the recipient of the 2025 Beverly Faull Affordable Housing Leadership Award.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc., a leading mortgage subservicing company, today announced it has successfully completed its 2025 Service Organization Control (SOC) 1® Type 2 and SOC 2® Type 2 audits. The independent examinations, conducted by public accounting and business advisory firm Plante Moran, PLLC, confirm that Dovenmuehle's internal controls, operational processes and information security practices meet stringent standards for financial reporting integrity and the safeguarding of client data.

Mortgage and Finance News: (HOUSTON, Texas) NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and a pioneering provider of remote online notarization (RON) and identity verification / authentication technology for real estate and legal transactions, today announced President and CEO Brian Webster has been honored by National Mortgage Professional (NMP) as a 2026 Industry Titan. The NMP Industry Titan award spotlights experienced mortgage professionals whose dedicated efforts drive the industry forward.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), a leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced today that CEO Trevor Gauthier has been named a 2026 Industry Titan by National Mortgage Professional (NMP). The Industry Titan Award recognizes mortgage professionals whose leadership, innovation and long-term contributions have shaped the industry.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced today that Chief Growth Officer Jon Tallinger has been named a 2026 Industry Titan by National Mortgage Professional (NMP).

Mortgage and Finance News: (AUSTIN, Texas) FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Tim Smith has been named a 2026 Industry Titan National Mortgage Professional (NMP). The Industry Titan Award recognizes mortgage professionals whose leadership, innovation and long-term contributions have shaped the industry.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced that Head of Sales Jason Mapes has been named an Industry Titan by National Mortgage Professional (NMP) for 2026. The Industry Titan designation recognizes individuals whose leadership and influence have helped shape the mortgage industry.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ADDISON, Texas) Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced that mortgage industry veteran Rachel Fatino has joined the company as director of correspondent operations. In this role, Fatino will lead pipeline strategy, operational performance and partner engagement initiatives to support continued growth across the correspondent channel.

Mortgage and Finance News: (AUSTIN, Texas) FirstClose™, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced a strategic partnership with TruStage to embed TruStage's dynamic document engine within the FirstClose platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.) Secured Signing, a leader in Digital Signatures and Remote Online Notarization (RON) solutions, is proud to announce that it has officially achieved SOC 2® Type 2 compliance. This isn't just another certificate on the wall. Following a grueling, comprehensive audit by the experts at Sensiba LLP, this achievement serves as a formal, third-party validation of our unwavering commitment to protecting your most sensitive information.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, today announced the release of its quarterly ACES Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report covering Q3 2025. The report analyzes post-closing quality control data derived from the ACES Quality Management & Control® software.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BRAINERD, Minn.) Tratta announces the release of "The 2026 Reality Check: The Widening Gap Between Digital Ambition and Maturity," a new industry survey report examining how debt collection agencies, legal recovery firms, and original creditors are progressing in their digital transformation efforts.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced that OCCU has selected Floify to support its next phase of member-centric lending and long-term growth. OCCU is a member-owned, not-for-profit credit union based in Eugene, Oregon, with more than 284,000 members.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), a leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, today announced HousingWire has named ACES a 2026 TECH100 winner for the twelfth consecutive year.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MCLEAN, Va.) By Light Professional IT Services LLC (By Light), a leading provider of Modeling & Simulation and Cyber products and solutions and a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital LLC (Sagewind), today announced that it has acquired Dignitas Technologies (Dignitas), a leading provider of Modeling, Simulation, & Training (MS&T) products and solutions. Financial terms of the transaction were not announced.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Vertyx, a provider of intelligent mortgage servicing technology built for enhanced portfolio performance, today announced that company Co-Founders Ayo Opeyemi and Moyin Opeyemi will participate in a live demo session during the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo, which runs from Feb. 16-19., 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its January 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing a strong start to the year as falling rates drove a sharp increase in refinance activity. Total rate-lock volume rose 16% month over month (MoM) and finished January 36% higher year over year (YoY), led by a surge in rate-and-term refinances, which climbed 50% from December and more than 400% compared with January 2025.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's largest independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the national association representing the real estate finance industry, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership to expand advocacy, education and engagement opportunities for their members.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DES MOINES, Iowa) iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, has been named to HousingWire's 2026 Tech100 Mortgage list, marking the third time the company has earned the industry's top technology distinction. iEmergent was selected for its continued expansion of data-driven tools that help lenders identify where mortgage demand is emerging and how to act on it.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, has been named to HousingWire's 2026 Tech100 Mortgage list, marking the third time the company has earned the industry's top technology distinction. The recognition reflects Argyle's continued product innovation and measurable impact across the mortgage industry.