Finance

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 the completion of an additional round of equity funding, which was led by existing investor Lateral Investment Management, based in San Mateo, California.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) CapitalW Collective, a trailblazing non-profit dedicated to advancing women and their allies in mortgage capital markets, proudly announces FICO® (NYSE:FICO), as a Corporate Development Partner - CapitalW Collective's highest support tier. The partnership reinforces a shared mission to educate, elevate, and empower current and future leaders within mortgage.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced the launch of a new data solution to deliver increased market transparency, as well as three major platform enhancements focused on pricing accuracy, trade execution and counterparty management. Released ahead of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual Convention and Expo, and as the company prepares for its 2026 Optimal Blue Summit, these innovations reinforce Optimal Blue's commitment to delivering solutions that position lenders to drive operational excellence and boost competitive performance.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DES MOINES, Iowa) iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced three new market intelligence dashboards that give mortgage lenders immediate, data-driven visibility into competitive benchmarking, market trends and broker performance.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BUFFALO, N.Y.) LenderLogix, a leading provider of mortgage point-of-sale and automation software for banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks, and brokers, today announced the release of the Homebuyer Intelligence Report, a quarterly summary of insights into borrower behavior during the home-buying process based on data collected by the LenderLogix suite of tools. The latest report covers data collected during the pre-approval and borrower application process in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TORRANCE, Calif.) DocMagic, Inc. announced today it has been granted two patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Patent No. 12,175,785 for its system and method of "Determining Similar Loan Documents" and Patent No. 12,169,976 for its system and method of "Enabling Electronic Loan Documents."

Mortgage and Finance News: (IRVINE, Calif.) Cloudvirga, a Stewart-owned provider of digital point-of-sale platforms for lenders, today announced the integration of its Horizon POS with Stewart Valuation Intelligence, LLC (SVI), a national provider of appraisal management and residential real estate valuation services.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its September 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which showed a sharp increase in rate-lock activity as mortgage rates fell throughout the month to their lowest levels in nearly a year. Total lock volume rose 28% month over month (MoM), led by a surge in refinance lending as borrowers seized on the opportunity to lower monthly payments. Purchases also climbed 6% MoM, outperforming typical seasonal trends as improved affordability brought more buyers into the market.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, today announced the launch of Doc VOI, a new paystub and W-2 based income verification report integrated with Freddie Mac's AIM Check API. Lenders are cutting costs and gaining fast, automated income verifications from uploaded paystubs and W-2s when direct payroll or banking connections are not available.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced the launch of Dynamic AI, a new capability that reimagines the mortgage application process by moving document collection and AI-driven data extraction to the very beginning of the process.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homebuyer assistance programs, announced today that it has partnered with ALCOVA Mortgage to expand access to down payment assistance (DPA) programs for homebuyers. The collaboration will help ALCOVA's loan officers match borrowers with available programs more easily, addressing one of the biggest challenges in today's housing market, namely affordability.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced the expansion of the Empower® loan origination system (LOS) to include comprehensive eClosing capabilities by integrating Wolters Kluwer's eOriginal® ClosingCenter and eOriginal eAsset® Management Platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SEATTLE, Wash.) Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its AI Originator Assistant can now evaluate loan files against not only baseline program guidelines, but also the lender and investor overlays that ultimately shape salability and risk. By embedding these requirements directly into the workflow of frontline originators, the platform gives lenders greater control over credit quality and secondary market execution.

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 that its eClose360® platform is fully compatible with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization's (MISMO) newly published SMART Doc® V3 standard for electronic home equity lines of credit (eHELOCs).

Mortgage and Finance News: (DES MOINES, Iowa) iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced the availability of its 2025-2027 U.S. Mortgage Origination Forecast. The firm projects total originations will climb to $2.27 trillion in 2026, a 13% increase over 2025, as slowing economic growth and easing interest rates fuel a rebound in refinance activity alongside modest purchase gains.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ADDISON, Texas) Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced the appointment of Ian Kimball as president. In this role, Kimball will oversee strategic growth initiatives, operational execution and market expansion, reporting to founder and CEO Jeff Bode.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, today announced its vice president of customer success Shelby Bohannon has been honored as one of Mortgage Banker magazine's 2025 Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking. The annual recognition series spotlights women who are making an impact in the mortgage industry and are fostering the next generation of women leaders in the profession.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), wrapped up its 2025 fall conference, "Cheers in Boston: Where Everyone Knows Your Name," held September 14-17 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. The event drew hundreds of lenders, vendors, and industry leaders to connect, exchange ideas, and refocus on progress as the industry moves into its next phase of growth.

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 Brad Cardwell, vice president of sales and business development, has been appointed to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Associate Advisory Council (MAAC).

Mortgage and Finance News: (IRVINE, Calif.) Cloudvirga, a Stewart-owned provider of digital point-of-sale platforms for lenders, today announced a new integration between its Horizon POS platform and the ICE PPE from Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE). Built on ICE's latest API framework for mortgage technology, the integration allows loan officers to request loan pricing, validate product eligibility and request rate locks from ICE PPE directly within Horizon's Loan Center.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced the integration of the Empower® loan origination system (LOS) with Polly's advanced product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine, expanding choice for banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced that its head of marketing Courtney Dodd has been appointed to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Associate Advisory Council (MAAC).

Mortgage and Finance News: (MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.) Secured Signing, a leader in Digital Signatures and Remote Online Notarization (RON) technology, announced the launch of Realify, a new feature designed to protect businesses and their clients from the rising threat of deepfake fraud during remote online notarizations and video signing sessions.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BUFFALO, N.Y.) LenderLogix, a leading provider of mortgage point-of-sale (POS) and automation software for banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks and brokers, today announced that Peak Residential Lending (Peak) has adopted LenderLogix's LiteSpeed(tm) integration with Argyle to deliver verification of assets (VOA) directly at the point of sale (POS). LiteSpeed is the first POS to offer VOA through Argyle's verification platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced a renewed multi-year partnership with Navy Federal Credit Union. The agreement reinforces the credit union's strategic focus on digital transformation and elevating the member lending experience.

Mortgage and Finance News: (CLEVELAND, Ohio) Top mortgage industry webcast The Big Picture, broadcast live every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, announced its October guest lineup featuring five prominent leaders in mortgage growth strategies, banking and housing market outlooks, affordable lending solutions, housing trends and policy insights, and the future of real estate.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Depth, a leading provider of consultative B2B marketing, public relations and reputation management services for technology companies serving the residential mortgage finance, fintech and regtech industries, today announced its addition of mortgage industry veterans Elizabeth Schroeder, vice president of client services, and Amy Jerina, client services manager, along with former business journalist Amber Perry, who also joins as a client services manager.

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 certified integration with Optimal Blue that connects FirstClose's point-of-sale (POS) platform to Optimal Blue's product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine. The integration builds on FirstClose's ability to reduce home equity closing times from 45 days to 10 or fewer.

Mortgage and Finance News: (CHARLOTTE, N.C.) Stavvy, a leading digital mortgage platform, today announced that PHH Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of Onity Group Inc. (NYSE: ONIT), has selected its technology solution to enable fully digital execution of loan modification transactions. The partnership leverages Stavvy's comprehensive suite of tools, including eSign, remote online notarization (RON), and in-person electronic notarization (IPEN), all integrated within a centralized, secure hub.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) has once again been honored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta's top employee benefits and compensation companies. The 2025 recognition marks the firm's seventh consecutive year on the list and coincides with its new certification under the U.S. Small Business Administration's Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program.