Finance

Mortgage and Finance News: (HOUSTON, Texas) NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and leading remote online notarization (RON) provider for real estate and legal transactions, its certification to perform RON services in the state of Vermont. This development follows Vermont's enactment of legislation supporting remote notarizations, allowing notaries with a Special Endorsement to perform digital notarizations in the state.

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, announced it has been named a 2025 Lending Tech Titan by PROGRESS in Lending, honoring the company's pioneering work in delivering automation, efficiency and cost savings to mortgage lenders across the U.S.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced it will host its 2026 Optimal Blue Summit from February 23-25 at the Talking Stick Resort and Conference Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Building on the success of its inaugural event, the 2026 Summit will bring together the company's clients and integration partners, along with thought leaders and experts from across the mortgage industry, for three days of insights, connection and strategy.

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 that three senior professionals from its team will participate in major industry conferences throughout September and October, showcasing ACES' leadership in regulatory compliance, risk management and loan quality.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, has been named Overall Real Estate Data Solution of the Year in the 2025 PropTech Breakthrough Awards. The honor recognizes Argyle's growing impact on the tenant screening industry, where the company is helping property managers and tenant screening platforms combat fraud, improve data quality and speed up leasing decisions.

Mortgage and Finance News: (IRVINE, Calif.) Cloudvirga, a Stewart-owned provider of digital point-of-sale platforms for lenders, announced that Tropos, its next-generation borrower portal, has been named Loan Application Solution of the Year in the 2025 PropTech Breakthrough Awards.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced it has been named as an NMP Originator Choice Winner for 2025, achieving silver in its category.

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 it has earned a spot on the 2025 Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest-growing privately owned companies after achieving 130% revenue growth from 2021 to 2024. DPR was also honored on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its July 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found a 3% month-over-month (MoM) drop in overall rate lock volume, led by a nearly 5% drop in purchase activity as affordability remained strained.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today launched a new brand that emphasizes the company's market leadership in delivering modern innovation backed by decades of proven, trusted performance. "Optimal Blue is operating in an era defined by accuracy, scale, speed and artificial intelligence - and our new brand embodies that," said Joe Tyrrell, CEO of Optimal Blue.

Mortgage and Finance News: (AUSTIN, Texas) Velocity Credit Union is proud to announce the official groundbreaking of its newest branch, located at the southeast corner of Davis Lane and Brodie Lane in Southwest Austin. This expansion reflects the credit union's continued commitment to serving its growing membership and delivering convenient, modern financial services to communities across Central Texas.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.) Secured Signing, a global leader in digital signature and online notarization technology, has announced a significant upgrade to its In-Person Electronic Notarization (IPEN) solution. The revamped IPEN experience is now fully integrated into the same intuitive dashboard used for Remote Online Notarization (RON) and Digital Signatures-enabling notaries to manage in-person signings with greater speed, convenience, and consistency.

Mortgage and Finance News: (GARDEN GROVE, Calif.) Informative Research, a premier technology provider delivering data-driven credit and verification solutions to the lending community, today announced the addition of The Work Number® Report Indicator from Equifax to its integrated suite of mortgage credit and verification tools.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, a service provider automating income, employment and asset verifications for some of the largest lenders in the United States, today announced its integration with LenderLogix, a leading provider of mortgage point-of-sale (POS) and automation software for banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks and brokers.

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.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced a new capability in its industry-leading product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute best efforts locks directly with participating investors via API. By eliminating the last remaining manual step in the locking life cycle, Optimal Blue is delivering innovations and enhancements that will help significantly increase a lender's efficiency and profitability.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry authority on homebuyer assistance program data and solutions, today released its Q2 2025 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report. The report finds 45 new programs launched in Q2, traditionally the busiest homebuying season, bringing the total number of available programs to 2,554 - a new record - and the number of program providers to 1,340.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced today that its Elite Appraiser Panel, a groundbreaking program, has doubled in size during the past 12 months and is setting new standards for professional excellence. Class Valuation's exclusive, invitation-only Elite Panel now comprises hundreds of high-performing appraisers nationwide.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Amid one of the mortgage industry's most prolonged stretches of cost pressure and market uncertainty, the latest Pulse of the Network survey from The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC) reports that lenders are responding with creativity and nimble thinking, anchored by a clear commitment to long-term resilience.

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, announced two strategic hires today: Chris Simms has joined as head of strategic partnerships, and Gregory Buehler has joined as founding product manager. They bring over 35 years of combined experience in mortgage lending, product strategy and technology innovation.

Mortgage and Finance News: (WASHINGTON, D.C.) Arsha Jones, founder and CEO of Capital City, announced today the launch of the Capital City Micro-Grant, a $5,000 grant aimed at helping local, retail-ready entrepreneurs scale their consumer product businesses. The grant will be awarded during the Shop Made Makers Summit, a multi-day entrepreneurship experience taking place August 19-21 in Washington, D.C.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SALT LAKE CITY, Utah) Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI), the original pioneer in mortgage market intelligence, today announced the launch of ChatMMI™ - the industry's first conversational AI interface built specifically for lenders, recruiters, and mortgage professionals.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Klingenstein Fields Advisors (KF Advisors) is proud to announce its recognition as one of the top Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in Financial Advisor Magazine's 2025 Survey & Ranking, released on July 11, 2025, for firms managing $1.0 billion or more in assets.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MONTREAL, Quebec) Chief Investment Officer of COTE 100 and respected financial columnist Philippe Le Blanc has officially released "Advantage Equities: Invest Between the Lines and Win" (ISBN: 978-0228818939; released June 2025 by Tellwell Publishing), an insightful new book offering investors a fresh, accessible perspective on the world of stock market investing.

Mortgage and Finance News: (GARDEN GROVE, Calif.) Informative Research Data Solutions, a division of Informative Research and a leading provider of data-powered borrower intelligence and analytics tools for the financial services industry, announced today that its executive vice president, Shannon Santos, has been named a 2025 Mortgage Professional America (MPA) Elite Woman Award recipient.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) today released a practical summary of the employee benefits provisions contained in the newly enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. While the legislation spans a wide range of tax and policy changes, SBA's summary highlights the bill's most significant impacts on employer-sponsored retirement plans, health and welfare benefits and payroll operations.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc., a leading mortgage subservicer, today announced the successful completion of its 2024 Service Organization Control (SOC) 1® Type 2 and SOC 2® Type 2 audits. These independent audits, conducted by the public accounting and business advisory firm Plante Moran, PLLC, affirm Dovenmuehle's adherence to the highest standards for internal controls, data security, and operational effectiveness.

Mortgage and Finance News: (KOKOMO, Ind.) CFD Companies' efforts to support adviser marketing were validated recently when CFD affiliated financial adviser Rachael Camp was a featured panelist at the 2025 Jolt! Conference. Social media marketing remains prohibited at many financial services firms, but CFD has calculated that the extra regulatory burdens are a part of providing exceptional service to CFD affiliated financial professionals.

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 the availability of open APIs, giving lenders and vendors a new level of flexibility in how they integrate Friday Harbor into their mortgage tech stack.

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 a strategic partnership with FirstHome IQ, a nonprofit empowering the next generation of homeowners through modern, accessible financial education and tools for industry partners.