Mortgage

Mortgage and Finance News: (NOVI, Mich.) Vice Capital Markets, a leading mortgage hedge advisory firm for independent lenders, banks and credit unions, today announced that its capital markets platform now supports the inclusion of VantageScore™ credit scores on mortgage bid tapes, providing lenders and investors with greater visibility into loan-level credit characteristics during the secondary market execution process.

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 its integration to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API. Lenders can now determine calculated monthly income for wage earners, including borrowers with variable income, in minutes while helping preserve eligibility for certain representation and warranty (R&W) relief tied to the income calculation.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced its initial speaker lineup for its 2027 Optimal Blue Summit, including Analyst, ESPN Monday Night Football, 3-Time Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. The third annual event shaping what's next in mortgage will take place February 1-3, 2027 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 it has launched an integration with MeridianLink to bring its home equity order management capabilities directly into the MeridianLink Mortgage loan origination system (LOS). The integration extends FirstClose's existing MeridianLink partnership to help support lenders that manage home equity originations within their mortgage division.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced its latest point-of-sale (POS) release, bringing document validation powered by Aiva Intelligence to the earliest stage of the lending process. By validating borrower documents at upload instead of later in the review process, lenders can identify issues sooner, provide immediate guidance to borrowers and reduce downstream conditions and rework.

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, announced the release of its quarterly ACES Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report covering Q1 of 2026. The report analyzes post-closing quality control data derived from the ACES Quality Management & Control® software.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading affordability intelligence platform, today announced that Brad Cardwell, vice president of sales and business development, has been named to The Mortgage Collaborative's (TMC) Partner Advisory Council. The council brings together TMC's preferred partners to promote fair, transparent and efficient practices through open dialogue and coordinated initiatives.

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 expanded support for non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) and other non-agency lending programs, enabling lenders to evaluate a broader range of complex borrower scenarios against investor-specific guidelines before underwriting.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading affordability intelligence platform, today announced it has earned a spot on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest-growing privately owned companies after achieving significant revenue growth from 2022 to 2025. DPR was also honored on the 2023 and 2025 Inc. 5000 lists.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its July 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that mortgage activity softened as rising rates weighed on both purchase and refinance demand. Total rate-lock volume declined 11% month over month (MoM) but remained 5% above July 2025.

Mortgage and Finance News: (VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group LLC (Atlantic Bay) is proud to announce it has been recognized among Hampton Roads' Top Workplaces by the Virginian-Pilot. The annual recognition honors employers that create exceptional workplace experiences, with recipients determined through confidential employee survey feedback.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today announced the general availability of Virtual Economist, the first on-demand forecasting tool for mortgage capital markets leaders powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). Revealed in beta at the annual Optimal Blue Summit in February 2026, Virtual Economist is now available to all Optimal Blue Product, Pricing, and Eligibility (PPE) Engine and CompassEdge clients at no added cost.

Mortgage and Finance News: (COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich.) Halo Programs, formerly Continuity Programs, today announced the launch of self-service online registration across its industry-specific CRM and relationship marketing platforms serving mortgage lenders, real estate brokerages and residential contractors. Professionals can now activate an account in a few clicks, eliminating the wait for a sales call before getting started.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading consumer-permissioned verification platform, today announced two executive promotions-longstanding leaders stepping into expanded roles, backed by deep product knowledge built from growing within the company. John Hardesty has been named chief revenue officer and Daniel Esquibel has been promoted to vice president of mortgage.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LOS ALTOS, Calif.) JazzX AI, an enterprise AI company purpose-built for the mortgage industry, today announced that Kunal Patel, head of AI platform and products, has been named to HousingWire's Insiders list for 2026. The annual Insiders award recognizes the behind-the-scenes operational leaders who are vital to their organizations' success and driving innovation across mortgage and real estate.

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 launch of the next iteration of AccountChek®, its flagship verification solution. Rebuilt from the ground up and unified with the IR Verification Platform, AccountChek is designed to scale as lenders' verification needs evolve and is expected to deliver faster performance, improved reliability and a smoother borrower experience.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homeownership programs, today released its Q2 2026 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report, identifying 2,746 programs nationwide. The total represents an increase of 67 programs from Q1 2026, reflecting continued expansion of resources designed to improve affordability and access to homeownership, and is a new survey high.

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 promotion of Ajay Trilokeshwaran to chief technology officer (CTO). In his new role, Trilokeshwaran will lead the company's product and technology execution, overseeing platform development, application engineering, infrastructure and cloud strategy to support business growth.

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 support for USDA loans. The new capability enables lenders to identify documentation gaps, eligibility issues and changes that require updated Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) findings before loan files reach underwriting, helping reduce rework and deliver a more predictable path to closing for both lending teams and borrowers.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's largest independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders, today released results from its June 2026 Pulse of the Network survey. The biannual survey gathered input from mortgage lenders, including independent mortgage banks, credit unions and depository institutions, on strategic priorities heading into the second half of 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ADDISON, Texas) Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, received a USDA 2026 Top Wholesale Lender award. The award was presented today at USDA Rural Development's National Lender of the Year Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Mortgage and Finance News: (CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.) LodeStar Software Solutions (LodeStar), the leading provider of mortgage closing cost and fee data, today announced that it is integrated with Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®). LodeStar's Closing Cost Calculator is now available in Empower® loan origination system (Empower), developed in conjunction with the Dark Matter Developer Platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NOVI, Mich.) Vice Capital Markets, a leading mortgage hedge advisory firm for independent lenders, banks and credit unions, today announced the appointment of Terry Aikin as executive vice president, strategic growth. Aikin will focus on expanding Vice Capital’s customer base, strengthening existing client relationships and identifying new market opportunities.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), has been verified by Fannie Mae® and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) to support the Uniform Property Data Report (UPDR) specification under Uniform Property Dataset (UPD) Version 1.0. Use of the UPDR is mandatory for mortgages with applications received on or after June 30, 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its June 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that mortgage activity strengthened month over month (MoM), with purchase lock volume climbing to its highest level since early spring and pull-through rates rebounding across both purchase and refinance pipelines. Total rate-lock volume rose 10% MoM and 15% year over year (YoY).