Tag: AP
News: Atlantic Bay helps Roc Solid Foundation pack 16,000 Ready Bags for families facing childhood cancer
Mortgage and Finance News: (VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group LLC (Atlantic Bay) joined nearly 1,800 volunteers at Norfolk Scope Arena on September 18 for Roc Solid Foundation's inaugural Ready Bag Rally. In less than two hours, volunteers packed 16,000 Ready Bags to support families navigating a childhood cancer diagnosis. The rally was Roc Solid's first Ready Bag packing event of this scale.
News: Strategic Benefits Advisors holds steady as Atlanta’s benefits consultant market shrinks 17%
Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) has been recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta's largest employee benefits and compensation companies of 2026. This is the eighth consecutive year SBA has made the Chronicle's annual list highlighting benefits consultants and brokers. Even as the number of benefits consultants and brokers in Atlanta fell 17% in 2026, according to the Chronicle, SBA held its position.
News: Friday Harbor adds AI-pre-underwriting support for investor and DSCR loans
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 investor loans, including debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans.
News: ACES Quality Management launches ACES Population Testing
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 the launch of ACES Population Testing™, which evaluates a financial institution's loan origination pipelines and servicing portfolios against its defined policies and identifies the records that warrant a reviewer's attention.
News: FirstClose introduces Lender Portal to manage home equity borrower leads in one workspace
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 the launch of Lender Portal, a new workspace that lets loan officers manage borrower leads in one place, from initial contact through submission.
News: Tim Cox rejoins Informative Research to lead the company’s business process automation efforts
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 that Tim Cox has rejoined the IR leadership team as executive vice president of business process automation. In this role, Tim will apply his industry expertise to support the company and help its clients work more efficiently and intelligently.
News: Analysis: iEmergent’s 2025 U.S. mortgage forecasts closely track HMDA actuals
Mortgage and Finance News: (DES MOINES, Iowa) iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today released a new analysis validating its 2025 forecasts against actual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. The analysis, which uses final 2025 HMDA data released by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council on June 23, 2026, spans every geographic level from national down to individual census tracts.
News: Argyle extends its mortgage verification experience to the wholesale channel with the launch of a broker-branded borrower experience
Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, the leading consumer-permissioned verification platform, today announced the launch of a new solution that enables wholesale mortgage lenders to extend income, employment, and asset verification across their broker networks with a broker-branded borrower experience. The solution is available through Argyle's Verification API as well as through Encompass® TPO Connect from ICE Mortgage Technology®.
News: Atlantic Bay builds on Southern growth with expansion into Louisiana
Mortgage and Finance News: (BATON ROUGE, La. and VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group LLC (Atlantic Bay) today announced the opening of its first Louisiana branch in Baton Rouge, extending its' presence across the South and giving Louisiana homebuyers access to a wide range of mortgage options, local expertise, and the technology and resources of an established lender.
News: EnergyCAP Adds Insights to its Energy Management Platform as Customers Report 3x More Value Than They Pay
Mortgage and Finance News: (ORLANDO, Fla.) EnergyCAP®, the leading utility and energy management platform for public and private sector organizations, announced Insights, a new capability to their energy and utility management platform, that brings reporting, alerting and prioritization together so energy teams can focus on what's most important. The announcement came at Catalyst Converge, the company's 20th annual conference where energy, facilities, finance and sustainability teams are gathered for three days of learning, collaboration, and product innovation.
News: Vesta Customers Gain Access to Mezzo’s One-to-Many Operating Architecture
Mortgage and Finance News: (RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.) Mezzo, creator of the mortgage industry's first one-to-many operating architecture for third-party services, today announced an integration with Vesta, the AI-native loan origination system (LOS) and agent platform built to automate and accelerate mortgage operations. Mezzo launches with a single gateway across verification providers.
News: Vice Capital Markets expands bid tape capabilities to include VantageScore data
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.
News: Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform integrates to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API
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.
News: Optimal Blue announces initial speaker lineup for 2027 Summit
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.
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.
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: Approximately 100+- Residential Lots and 40+- Non-Housing Development Option Lots Throughout New Orleans to Be Auctioned on Behalf of the...
Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW ORLEANS, La.) In furtherance of their mission to redevelop underserved neighborhoods in the Greater New Orleans area and as a follow-up to previous successful real estate auctions on behalf of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), the agency will soon be conducting its next online-only auction sale, comprising approximately 100+- residential lots and 40+- Non-Housing Development Option lots located throughout New Orleans, according to auction firm Tranzon Key.
News: CS3 Investments Enters Florida with 300-Unit Jacksonville-Area Acquisition – Contract to Close in Under 75 Days
Mortgage and Finance News: (MIDDLEBURG, Fla.) CS3 Investments has closed on Infinite Clay Town Center, a 300-unit Class A apartment community in the Jacksonville metropolitan area, completing in under 75 days a transaction that typically takes four to six months. The community, acquired as Ascend at Clay Town Center, will operate under the Infinite banner and be managed by CS3 Management.
News: Secured Signing Launches Outsource Notary Queue, Enabling Seamless Signing Services Management
Mortgage and Finance News: (MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.) Secured Signing, a global leader in electronic signature and Remote Online Notarization (RON) technology, announced the launch of Outsource Notary Queue, a new feature that lets business, delegate overflow signings jobs to trusted signing services partners while staying fully in the loop from start to finish.
News: Advisory List Publishes Exit Preparation Guidance for Business Owners Considering a Sale
Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Advisory List, a directory and professional community for the small and middle-market M&A ecosystem, has published new guidance for business owners considering a future sale, highlighting issues transaction professionals say should be addressed years before a company goes to market.
News: Washington state adds Argyle as an approved CBV provider for benefits agencies
Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) Argyle, a consent-based verification (CBV) platform, today announced it has been added as an approved provider under a competitively solicited Washington State Department of Enterprise Services contract (No. 10925, Employment & Income Verification and Public Records Search Services), giving Washington agencies a pre-vetted path to consent-based income and employment verification for benefits eligibility and redetermination.
News: FirstClose expands MeridianLink partnership to serve home equity lenders in mortgage divisions
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.
News: Dark Matter’s latest POS release brings real-time document validation to the point of sale
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.
News: 30 CDF Attorneys Named to 2027 Best Lawyers and ‘Ones to Watch’ Lists
Mortgage and Finance News: (IRVINE, Calif.) CDF Labor Law LLP (CDF) is pleased to announce that 30 of its attorneys, more than half of the firm's attorneys, have been recognized in the 2027 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, reflecting the depth of talent across the firm and its continued strength in representing California employers in labor and employment matters.
News: Save LBI Notifies U.S. Department of Commerce of Intent to Sue for Failure to Protect Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right...
Mortgage and Finance News: (LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J.) Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI), a grassroots organization dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, filed a Notice of Intent on August 9 to sue the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) for failure to protect the primary historical migration corridor of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW).
News: ACES Q1 2026 Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report shows critical defect rate reverses course as compliance defects reach record share
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.