News Topic: AP

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT®), the de facto leader in innovative mortgage capital markets technology, was announced as a 2024 HousingWire Tech100 Mortgage Winner for the 5th consecutive year. For more than a decade, HousingWire's Tech100 program has identified and recognized the most innovative technology companies serving the mortgage and real estate industries.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through January month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine - the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.

Mortgage and Finance News: (CENTREVILLE, Va.) Avenu Insights & Analytics ("Avenu"), the global leader in revenue recovery and administrative solutions for state and local governments, is excited to announce its acquisition of Judicial Innovations, a pioneering provider of cloud-based payment and case management solutions. This acquisition marks Avenu's second payment solution acquisition in 2024, underscoring its commitment to investing in government payment technologies and expanding its Justice Solution set including Avenu | Court, Avenu | Jury, and Avenu | Payments.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SMITHFIELD, N.C.) Deacon Jones Automotive, a leading dealership group based in Smithfield, North Carolina, is proud to announce its recent acquisition of Sale Auto Mall Stores (BMW, Chevrolet, GMC & Ford) located in Kinston, North Carolina. By combining the strengths of both organizations, Deacon Jones Automotive aims to elevate the car-buying experience for its customers and continue its tradition of providing unparalleled value and service.

Mortgage and Finance News: (RICHMOND, Va.) Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. ("Matrix"), a leading, independent investment bank, announces that it has advised Hicks Oils & Hicksgas, Incorporated ("Hicks" or the "Company") on the sale of its Hicks Oils lubricants business to Schaeffer Manufacturing Company ("Schaeffer"). Hicks Oils is a premier independent lubricant blending and packaging business in southern Illinois that produces automotive and industrial lubricants.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) TravelInsurance.com is pleased to welcome Seven Corners Travel Insurance to its leading travel insurance comparison marketplace. Travelinsurance.com offers travelers the easiest way to compare and buy travel insurance from top global travel insurers online. Seven Corners' award-winning trip protection plans represent a valued addition to TravelInsurance.com's product offerings.

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 Executive Vice President of Compliance Amanda Phillips will be speaking at the 2024 Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Servicing Solutions Conference taking place February 20-23, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc., a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that Plante Moran, PLLC, a public accounting and business advisory firm, has published the findings of its annual review of Dovenmuehle's subservicing operations via Service Organization Control (SOC) 1® Type 2 and SOC 2® Type 2 reports.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry's leading technology for connecting home buyers with homebuyer assistance programs, today announced that it selected Sylvia Alvarez, founder and executive director of Housing and Education Alliance (HEA), as the winner of its 2023 Beverly Faull Affordable Housing Leadership Award.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT®), the de facto leader in innovative mortgage capital markets technology, announced today an increase of 13.96% in mortgage lock volume compared to the previous month. To gain comprehensive insights into the market dynamics, industry professionals and enthusiasts are invited to download the complete report.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Today, Optimal Blue announced its selection by HousingWire as a Tech100 Mortgage award winner. Now in its 12th year, HousingWire's Tech100 award program spotlights the most innovative and impactful tech organizations in housing.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, announced that it has been named a HW Tech100 Mortgage award honoree. Floify was recognized as an exceedingly user-friendly point-of-sale (POS) whose easy-to-configure platform and rule-based automations have made it beloved among small and midsize lenders and mortgage brokers.

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, has announced Fannie Mae Vice President Bill Cleary will speak at its annual ACES ENGAGE conference, taking place at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain hotel in Tucson, Ariz., May 19 - 21, 2024.

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 latest 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 during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative new leader in mortgage technology backed by time-tested loan origination software and leadership, today announced industry veteran Tony Fox as its chief of client engagement.

Mortgage and Finance News: (WATERTOWN, Mass.) Bridgewater Development and Avatar Construction announced today they are seeking investors to partner on several current and future development projects across New England. Bridgewater Development offers a unique opportunity to work with a leader in design build construction and land development.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry authority on homebuyer assistance program data and solutions, today released its Q4 2023 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report. During a year when home affordability hit a nearly four-decade low, housing agencies introduced 135 homebuyer assistance programs and expanded eligible inventory to make homeownership more accessible.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BALTIMORE, Md.) Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. ("Matrix"), a leading, independent investment bank, announces that it has advised Eastern Sierra Propane ("Eastern Sierra" or the "Company") on its sale to Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (OTC: FGPR) ("Ferrellgas"). The Company is one of the premier propane retailers in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range, serving both residential and commercial customers.

Mortgage and Finance News: (RICHMOND, Va.) Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. ("Matrix"), a leading, independent investment bank, is pleased to announce the sale of Shape LLC ("Shape" or the "Company") to an undisclosed buyer. Prior to the sale, Shape was owned by funds managed by Gen Cap America, Inc. ("Gen Cap"), a private investment firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ADDISON, Texas) Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender serving consumers and mortgage originators through its wholesale and correspondent channels, today announced Sean Drake has joined the organization's third-party originator (TPO) sales team as an account executive.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BOULDER, Colo.) Floify, the mortgage industry's leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, commissioned an independent study of 150 high-performing loan originators (LOs) in 2023 to gain recruiting and retention insights. "High-performing" LOs were defined as being in the top 20% of closed loan dollars or volume.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MANCHESTER, N.H.) Avatar Construction of Watertown, MA announced today that construction is ready to commence for Grand Maison, a six-story, 223-unit apartment complex and retail space located at 533 Elm Street. This project, set to open in 2026, will transform the current aging commercial space into a modern living destination for both families and individuals.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative new leader in mortgage technology backed by time-tested loan origination software and leadership, today announced the availability of a new, automated workflow in the Empower® loan origination system (LOS) that makes it easier for lenders to identify and qualify loan applicants who could benefit from evaluation of their positive rent payment history.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SEATTLE, Wash.) iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced that its CEO Laird Nossuli will present at Seattle's inaugural Black Homeownership Symposium on January 26. Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), one of the oldest minority trade associations in the nation and its foremost network of Black real estate professionals, will unveil the findings of the first-ever Washington state edition of the State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) report.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MIAMI, Fla.) Real-Finity, Inc. ("Realfinity") is excited to announce the availability of its Dual-License Program enabling the integration of mortgage services for real estate agents. In the dynamic and increasingly challenging environment of real estate, agents are now able to take advantage of this innovative solution to combat pressure on their commissions and enhance their value proposition by offering mortgage services.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Quadro Acquisition One Corp., a NASDAQ-listed Special Purpose Acquisition Company ("Quadro SPAC") has agreed to acquire a group of seven companies in the sports collectibles, software, cloud-based IT and healthcare services segments with an estimated pro-forma enterprise value of $3 billion (referred to as the "Global Growth Companies"). These companies are affiliated with Global Growth, a private equity firm founded by Greg Lindberg. The name and the symbol under which Quadro SPAC will trade upon the completion of its business combination with Global Growth Companies will be determined at a later date.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT®), a leading mortgage hedge advisory and secondary marketing software firm, revealed today a 13.71% decline in mortgage lock volume compared to the previous month. To gain comprehensive insights into the market dynamics, industry professionals and enthusiasts are invited to download the complete report.

Mortgage and Finance News: (CENTREVILLE, Va.) Avenu Insights & Analytics ("Avenu"), the global leader in revenue recovery and administrative solutions for state and local governments, is proud to announce the acquisition of Finvi's State and Local Government ("Finvi SLG") Division. This strategic move marks a significant expansion of Avenu's offerings and capabilities in serving state and local governments.

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 that, despite challenging mortgage market conditions, the company maintained a record growth path achieved over the last few years by adding more than a dozen of the leading lenders in the U.S. to its client roster in 2023.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Today, Optimal Blue announced releases related to its publicly listed, native mobile app for the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine. The releases consist of a new mobile app for Android, as well as enhancements to the company's mobile offering for iOS.