SEATTLE, Wash. /CitizenWire/ — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, has been named a winner of PROGRESS in Lending’s 2026 AI Pioneer Award. Friday Harbor pioneered AI pre-underwriting as a new category of mortgage technology and has since brought the approach into […]
BOULDER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — Floify, the mortgage industry’s leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced that Technology Credit Union (Tech CU) has chosen Floify to modernize its first mortgage and home equity lending experience.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
ATLANTA, Ga. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
SEATTLE, Wash. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
DENVER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
AUSTIN, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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.
DES MOINES, Iowa /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
BATON ROUGE, La. and VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
NOVI, Mich. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
SEATTLE, Wash. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
PLANO, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
DENVER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
ADDISON, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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.
PLANO, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
AUSTIN, Texas /CitizenWire/ — FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that John Aslanian, chief revenue officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. The award recognizes C-level executives across mortgage, real estate and homebuilding for leadership that has driven measurable impact on […]
SEATTLE, Wash. /CitizenWire/ — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its Founder and CEO Theo Ellis has been honored with HousingWire’s 2026 Vanguard Award.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. /CitizenWire/ — Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced that Vikas Rao, chief executive officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. Rao recognized for transforming Dark Matter and opening new ways for lenders to build, integrate and deploy AI.
TORRANCE, Calif. /CitizenWire/ — DocMagic announced today that Chief Operating Officer Lori Johnson has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. COO recognized for advancing DocMagic’s latest innovations in a digital mortgage career spanning more than 30 years.
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
AUSTIN, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. /CitizenWire/ — 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, […]
DENVER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
TROY, Mich. /CitizenWire/ — Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced today that it has acquired Allstate Appraisal, one of the nation’s longest continuously operating valuation firms. Founded in 1959 in Chicago Heights, Illinois, Allstate Appraisal brings more than six decades of experience delivering credible, compliant and timely valuation and review […]
ATLANTA, Ga. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. /CitizenWire/ — LodeStar Software Solutions (LodeStar), the leading provider of mortgage closing cost and fee data, today announced that it has been ranked No. 3,091 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list, the annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Marking its fourth appearance on the list, LodeStar ranks 239th in software, […]
SEATTLE, Wash. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
TORRANCE, Calif. /CitizenWire/ — DocMagic®, a leading provider of digital mortgage solutions, has been named one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal. The annual program, now in its 20th year, recognizes companies that demonstrate a strong commitment to employee engagement.
ATLANTA, Ga. /CitizenWire/ — 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 […]
PLANO, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
PLANO, Texas /CitizenWire/ — 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, […]
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. /CitizenWire/ — 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.
DENVER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, today announced that Garry Manley, assistant vice president of client success, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Insider. The award recognizes operational leaders across the mortgage, real estate and homebuilding industries whose […]
BOULDER, Colo. /CitizenWire/ — Floify, the mortgage industry’s leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced that Sol Klein, head of customer experience and business operations, has been named to HousingWire’s 2026 Insiders list. The annual program recognizes the operational leaders who are vital to their organizations’ success and making a measurable difference in the housing industry.
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. /CitizenWire/ — Informative Research (IR), a leading technology provider of data-driven credit and verification solutions for the lending industry, today announced that Shana Garrie, senior marketing specialist, has been name among the 2026 HousingWire Insiders. The award honors the leaders working behind-the-scenes to drive innovation and efficiency in the mortgage and real […]
AUSTIN, Texas /CitizenWire/ — FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Adam Nicholson, director of professional services, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Insider. The award recognizes operational leaders across the mortgage, real estate and homebuilding industries whose behind-the-scenes work drives measurable […]
