Finance

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and a pioneering provider of remote online notarization (RON) and identity verification/authentication technology for real estate and legal transactions, today announced that President Brian Webster has been recognized as a 2026 Inman Best in Finance award winner.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI), a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that Amber Cowan, first vice president of Default Operations, has been named a Mortgage Stars honoree by Mortgage Women Magazine. The program recognizes women making significant contributions to the mortgage industry through innovation, leadership and impact on colleagues and clients.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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).

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's largest independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders, has launched the TMC Healthcare Cooperative, a self-funded medical program open to all TMC lender members and preferred partners. Developed in partnership with CCIG, a Colorado-based employee benefits firm, the program gives vendors, community banks, credit unions and independent mortgage bankers a way to fund their own health claims as a group.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- LodeStar Software Solutions (LodeStar), the leading provider of mortgage closing cost and fee data, today announced the release of its Year-Over-Year Mortgage Closing Cost Report covering 2024 versus 2025. The report analyzes distinct mortgage quotes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.), drawn from the company's closing cost calculator platform.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI), a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that Ann Morey has been named Head of Product. In this role, Morey will lead DMI's product management function, which includes establishing strategic product vision, driving outcome-oriented roadmaps that address stakeholder expectations, increasing internal cross-functional alignment and building agile, high-performing teams.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, has been named a recipient of PROGRESS in Lending's 2026 Connections Award alongside NewFed Mortgage Corp. (NewFed), a full-service residential mortgage lender operating in more than 20 states. The recognition honors a partnership that allowed NewFed to grow production without the hiring cycles and overhead that typically accompany scale.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- DocMagic® was honored today with PROGRESS in Lending's 2026 Connections Award alongside Truliant Federal Credit Union, a North Carolina-based credit union serving more than 300,000 members. The recognition honors a five-year partnership that culminated in the mortgage industry's first electronic home equity line of credit (eHELOC) registered with the MERS® eRegistry.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Franklin Madison is excited to announce the addition of Matt Bishop as Chief Growth & Strategy Officer. With more than 20 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industries, Matt brings a proven ability to scale organizations and deliver impactful results to the executive leadership team.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced the appointment of Merv Govender as chief information officer (CIO). Govender brings more than 27 years of technology leadership across the banking, gaming and healthcare industries. As CIO, he will lead Click n' Close's technology development and deployment strategy.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced its support of the newly launched CONVERGENCE® Knowledge Hub, a centralized resource designed to help lenders, nonprofit organizations, housing counselors, real estate professionals and community leaders expand access to sustainable homeownership.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI), a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that it is improving onboarding with its new Diagnostic Process. This approach helps DMI subservicing clients identify and evaluate organizational complexity, resource constraints and team readiness earlier in servicing transfer workflows. Early preparation using the Diagnostic Process improves servicing transfer outcomes and increases onboarding efficiency.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Seventeen-year-old Mergers and Acquisitions firm ProNova Partners has announced it has been retained to develop major strategic partnership and acquisition relationships for a breakthrough at-home vision-testing technology built on optical science exclusively licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced new capabilities for condominium and manufactured home loans that enable lenders to evaluate property-specific eligibility requirements before files reach underwriting.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Informative Research (IR), a leading technology provider of data-driven credit and verification solutions for the lending industry, today announced it has been named a recipient of the MortgagePoint Excellence Award for Top Technology Providers. The recognition highlights IR's innovative, unified platform.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- DocMagic® announced today it has again been named a recipient of the MortgagePoint Tech Excellence Award. The annual award recognizes the most innovative technology providers in the mortgage industry. According to MortgagePoint, the Tech Excellence Award "highlights companies that deliver cutting-edge solutions, improve operational efficiency and enhance the mortgage process through technology."

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Tedd Smith, chief executive officer, has been named to the 2026 National Mortgage Professional Legends of Lending. The honor recognizes mortgage professionals who have made enduring contributions to the industry through innovation, leadership and long-term impact.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Velocity Credit Union is proud to celebrate the opening of its new Southwest Austin branch, a modern, expanded facility designed to better serve its growing membership across Central Texas. Located at 3419 Davis Lane, Austin, TX 78745, the full-service branch opened in late May and offers enhanced convenience, expanded services, and a welcoming space for members and the community.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- The parent company of DiggyPOD, Everbrook Holdings, announced the acquisition of Long Overdue Books, a Chicago-area publishing company known for guiding authors from first draft to finished book. The deal closed on May 15, 2026, and brings Long Overdue Books into the Everbrook family alongside DiggyPOD. DiggyPOD is a Tecumseh, Michigan-based book printer that became Everbrook's first portfolio company in June 2025.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced its integration with MeridianLink®. The integration equips origination teams using MeridianLink® Mortgage to build clean, complete and compliant loan files up front that move through underwriting with fewer touches.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its May 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that mortgage activity continued to cool as higher rates weighed on both purchase and refinance demand. Total rate-lock volume declined 9% month over month (MoM) but remained 7% higher year over year (YoY). Purchase activity continued to dominate production, accounting for just over 81% of total lock volume, while refinance share fell to 19%, its lowest level since June 2025.