Texas Business

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstLight Federal Credit Union (FirstLight) has partnered with LenderLogix to launch LiteSpeed, a modern mortgage point-of-sale platform designed to make the home loan process easier for members and more efficient for FirstLight's lending team.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- BioAustinCTX, the nonprofit industry organization serving the Central Texas life sciences community, today announced the appointment of Saroj Patnaik as Executive Director. The appointment marks an important step in the organization's efforts to strengthen collaboration, member engagement and life sciences industry growth across the region

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its October 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share reached a new high even as rate-lock volume declined across every major loan category. Total rate-lock volume fell 19% month over month (MoM) and 38% year over year (YoY). Purchase volume declined 18% MoM and 17% YoY but still accounted for 84% of October locks, while refinance share fell to 16% of total production.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that Chief Technology Officer Dan Kellett has been named a 2026 Tech Trendsetter by HousingWire. The award honors the people developing, improving and implementing the technology transforming how housing professionals work and serve their customers.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Dr. Ed Davis, DPM, FACFAS, is sharing information about extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), a non-invasive treatment option for people with chronic heel pain, including plantar fasciitis that has not improved with conservative care.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Click n' Close, a multistate mortgage lender, today announced that it has been named one of Mortgage Women Magazine's 2026 Top Employers for Women. The annual recognition, featured by Mortgage Women Magazine and National Mortgage Professional, honors mortgage companies that provide women with resources, mentorship and leadership opportunities and maintain women's representation at every level of their organizations.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that PROGRESS in Lending (PIL) has recognized Chief Technology Officer Dan Kellett for his influence on how lenders approach home equity technology, naming him one of nine 2026 Lending Luminaries.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its September 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) lending continued to expand even as rising rates weighed on broader mortgage activity. Total rate-lock volume declined 2% month over month (MoM), 21% over the past three months and 26% year over year (YoY). Non-QM lock volume bucked the broader decline, rising 8% MoM as non-QM loans accounted for 12% of September production.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced it has acquired Usherpa, a marketing automation and borrower relationship engagement platform purpose-built for mortgage professionals. The acquisition expands Optimal Blue's ability to help lenders win more business by bringing borrower engagement capabilities closer to the product, pricing and eligibility solutions that over 200,000 originators use to identify and convert loan opportunities.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced that its direct lock functionality now integrates with Fannie Mae's Pricing & Execution - Whole Loan® (PE - Whole Loan) platform. The integration allows lenders using Optimal Blue's product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine to execute best efforts locks with Fannie Mae through real-time, system-to-system connectivity without leaving Optimal Blue.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, today announced a strategic alliance with Cotality™, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider that supports 80% of real estate transactions in North America.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, today released the results of an independent study by MarketWise Advisors, LLC, examining the value of improvements in operational readiness and execution for home equity lenders. Participating lenders reported an average financial and operational impact of $753.04 per loan, a 7.99x return, across the core and extended capabilities MarketWise modeled.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- ViewTech Borescopes will exhibit this week at the 2026 Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia, showcasing advanced remote visual inspection solutions for pumps, compressors, turbines, and other critical rotating equipment. Among the featured technologies will be the VJ-4 3D Measurement video borescope, an inspection system that combines high-resolution imaging with 3D measurement capabilities.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Zeteo Biomedical LLC today announced the expansion of its ZTECH-P™ powder drug-delivery platform into pulmonary delivery with the introduction of AriesMR™, a reloadable active dry powder inhaler designed for controlled pulmonary administration of pharmaceutical powders without reliance on patient-generated inspiratory energy for powder aerosolization or the use of CFC/HFA propellants.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Taste on Main, a longtime Buda restaurant, is evolving into an Italian Steakhouse concept pairing Texas beef with classic Italian flavors. The restaurant embraces the new Italian direction, while preserving its celebrated steaks, East Coast oyster bar, and craft cocktail program. The transformation of the dining room is underway, culminating in the official launch of TasTe Italian Steakhouse on September 24.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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 their organizations and the broader housing economy over the past year.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- 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 impact within their organizations.

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 Quality Assurance (QA) Manager Olen Dalton has been recognized as a HousingWire Insider. The award honors operational leaders working behind the scenes to drive innovation, efficiency and growth in mortgage and real estate.