Tag: Texas Business

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced that its Chief Operations Officer, Kara Lamphere, has been named a 2025 HousingWire Vanguard. The award recognizes C-suite professionals and business leaders whose vision and leadership are driving the housing industry forward across lending, servicing, investments and real estate.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tedd Smith has been named a 2025 HousingWire Vanguard.

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 and CEO Brian Webster has been honored as a 2025 HousingWire Vanguard.

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 the continued expansion of its fraud prevention use cases within the credit card industry.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and leading remote online notarization (RON) provider for real estate and legal transactions, its certification to perform RON services in the state of Vermont. This development follows Vermont's enactment of legislation supporting remote notarizations, allowing notaries with a Special Endorsement to perform digital notarizations in the state.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced it will host its 2026 Optimal Blue Summit from February 23-25 at the Talking Stick Resort and Conference Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Building on the success of its inaugural event, the 2026 Summit will bring together the company's clients and integration partners, along with thought leaders and experts from across the mortgage industry, for three days of insights, connection and strategy.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its July 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found a 3% month-over-month (MoM) drop in overall rate lock volume, led by a nearly 5% drop in purchase activity as affordability remained strained.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today launched a new brand that emphasizes the company's market leadership in delivering modern innovation backed by decades of proven, trusted performance. "Optimal Blue is operating in an era defined by accuracy, scale, speed and artificial intelligence - and our new brand embodies that," said Joe Tyrrell, CEO of Optimal Blue.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Shaun Simms, Director of the Project Management Office (PMO), has been selected by HousingWire magazine for its annual Insiders awards program.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced a new capability in its industry-leading product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute best efforts locks directly with participating investors via API. By eliminating the last remaining manual step in the locking life cycle, Optimal Blue is delivering innovations and enhancements that will help significantly increase a lender's efficiency and profitability.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced it has been honored for the second year in a row as a 2025 Top Wholesale Lender Champion by the United States Department of Agriculture. This recognition underscores Click n' Close's continued commitment to fostering homeownership and supporting community development through innovative lending programs.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its June 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report showing total lock volume rose 1.95% month-over-month (MoM), driven by increased refinance activity. Refinance share climbed from 16% to 18% of all locks as rate-and-term refinances jumped 17.4% MoM and 18.4% year-over-year (YoY). Cash-out refinances rose 8.1% from May and nearly 28% YoY.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- FirstClose™, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced its Senior Vice President of Human Resources Katie Smith has been named a 2025 HousingWire Woman of Influence. The national award recognizes her exceptional leadership, commitment to company culture and impact on the fintech and mortgage lending industry.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- While emerging scientific evidence highlights the heightened cancer risk from exposure to LED nail gel curing lamps, what has been missing is a convenient and effective product to give you greater peace of mind during your mani and pedi. Introducing Magan's HandShield™: a patented*, natural mineral-based spray uniquely designed to help protect skin from the harmful radiation damage caused by LED nail gel curing lamps.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Autocraft Bodywerks is proud to announce the opening of its fourth state-of-the-art collision repair center, located on State Highway 71 in Spicewood, Texas. This new 23,000-square-foot facility has achieved I-CAR Gold Class status and is proudly sponsored by BMW of South Austin and Audi of South Austin, as it works toward becoming the only BMW and Audi-certified collision repair center in the area. The company's expanded footprint, led by Manager Robbie Mulderrig will better serve customers in West Austin, Westlake, Bee Cave, Lakeway, Spicewood, and the surrounding communities.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Zeteo Biomedical, a privately held biomedical device company, today announced the issuance of new patents in the United States and European Union for its advanced drug delivery technologies. The patents, titled "Cartridge Devices for Administration of a Medicament" (U.S. Patent No. 12329949) and "Hand-Operated Devices for Administration of a Medicament" (EU Patent No. 3946526), further strengthen Zeteo's ZTech™ delivery platform portfolio for the administration of drugs and biologics via nasal, ophthalmic, and sublingual routes.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- RSI & Associates, Inc., a leading provider of business valuation, feasibility studies and consulting services, today announced a policy of limited and careful application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the preparation and analysis of business valuations. This decision is driven by the firm's commitment to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, reliability, and ethical conduct in its valuation practice, particularly in light of current legal, regulatory, and ethical uncertainties surrounding the use of AI in financial analysis.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released the May 2025 edition of its now-expanded Market Advantage mortgage data report, which features newly added borrower profile and capital market datasets for a more comprehensive picture of early-stage mortgage activity and loan profitability. The enhancements come at a critical time for mortgage lenders navigating heightened interest rates, tighter margins, increased volatility and deepening affordability challenges.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced a new product that helps originators efficiently track and identify refinance opportunities so they can reengage borrowers with eligible refinance options at the right time. Available to Optimal Blue PPE users, Capture for Originators dramatically reduces the manual effort loan officers currently spend evaluating refinance potential by automatically analyzing entire portfolios each month and putting recapture opportunities directly into originators' hands.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- CaptainU, one of the leading online collegiate sports recruiting platforms, announced its relaunch as Stack Athlete on May 20, 2025. This change reflects Stack Athlete's ongoing commitment to empowering high school athletes, parents, and college coaches with the best tools to navigate the recruiting journey, now with an even stronger connection to the Stack Sports family.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender and innovator in third-party origination (TPO), announced Thursday that Tony Catanese has joined the company as regional sales manager. In this role, Catanese will lead the company's wholesale and non-delegated expansion across the East Coast, focusing on building and developing a high-performing sales team.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- ProNotary today announced the expansion of its Remote Online Notarization (RON) platform into five new states: Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. This milestone allows ProNotary to offer its streamlined, secure digital notarization services to more professionals across the country.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced that Ask Obi, an AI-powered assistant designed to help mortgage lending executives extract real-time insights from across Optimal Blue's capital markets platform, is now generally available to all PPE clients. Introduced at the company's inaugural user conference in February and refined through beta testing with select clients, Ask Obi provides executives with fast answers to complex profitability questions at no additional cost.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today released its April 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report showing total loan lock volume rose 3.2% month-over-month (MoM) as the spring homebuying season progressed, with purchase locks up 7.5% despite ongoing economic pressures.

eNewsChannels NEWS: -- Optimal Blue today announced the general availability of Originator Assistant, a powerful addition to the Optimal Blue PPE. Leveraging generative AI, Originator Assistant eliminates human bias in the loan structuring process and helps originators identify all options for a borrower, providing more ways to help consumers realize the American dream of homeownership.