Fitch Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trepp, a data, insights and technology provider to the structured finance, commercial real estate and banking markets. Trepp, which maintains a comprehensive database of commercial mortgage-backed securities, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Fitch Solutions. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026.
Former Rocket Pro executive Mike Fawaz, who departed the company in February, announced on LinkedIn that he’s launching Origna8, what he termed “a community of independent brokers, LOs, and branches, backed by enterprise-level infrastructure: technology, lending products, training, marketing, leads, and compliance support, all under one roof, without asking anyone to give up their independence.”
Fawaz’s former rival, Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), confirmed in a separate social media post that UWM will be a lender partner of Fawaz’s new company. Former Rocket Pro executive Dan Sogorka will serve as CEO of Origna8, Fawaz announced.
In other UWM-related news, the company announced it is offering a free 1-0 temporary rate buydown through June 30, which gives borrowers a payment equivalent to a 1% lower interest rate in the first year, available for fixed and adjustable-rate purchase loans on agency products. UWM also rolled out home equity loans as part of the same announcement, including a stand-alone option and a piggyback option that’s taken out concurrently with a purchase loan to avoid mortgage insurance or a jumbo loan rate.
And UWM continues to make headlines from an ongoing bidding war with CrossCountry Mortgage for the coveted mortgage servicing rights of Two Harbors Investment Corp. Read the latest here.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) announced a strategic partnership with the Chenoa Fund, a downpayment assistance program, which aims to expand homeownership access to first-time homebuyers and underserved communities in the U.S. As part of the partnership, NAMB members will receive educational resources and enhanced access to the Chenoa Fund program, administered by CBC Mortgage Agency, which offers a variety of downpayment assistance options, including repayable and forgivable second mortgages.
Vice Capital Markets, a mortgage hedge advisory firm, has released the Vice Capital Par Note Rate, a proprietary daily mortgage rate benchmark available through an online tracker tool. Calculated daily using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed security prices — as well as standard base guaranty fees and servicing — the metric represents the note rate at which a 30-year fixed-rate loan could be sold at par into the agency market while retaining servicing.
Commercial real estate tech company CommLoan announced an expansion of its platform into the land and build-to-rent financing asset classes, designed to extend its reach into earlier-stage segments of the market and to diversify its scope for brokers.
Non-QM lender Deephaven Mortgage announced an enhancement to its Equity Advantage HELOC product designed for both wholesale and correspondent partners, including doubling the maximum loan amount to $1 million, LLC title vesting for investment property owners and 2.5% lender-paid compensation on the full line amount.
Pennymac has launched “Welcome Home: Athlete Mortgage Program,” an initiative designed to provide Team USA athletes with dedicated lending support, exclusive savings options on home loans and access to an educational homeownership training program.
Class Valuation, a real estate appraisal management company (AMC), has rolled out the Class Valuation Underwriting Engine (CVUE), an appraisal assurance program that uses AI analysis and human review to let lenders bypass most internal appraisal checks by shifting repurchase risk to the AMC. The company noted that an early pilot program with more than 20 lenders showed it cuts revision delays and shortens appraisal turnaround time by several days.
LoanLogics announced the launch of its online LoanBeam Broker Portal, giving independent brokers access to its previously lender-only income calculation tool that’s designed to eliminate manual processes and produce documents ready for underwriting through standardized, guideline-based calculations.
DocMagic announced it has received two new certifications from MISMO: the eVault System Certification and the SMART Doc Validation Rules Certification. The former is a standard for electronic document storage, while the latter certification confirms that DocMagic’s technology conforms with MISMO SMART Doc V1.02 standards.
Castlelake and Redwood Trust announced the formation of a strategic joint venture that contemplates purchasing up to $8 billion of prime jumbo loans sourced through Redwood’s Sequoia platform with future scaling flexibility, including the potential acquisition of seasoned loans from bank balance sheets.
