Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced that it has agreed in principle to an asset sale with Indiana-based Hallmark Home Mortgage, which is licensed in 20 states. Hallmark will be a new division of Fairway, with Hallmark CEO and founder Deborah Sturges joining Fairway with the title of president, Hallmark Home Mortgage. Fairway CEO and founder Steve Jacobson will remain in the top executive role.
FBC Mortgage, which specializes in residential mortgage lending through both retail and wholesale/correspondent channels, announced it will rebrand as Acrisure Mortgage, effective July 1. The company noted that there will be no changes to the leadership team or corporate structure. As part of the rebrand, FBC Mortgage Stadium at the University of Central Florida will be renamed the Acrisure Bounce House.
Digital lending platform provider Blue Sage Solutions announced a collaboration to implement Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor update, which will allow lenders to integrate positive rental payment history into the mortgage approval process.
Private lending law firm Geraci LLP announced it is rebranding as Fortra Law. The company noted that the new name is inspired by the firm’s core value of fortified strategy, “combining strength with intelligent legal guidance.” Anthony Geraci is departing the company that formerly bore his name to set up a new practice.
Toronto-based real estate brokerage Zown announced its U.S. debut with expansion into California. The company’s business model features a commission system that offers buyers an upfront downpayment boost of up to 2% of the home purchase price.
RatePlug announced the launch of Afordal, a platform that unifies home search, live mortgage rates, rapid preapproval and property-specific special financing. The platform includes an affordability search tool and AI-powered features designed to help loan officers and real estate agents serve prospective homebuyers.
Friday Harbor, creator of an AI-driven platform for loan officers, announced the launch of a retooled condition engine that automatically generates actionable underwriting conditions based on borrower source documents and loan guidelines. The engine is trained to spot issues such as fraud red flags, unexplained large deposits, missing documentation and undisclosed liabilities.
Optimal Blue announced the launch of Capture for Originators, a lead generation and borrower reengagement tool that helps loan officers find refinancing opportunities within their closed loan books. The tool works by running a lender’s portfolio through Optimal Blue’s product and pricing engine to flag loans are candidates for refinancing — producing break-even calculations, borrower savings estimates and prefilled outreach emails.
Mortgage technology company Novaprime announced a collaboration with Tradeweb, a global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets. Built on the Canton Network blockchain, the integration between the companies’ platforms aims to assist mutual clients in hedging mortgage-related risk by offering automated hedging tools and integrated trading connectivity, thus increasing efficiencies and cost savings for lenders.
Mortgage subservicing company Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. (DMI) announced a partnership with SESLOC Credit Union, a not-for-profit financial cooperative serving central and coastal California communities. Under the agreement, DMI will subservice SESLOC’s mortgage loan portfolio, supporting the credit union’s expansion into government-sponsored enterprise lending and servicing.
Dark Matter Technologies announced enhancements to its dual automated underwriting feature within its Empower loan origination system. When users submit loan data simultaneously to the automated underwriting system for both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it will now display Fannie’s and Freddie’s respective findings side by side along with rules-based loan recommendations.
Clear Capital, a national real estate valuation technology company, announced that it has integrated ClearCollateral Review, an automated appraisal review platform for collateral underwriting, into Encompass Partner Connect, an API framework for mortgage technology from Intercontinental Exchange, enabling lenders to conduct a thorough review of appraisals to mitigate risk.
Gradient Mortgage Capital, an affiliate of Saluda Grade, announced its official market entry as a wholesale mortgage banking platform, specializing in 1-4 unit investor residential loans and small balance commercial loans.
