Author: Sara Kowalke
PLANO, Texas – Jan. 16, 2024 – Today, Optimal Blue announced releases related to its publicly listed, native mobile app for the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine. The releases consist of a new mobile app for Android, as well as enhancements to the company’s mobile offering for iOS.
“Loan officers no longer sit at their desks all day, so Optimal Blue made it a priority to put ‘pricing in their pocket’ with full product and search capabilities from the convenience of a mobile device,” said Kevin Foley, director of product management, Optimal Blue. “With just a few taps, a loan officer can identify the best product, rate, and price for their borrower without the constraint of being in an office. This helps them operate more efficiently and competitively, while also delivering a better experience to prospective homebuyers. Plus, it’s a truly native mobile app experience, built specifically for the mobile devices loan officers are using.”
By giving loan officers the flexibility to access scenario pricing from any location, the Optimal Blue PPE (OB) Mobile app assists with timely and productive borrower conversations. OB Mobile allows users to price scenarios and save favorites to a dashboard for quick access. With a single tap, these scenarios can then be refreshed to show the best product, rate, and price, as well as any interest rate movement on a given day. The app displays the full array of pricing inputs and granularity currently available on the web version of the Optimal Blue PPE, including custom fields. All eligible products and rates are presented, including any adjustments, notes, and advisories. Ineligible products are also displayed, along with a reason for ineligibility.
In addition to an all-new app for Android, the app for iOS now includes pricing analysis from the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI). Calculated from actual locked rates with consumers across approximately 42% of all mortgage transactions nationwide, the OBMMI includes multiple mortgage pricing indices developed around the most popular mortgage products and specific borrower attributes. The inclusion of this market data adds new value to a broader range of users. Any loan officer or person – regardless of whether they are an Optimal Blue client – can access OBMMI pricing analysis via the app, with PPE functionality reserved for client login.
“As the public continues paying close attention to rate movement in 2024, we’re pleased to make our interactive OBMMI pricing analysis available in a native iOS app anyone can download,” Foley added. “OBMMI access will be added to the Android app later this year.”
OB Mobile is publicly listed for both Android and iOS and available for download today.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit www.OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor: December Brought Significant Growth in Rate/Term Refinance Volume as Falling Rates Created Favorable Tailwinds
PLANO, Texas – Jan. 15, 2024 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through December month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine – the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.
“Mortgage rates continued to fall in December, with the Fed delivering welcomed commentary suggesting rates may have peaked with cuts on the horizon in 2024,” said Brennan O’Connell, data solutions manager, Optimal Blue. “The sharp drop in rates provided tailwinds that caused rate/term refinance volume to rise a notable 43% month over month. Despite cash-out volume declining 9%, the total refinance share of locks rose to 19% in December – the highest level since April 2022. However, the improving rate environment had little impact on purchase lending, where lock volume fell 23% in December, traditionally the slowest month for homebuyer activity.”
The growth in rate/term volume was largely driven by a material uptick in VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs). IRRRL volume hit its highest level since January 2022, and the total refinance share of VA volume rose to nearly 30%. As a result, VA volume saw the highest market share gain in December, rising 137 bps to finish the month at 11.8% of total volume. FHA refinance volume also ticked up in December, despite FHA total volume dropping 105 bps of market share to 21.5% of total volume. The GSE-eligible share rose 36 bps to 56.6% and nonconforming volume – inclusive of jumbo and non-QM – dropped 72 bps to 9.4%. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of locks continued to fall, dropping to 5.2% of total volume, indicating further fading of consumer interest in the product.
The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate dropped 54 bps to finish the month at 6.57%. The OBMMI for jumbo, FHA, and VA loans fell 74 bps, 49 bps, and 67 bps, respectively.
“The spread between the 30-year conforming rate and the 10-year Treasury yield remained essentially flat in December as government bonds and mortgages benefitted equally from the positive fixed-income outlook,” O’Connell continued. “Looking ahead to 2024, the mortgage-to-Treasury spread remains elevated from historic norms at roughly 275 bps, suggesting there may be further room for compression and reduction in mortgage rates.”
The rise in rate/term refinance volume coincided with a drop of 8 points in the average credit score as borrowers with lower credit scores jumped on the opportunity to lower their monthly payments with VA and FHA refinances. Purchase and cash-out refinance credit scores ticked higher, however. The average loan amount rose to $349.5K from $347.4K, while the average purchase price saw another – albeit smaller – decline, falling from $438.3K to $435.9K.
Each month’s Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 MSAs by share of total origination volume. View the Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor report for more detail on December activity.
Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
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Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor: November Brings Long-Awaited Shift in Direction for Mortgage Rates, Significant Decline in Average Purchase Price, and Uptick in Rate/Term Refinance Production
Summary:
Optimal Blue released its November Originations Market Monitor, with data showing a 10% drop in lock volume month over month. Overall lock volume was characterized by a 12% drop in purchase locks and a 2% increase in refinance locks. Rate/term refinance volume showed 10% month-over-month growth, while cash-out volume remained flat. The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate dropped 67 bps in November, finishing the month at 7.11%. The spread between the OBMMI 30-year conforming rate and the 10-year Treasury narrowed by 16 bps to 274 bps – the lowest level since March. Nonconforming products gave up share in November, dropping to 10% of total production, with FHA products lifting to 23% of total production. The average home price dropped significantly, from $449.3K to $438.3K, possibly signaling a trend in falling prices. Access the full report.
PLANO, Texas – Dec. 12, 2023 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through November month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine – the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.
“November saw a welcomed reversal in the upward trend in mortgage rates that began in April,” said Brennan O’Connell, data solutions manager, Optimal Blue. “Yet despite the improving rate environment, lock volume was down 10% month over month, driven by a 12% drop in purchase locks as the market enters the slowest buying months of the year. However, many borrowers who took out loans over the last few months are finding themselves in the money for refinances, which drove refinance volume up 2% month over month to reach its highest level since February.”
This refinance climb included 10% month-over-month growth in rate/term refinance volume, while cash-out volume remained essentially flat from October. Purchase lock counts, which exclude the impact of changes in home prices, were down 13% year over year and 37% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate dropped 67 basis points (bps) in November, finishing the month at 7.11%. Jumbo rates fell 34 bps to 7.61%, FHA dropped 54 bps to 6.90%, and VA dropped 61 bps to 6.79%.
“Cooling economic indicators and dovish commentary from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the beginning of November drove a rally in rates across mortgage products,” O’Connell continued. “This rally narrowed the spread between the OBMMI 30-year conforming rate and the 10-year Treasury by 16 bps, pushing it down to 274 bps – the lowest level since March.”
Nonconforming products – including jumbo and expanded guidelines loans – gave up share in November, dropping from 12% to 10% of total production month over month. FHA products lifted from 22% to 23% of total production month over month. Other products remained mostly flat in production, including GSE-eligible products at 56%, VA products at 10%, and USDA products at 1%. The rise in FHA share sets another recent high for the government-insured product. The steep drop in rates shifted production, pushing ARM share down to 6.5% from 7.9% last month.
Most metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) experienced declines in rate lock volume, with the exception of Orlando, which saw growth in production, and New York and San Antonio, which both remained flat in month-over-month volume.
The average credit score for rate/term refinances dropped 7 points in November, as did average scores for purchase and cash-out refinances, which fell by 1 and 2 points, respectively. The average loan amount dropped from $352.5K to $347.4K, and the average purchase price saw the largest decline since October 2022, falling from $449.3K to $438.3K.
“Historic affordability issues are keeping buyers on the sideline and forcing sellers to reduce their expectations,” O’Connell added. “This may signal a downward trend in home prices after an extended period of steady growth.”
Each month’s Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 MSAs by share of total origination volume. View the Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor report for more detail on November’s activity.
Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
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Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor: Rate Headwinds Continue in October, Lock Volume Remains Flat With Production Growing in Select Geographies
Summary:
Optimal Blue released its October Originations Market Monitor, with data showing rates increasing 26 to 40 basis points month over month across various mortgage types. Rate lock volume in October was virtually flat compared to September; however, when adjusting for the extra business day, volume was down 4%. Both purchase and refinance volumes continued to wane amid multi-decade rate highs. Conventional conforming volume fell to its lowest share of rate lock volume since March, while the FHA share hit its highest point since 2017. Although production trended lower nationally, certain warmer or more temperate geographies, which are generally less susceptible to seasonality in purchase activity, saw month-over-month growth. Both average loan amounts and purchase prices fell, while credit scores rose. Access the full report.
PLANO, Texas – Nov. 13, 2023 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through October month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine – the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.
The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate peaked at 7.83% in October before clawing back to 7.78%, a 37-basis-point increase over September month-end. Jumbo rates climbed above 8% before finishing the month at 7.94%, up 35 basis points month over month. FHA and VA rates rose 26 basis points and 40 basis points, respectively, both finishing the month at 7.4%. The steep mortgage rate increase pushed more borrowers toward adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans in October, with the share of adjustable-rate locks rising to 7.9% from 6.8% in September.
“Despite the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to pause rate hikes, we saw rate headwinds continue in October,” said Brennan O’Connell, data solutions manager, Optimal Blue. “The mortgage rate spread to Treasurys also grew in October as investors sought safe haven assets amongst geopolitical concerns in Europe and the Middle East. The spread widened by 8 basis points to finish the month at 290 basis points.”
Rate lock dollar volume was flat in October, ticking up 0.5% month over month. However, when adjusting for the extra business day, volume was down 4%. Purchase dollar volume rose 1%, but was down 3% after the same adjustment. Refinance dollar volume continued to wane in the face of multi-decade highs for rates, with cash-outs falling 3% and rate/term refinances dropping 6%.
Purchase lock counts – which exclude the impact of rising/falling home prices and, as such, better represent housing activity – were down 23% year over year, and down 43% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The refinance share of lock volume remained at current cycle lows of 12%.
“In October, we saw conventional conforming volume fall to its lowest point since March, dropping to 56% of total lock production,” O’Connell continued. “The lost market share was primarily picked up by FHA production, which rose to 22% of total volume. FHA market share is now at the highest level seen since 2017. Non-agency and VA production finished October at 11.5% and 10.3%, respectively.”
Although production continued to trend lower nationally, certain geographies experienced strong month-over-month growth in October. The Austin-Round Rock, Texas and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) both showed double-digit growth in lock volume from September. Approximately half of the top 20 MSAs by volume showed lock production growth in October. This can generally be attributed to less seasonality in warmer and temperate climates.
The average loan amount fell from $353.2K to $352.5K in October, while the average purchase price fell to $449K. Credit scores rose slightly across agency production in October, with average credit scores for GSE-eligible locks ticking up 1 point, FHA locks up 2 points, and VA locks up 4 points.
Each month’s Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 MSAs by share of total origination volume. View the Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor for more detail on October’s activity.
Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
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SUMMARY:
Icanbuy has implemented the lead-quoting API from Optimal Blue, the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. This API allows third parties to connect consumers with an array of products and pricing from the Optimal Blue PPE to support a premium shopping experience. It gives Icanbuy the ability to continue displaying real-time rates in its rate table advertising and lead generation technologies.
PLANO, Texas, Oct. 17, 2023 — Today, Optimal Blue announced that Icanbuy, a division of Mortgage Research Center, has implemented the Optimal Blue lead-quoting application programming interface (API). This API connects lead-aggregation vendors to the vast array of product and pricing information in the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine.
“With the lead-quoting API in place, we can now add Optimal Blue’s real-time product and pricing to the Icanbuy rate shopping experience and technology,” said Brian Richards, director of Icanbuy. “Icanbuy supports some of the nation’s top publisher brands, and on the consumer side, our advertiser list is a vast mix of known national direct lenders, banks, credit unions, and local mortgage offerings. Our decision to implement this API is about empowering publishers’ brands and assuring a world-class experience for consumers; both objectives will be enhanced with the ability to display Optimal Blue’s live rates for advertisers’ offerings. When publishers can seamlessly connect consumers with lenders and their live offerings, everyone wins.”
Designed to provide homebuyers with quick access to live interest rates from multiple lenders, the Optimal Blue lead-quoting API gives Icanbuy the ability to continue displaying real-time rates in its rate table advertising and lead generation technologies. Rates are displayed on behalf of lenders using the Optimal Blue PPE, with seamless connections to hundreds of investors and thousands of products for any mortgage financing scenario.
“Consumers expect instant access to accurate, transparent product and pricing information – and if they can’t find it on one website, they’ll navigate to another,” said Erin Wester, vice president of product management, Optimal Blue. “Our lead-quoting API enhances the mortgage shopping experience for consumers, while helping organizations like Icanbuy bridge a meaningful connection between lenders and homebuyers.”
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit http://www.OptimalBlue.com.
About Icanbuy
Icanbuy develops tools as widgets to be integrated into any website: lenders, real estate brokers, search engine portals. The platform displays live offerings based on the consumers search refinement. The consumer reviews the offers, selects the provider of their choice, and the platform then connects the consumer with the provider.
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Media Contact
Olivia DeLancey, Optimal Blue
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
Summary:
Optimal Blue has promoted two senior leadership positions from within. Seever Sulaiman has been named chief technology officer, and Jeremy Moreno has been named vice president of sales. Both will join the ranks of Optimal Blue’s senior leadership team to further the company’s position as a leader in secondary marketing technology.
PLANO, Texas – Oct. 16, 2023 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the appointment of two senior leadership positions, both promoted from within. Seever Sulaiman has been named chief technology officer, and Jeremy Moreno has been named vice president of sales. Each leader brings decades of relevant experience, which further positions Optimal Blue to deliver the technology and services the mortgage industry relies on for pricing, hedging, trading, and more.
“One of the things that sets us apart at Optimal Blue is our experienced and talented people, and these internal promotions are a reflection of that,” said Scott Smith, interim CEO, Optimal Blue. “Both leaders have impressive credentials, proven success in their fields, and most importantly – a deep understanding of the Optimal Blue business and our clients’ needs.”
As chief technology officer, Sulaiman will lead Optimal Blue’s technology and development strategies, with a focus on engineering solutions that anticipate the future needs of the industry. He is a demonstrated mortgage technology expert with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and more than 29 years in software development, technology execution, and product management.
Sulaiman previously served as chief information officer and cofounder of Resitrader, a trading platform acquired by Optimal Blue in 2018. He has also served as chief technology officer of multiple companies throughout his career, including Altisource’s Equator and the Applied Analytics division at Lender Processing Services, which was spun off as Black Knight and is now part of ICE.
Moreno, Optimal Blue’s newly appointed vice president of sales, will develop and lead the company’s customer acquisition and relationship growth strategies. Moreno holds more than 20 years of experience in sales leadership, with demonstrated success in year-over-year growth, team development, and customer retention. Prior to joining Optimal Blue in 2012, he served as both a regional account executive and sales manager for CT Corporation, a Wolters Kluwer Business.
As Moreno transitions into his new role, Optimal Blue’s Keith Anderson will also assume an elevated position as senior regional vice president of sales. In this capacity, Anderson will work closely with Moreno to establish direction and strategy for Optimal Blue’s sales force.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit www.OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor: Locks Decline in September Due to Seasonal Purchase Declines, Rates Hit Multi-Decade Highs
Summary:
Optimal Blue released its September Originations Market Monitor, with data showing a 20% decline in rate lock volumes in September, attributed to a seasonal decline in purchase activity and further rising interest rates. This continues a four-month trend of declining volumes. Rates climbed to multi-decade highs in September, sitting at roughly a quarter point higher than they were in fall of 2022. Access the full report.
PLANO, Texas – Oct. 12, 2023 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through September month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine – the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.
“September brought a 20% decline in rate lock volumes as a result of headwinds from a seasonal decline in purchase activity and rising interest rates, continuing a four-month trend of declining volumes,” said Scott Smith, interim CEO, Optimal Blue. “The refi share of total lock volume ticked slightly higher from 12% to 13%, primarily as a result of seasonal purchase declines. Cash-out volumes continue to be the lion’s share of refis at roughly double that of rate/term volumes, with virtually no mortgages in the money to refinance.”
September’s lock decline continues a four-month trend of declining volumes, with purchase locks down 20%, cash-outs down 17%, and rate/term refis down 18% from August. Total volumes were down 33% from the same time last year. Additionally, purchase lock counts – which exclude the impact of rising home prices – were down 32% year over year, and 39% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Conforming loans gave up share in September to all other product types. While still making up the majority of production at 57%, conforming volumes are trending well below pandemic levels and have returned to the mid-50–60% range seen in 2018 and 2019. FHA and VA production both gained share, rising to 20.6% and 10.4%, respectively. The lock production share of nonconforming loans – including both jumbo and expanded guidelines – grew as well in September to 11.1% of the total.
“As the market reacted to the Fed’s ‘higher for longer’ message, we saw mortgage rates pushed to multi-decade highs in September,” Smith continued. “We also continue to see average credit scores remaining high, suggesting tight credit availability and a relatively small cohort of buyers who can make a purchase in this historically unaffordable environment.”
The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices 30-year conforming rate rose 33 basis points during the month to close at 7.41%, with FHA at 7.18%, VA at 7.00%, and jumbo loans up to 7.60%. Rates are now roughly a quarter point higher than the highs in fall 2022. The 30-year conforming rate spread to the 10-year Treasury narrowed 17 basis points, with the 10-year finishing September at approximately 4.6% – nearly 40 basis points above the highs set last fall.
Each month’s Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas by share of total origination volume. View the Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor report for more detail on September’s activity.
Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit OptimalBlue.com.
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Media contact:
Olivia DeLancey
904.854.5459
Olivia.DeLancey@OptimalBlue.com
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Leader in Secondary Marketing Technology Will Run as an Independent Business With a Focus on Rapid Innovation
PLANO, Texas, Sept. 15, 2023 – Today, Optimal Blue announced the completion of its acquisition by the Perseus Operating Group (“Perseus”) of Constellation Software Inc. (“Constellation”).
As a leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology, Optimal Blue (“OB”) offers software and services to market participants as they price, lock, hedge, and trade mortgages. OB helps lenders and investors drive profitability through its robust marketplace, actionable data products, and API connections to a broad array of market participants. The company’s premier product, pricing, and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by thousands of originators to lock roughly 40% of mortgages in the U.S.
“It’s an exciting day for the future of OB and the clients we serve,” said Kevin McMahon, CEO of Optimal Blue. “As a market leader in our space, we have a long history of delivering great solutions, and our clients have come to expect innovation that helps them drive loan profitability and process efficiency. Constellation’s ownership model positions us to further deliver on our commitment to rapid innovation for the benefit of our clients.”
“We have gotten to know the OB leadership team throughout our signing and due diligence process, and we are pleased to welcome the company to Perseus,” said Tom George, co-president of the Romulus portfolio of Perseus, who led the acquisition with Bonnie Wilhelm, COO of Perseus. “We look forward to working closely with them to support OB’s focus on serving clients and innovating as they continue to invest and keep their strong position as the leader in secondary marketing technology.”
About Optimal Blue
Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company’s premier product, pricing and eligibility engine – the Optimal Blue PPE – is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S. For more information on Optimal Blue’s end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit https://www.OptimalBlue.com.
About Perseus and Constellation
As an operating group of Constellation Software Inc., Perseus acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses that provide mission-critical software solutions. As a long-term holder of companies, Constellation, through its operating groups including Perseus, has a proven track record of making investments in businesses with a clear focus on products, customers, and the teams that run the businesses. For more information about Perseus, visit the Perseus website at: https://www.csiperseus.com/. Further information about Constellation may be obtained from its website at: https://www.csisoftware.com/.
Media Contact
Alex Shreeve, Optimal Blue, 904.248.6826, Alex.Shreeve@OptimalBlue.com
SOURCE Optimal Blue
Mortgage Activity Falls as Rates Hit Two-Decade High Amid Seasonal Headwinds
- According to the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices, 30-year conforming rates climbed above 7.25% in August, the highest level in more than 20 years, before settling to 7.07% at the end of the month
- Overall rate lock volumes were down for the third consecutive month, falling 1.5% from July, driven by a 1.9% decrease in purchase volume
- Purchase lock counts were down 22% year over year and 34% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, as higher interest rates and the tightest affordability since the early 1980s dampened demand
- As reported in Black Knight’s August Mortgage Monitor report, signs of credit tightening have been seen in rising down payments, falling loan-to-value ratios and higher credit scores
- Average purchase price edged lower for the second straight month to $450K, with an average loan amount of $352K in August
- The average credit score among primary residence purchase locks dropped slightly for the first time since November 2022, but remains close to an all-time high
- The share of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) continued to fall, dropping to 6.56% of August’s lock activity, as rate offerings for such products continue to be less competitive against fixed products
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 11, 2023 – Today, Black Knight, now a part of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), announced the release of its latest Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage activity through August 2023 month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE, the Originations Market Monitor provides the industry’s earliest and most comprehensive view of origination activity
“August was another rough month for mortgage borrowers from an interest rate perspective,” said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research and strategy at Black Knight, now a part of ICE. “Indeed, 30-year conforming rates reached as high as 7.25% late in the month, hitting their highest point in more than 20 years. Current housing market dynamics continue to put a damper on mortgage demand. Rates did edge down toward the end of August, but prospective homebuyers still face the least affordable housing market in nearly 40 years.”
The month’s pipeline data showed rate lock activity fell for the third consecutive month, dropping 1.5% overall. Purchase locks, which have accounted for 88% of all activity for the fourth straight months, fell 1.9% from July. Longer-term, purchase lock counts are down 22% year over year and 34% off August 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Cash-out refinances remained relatively flat (0.3%), halting a two-month decline but more than 85% below the peak monthly volumes seen back in 2021. Rate/term refis increased by a modest 1.9% for the second straight month but remain down almost 20% year over year and an astonishing 98% off the record highs set back in 2020. Locks on such products will likely remain constrained for some time to come, as Black Knight loan-level data shows that less than 3% of existing mortgage holders have first-lien rates at or above today’s levels
“Interestingly, we saw very slight upticks in both cash-out and rate/term refinance locks in August,” Walden continued. “From what the data is showing us, much of this still very scarce activity is occurring among first-lien holders with older mortgages, or with particularly low balances, for whom today’s rates become less of an issue. With the purchase market essentially gridlocked, but homeowner equity within inches of an all-time high, we’ll continue to keep a close eye on the market for further signs of whether, how and to what degree American homeowners access that equity.”
Each month’s Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas by share of total origination volume. Much more detail on August’s origination activity can be found in the full Black Knight Originations Market Monitor report.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”
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- • Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, has released new API capabilities that automate the exchange of data between mortgage brokers using the Loansifter product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine and third-party integration partners
- • With the ability to automate the transfer of data, brokers using the Loansifter PPE can help mitigate risk and operate more efficiently by reducing manual processes
- • The launch of these API capabilities supports Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to an API-first strategy, as well as its focus on bringing more price transparency to consumer interactions
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Oct. 5, 2022 – Today, Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced the launch of new API capabilities for the Loansifter product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine to support the automated exchange of data between mortgage brokers and integration partners. The industry-leading Loansifter PPE, offered by Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, was built specifically for brokers and supports best execution searches across more than 120 investors. As an open-source tool, the Loansifter PPE now allows third-party integration partners to conveniently access rates from their existing broker clients, as well as prospective broker clients, via API connections.
“Loansifter has been the premier engine for mortgage brokers for over a decade, and now it delivers even greater utility and accuracy to brokers and integration partners alike,” said Scott Happ, president of the Optimal Blue division of Black Knight. “Technology providers can now automate access to rates without relying on manual data transfer from brokers, helping both parties increase efficiencies while avoiding errors and reducing risk.”
New API capabilities also support Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to an API-first strategy – building on efforts to lead the industry in pricing innovation and accessibility through both the Loansifter PPE and the Optimal Blue PPE.
“We understand the value an API platform brings to our clients and integration partners, and this is a testament to our focus on serving the industry’s needs,” Happ continued. “Providers now have access to thousands of brokers ready to share their rates, and brokers have an effortless connection to third parties that can help them advance their business goals.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
- • The Optimal Blue PPE – the most widely used product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine in the mortgage industry – now delivers even greater value to investors and lenders through new functionality that supports location-based pricing incentives
- • The new capability automates the process of collecting census tract data to provide applicable pricing premiums to consumers at the time of rate quote
- • This location-based pricing incentive feature assists both investors and lenders in promoting affordable housing in underserved markets in alignment with the Community Reinvestment Act
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Aug. 9, 2022 – Today, Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced an enhancement to its Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine – to support location-based pricing incentives. The Optimal Blue PPE delivers broad-reaching functionality that helps lenders access hundreds of investors and thousands of products for any mortgage financing scenario. This new capability automates the process of collecting census tract data to deliver applicable pricing premiums at the time of rate quote.
This advancement builds on Black Knight’s efforts to lead the industry in pricing innovation by delivering deeper capabilities and greater accuracy through the powerful Optimal Blue PPE engine. With seamless access to pricing that accounts for location-based incentives, investors and lenders using the Optimal Blue PPE can support affordable housing in underserved markets in alignment with the Community Reinvestment Act.
“With the ability to automatically determine and deliver location-based pricing, investors and lenders benefit from deeper efficiency and a streamlined price-quoting process,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “This expanded functionality is part of Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to provide innovation that addresses the latest needs of the market, as well as the credit needs of low- and moderate- income neighborhoods.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
New API Category Enables Vendors to Connect Consumers With an Array of Accurate Products and Pricing to Support a Premium Shopping Experience
- • Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, offers a new lead-quoting application programming interface (API) for lead-aggregation vendors
- • This API connects lead-aggregation vendors to the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine – to give consumers on-demand access to extensive and accurate product and pricing information from hundreds of investors and across thousands of products
- • Through a turnkey integration, vendors can leverage this API to connect to rates and make them accessible from their lead-generation or rate-table advertising websites, creating more seamless relationships between vendors and their lender partners, as well as more accurate pricing information for borrowers
- • This new lead-quoting API also supports Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to an API-first strategy
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – June 2, 2022 – Today, Black Knight, Inc., Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced the launch of a new lead-quoting application programming interface (API) that connects lead-aggregation vendors to the vast array of product and pricing information in the Optimal Blue PPE – the industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine. This new API enables lead-quoting vendors to display real-time rates on behalf of lenders using the Optimal Blue PPE. It also seamlessly connects to hundreds of investors and thousands of products for any mortgage financing scenario, and then makes the information available to borrowers on vendors’ lead-generation or rate-table advertising websites.
“The Optimal Blue PPE offers a single source of pricing from the industry’s largest network of investors, and now lead-quoting vendors can extend this depth and accuracy to borrowers,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “By adding this API to their toolbox, vendors have the opportunity to deliver a better experience to their lender partners who are already using the Optimal Blue PPE, as well as their consumers who expect easy access to accurate and transparent product and pricing information.”
The Optimal Blue PPE is used to price and lock 40% of U.S. mortgages – supporting $2.1 trillion of rate locks and processing more than 500 million rate searches annually. This API, which is available through a turnkey integration, builds on Optimal Blue’s efforts to lead the industry in pricing innovation by delivering deeper capabilities, accessibility and accuracy to clients through its comprehensive Optimal Blue PPE.
This new lead-quoting API also supports Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to an API-first strategy. It also supports the importance of online leads to assist clients with lead-generation efforts and enhance the mortgage shopping experience for borrowers.
“With the ability to connect to any lead-generation or rate-table advertising site, this API technology is a game-changer for vendors and lenders working to meet the digital demands of today’s consumers,” Happ continued. “It can also help lenders increase efficiency by leveraging a single API to maintain integrations with multiple lead aggregators.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
Contributory Benchmarking Tool Helps Investors Gauge How Pricing and Eligibility Strategies Compare to Peers
- • Investor Pricing Insight is a contributory benchmarking tool that allows correspondent and wholesale investors to assess the competitiveness of their pricing
- • The solution is powered by content processed within the Optimal Blue PPE, the industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine
- • Leveraging a contributory model, rather than survey data, Investor Pricing Insight utilizes real-time, actual pricing and makes it available to all participating investors on demand
- • Investors can instantly determine how their pricing and eligibility strategies compare to peer organizations and adjust approaches accordingly to operate more competitively
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – April 20, 2022 – Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI), announced the release of Investor Pricing Insight, a benchmarking tool that makes real-time pricing available to wholesale and correspondent mortgage investors on demand. Leveraging a contributory model, rather than survey data, Investor Pricing Insight enables investors to instantly determine how their pricing and eligibility strategies compare to peer organizations and adjust approaches accordingly to operate more competitively.
“Investor Pricing Insight provides actionable, real-time price comparisons so investors can elevate pricing and eligibility strategies to be proactive instead of reactive,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “Its unique contributory model gives investors access to actual, real-time competitor pricing data – not survey data based on periodic investor submissions. With Investor Pricing Insight, investors can eliminate the mystery of how their pricing stacks up to their peers, and in turn, compete more confidently.”
Investor Pricing Insight is available to correspondent and wholesale investors that supply content to the Optimal Blue PPE – the mortgage industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine. Investors can access competitive pricing information in real time and use it to establish or adjust their own loan pricing and programs. Through the solution’s contributory model, participant identities are disclosed on the report to provide the most relevant intelligence. Users have the flexibility to configure a scheduled, daily report of configured pricing scenarios, or to run individual scenarios through a live search tool. Additionally, historical spread data gives investors insight into how they are trending.
“Investor Pricing Insight makes it easy for investors to gauge their competitive position at any point in time with instant, valid data from the Optimal Blue PPE,” said Happ. “In addition to helping investors judge whether they’re pricing competitively, they can also discern non-pricing factors that may be impacting their performance and make any necessary changes to support their goals.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
Company Issues White Paper on Finding
- • Prepayment propensity is an important indicator of a loan’s future cash flow, itself a primary driver of value for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and mortgage servicing rights (MSR)
- • Existing prepayment models project single-month mortality (SMM) prepayment rates using traditional inputs; daily rate lock data can provide an earlier, concrete indicator of prepayment risk
- • Rate lock activity can enhance prepayment forecasting efforts because it reflects a decision already made by the borrower, not an external factor that may or may not lead to certain behavior
- • Black Knight captures origination rate lock data as an output of its Optimal Blue Product, Pricing and Eligibility (PPE) engine, which is then accessible through its Optimal Blue Mortgage Lock Data product
- • The Optimal Blue PPE captures key loan, borrower and property attributes at the point of rate lock, enabling rate locks to be separated into cohorts to match investors’ MBS pools or MSR loan portfolios
- • In a complimentary white paper, Black Knight examines using Mortgage Lock Data as a predictor of short-term prepayment speeds, supplementing behavioral models leveraging long-term historical data
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 28, 2022 – Today, Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) released a complimentary white paper exploring the use of mortgage pipeline rate lock data to inform daily prepayment modeling. As a primary indicator of a loan’s future cash flow, prepayment prediction is a critical component of valuing both mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and mortgage servicing rights (MSR). Black Knight captures origination rate lock data as an output of its Optimal Blue Product, Pricing and Eligibility (PPE) engine – mortgage lending’s most widely used product and pricing engine – which is then accessible through its Optimal Blue Mortgage Lock Data product.
“Interest rate movements are the leading signal of prepayment rates,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “As rates fall, borrowers are incentivized to refinance, which leads to a higher incidence of prepayment. In most cases, a rate lock will occur at roughly the same time as the application is submitted to the lender, reflecting a concrete decision on the part of a borrower to pursue funding. The timing of the lock makes it the most reliable, initially observed event in the mortgage process and a leading indicator of prepayments to the extent that a new mortgage, identified by the rate lock, will replace an existing loan. Pulling near real-time rate lock data into prepayment modeling pushes our industry closer to achieving a daily view of mortality rates.”
The white paper looks at the viability of predicting short-term prepayment speeds by tracking Optimal Blue Mortgage Lock Data – a potentially game-changing supplement to traditional behavioral models leveraging historical prepayment data. To demonstrate the predictive quality of rate lock activity, monthly volumes in the Mortgage Lock Data were compared to Single Monthly Mortality (SMM) as calculated from Black Knight’s McDash mortgage performance dataset. McDash data is servicercontributed and provides primary-sourced data for roughly 70% of all active residential U.S. mortgages and is widely used in the industry as a source of truth for prepayment speeds.
“Certainly, those concerned with mortgage prepayments have long considered application activity as a precursor for prepayments,” Happ continued. “But they have never been able to segment this early activity to predict prepayments on specific cohorts of MBS or MSR investments. Optimal Blue Mortgage Lock Data can be used as both a model input and a benchmark to compare existing prepayment assumptions. We urge prepayment analysts to test the value of incorporating rate lock data into their forecasting models. Our research suggests it will improve the predictive capability of prepayment models above and beyond standard inputs, particularly for modeling prepayment activity in the short term.”
Among the core takeaways included in the white paper is the demonstrable correlation between prepayment prediction and in-stratification lock activity. This parallel suggests that including combinations of selected cohorts into a predictive prepayment model could prove beneficial for more accurate valuations of MBS and MSR.
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serving their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
- • Black Knight’s Optimal Blue PPE is the mortgage industry’s most widely used product, pricing and eligibility engine, providing access to thousands of loan products from hundreds of investors
- • The Optimal Blue PPE now supports construction-only and construction-to-permanent loans
- • Lenders can now process construction loans more quickly and efficiently without leaving the platform, instead of manually pricing these products outside of the engine using multiple sources
- • Seamless data transfer between the Optimal Blue PPE and other integrated systems helps automate and streamline the handling of construction products for more efficient processing from start to finish
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nov. 18, 2021 – Today, Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced that its industry-leading Optimal Blue product, pricing and eligibility engine (Optimal Blue PPE) has been enhanced to add support for construction-only and construction-to-permanent loans. The Optimal Blue PPE’s broad-reaching functionality helps lenders access hundreds of investors and thousands of products for any mortgage financing scenario. Through this new capability, lenders can now also process construction loans directly within the solution, contributing to deeper efficiency and automation, as well as more seamless flow of data.
“This latest enhancement to the Optimal Blue PPE is yet another example of Black Knight’s commitment to continuous innovation that meets the needs of the market,” said Scott Happ, president, Black Knight Secondary Marketing Technologies. “Previously, lenders were manually pricing construction products outside of the pricing engine using various sources. This upgrade enables end-to-end processing of these loans more quickly and efficiently without leaving the platform.”
This advancement builds on Black Knight’s efforts to lead the industry in pricing innovation by delivering deeper capabilities and greater accuracy to clients through its comprehensive Optimal Blue PPE. By extending both efficiency and seamless access to the most current pricing for construction-only and construction-to-permanent loans, Black Knight clients receive even greater value from Optimal Blue PPE.
“More efficient handling of construction products benefits both lenders and their customers,” said Happ. “With the ability to more easily price these loans, consumers have faster, more accurate access to the information they need.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
22 min Featuring Mike Vough, Director Black Knight and John Dumonsau, Sales Solutions Specialist – Product and Pricing Engine, Black Knight
This episode explores how a product and pricing engine can improve member retention and enhance a credit union’s profitability.
- • Black Knight’s new pricing and committing API helps investors automate bulk bids and commitments in the correspondent lending process
- • This advanced API sets a new automation standard for correspondent buyer-seller interactions; it helps both investors and lenders achieve greater pricing accuracy, speed and transaction efficiency while extending daily pipeline marks to lenders
- • Investors can benefit from greater scalability in correspondent lending operations with the ability to view, price and purchase loans from more sellers, all with greater accuracy and speed, resulting in an overall more efficient loan acquisition process
- • The API is now integrated with CompassPoint, Black Knight’s risk management and loan sale platform, and the Resitrader loan trading solution, and is also available to other hedge advisors and technology providers
- • For the first time, lenders can now access daily price indications for rate lock commitments and closed loans in their pipelines from participating investors who previously did not publish daily mandatory price models
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – April 19, 2021 – Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI), a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries, recently announced the launch of a new application programming interface (API) to help investors automate bulk transaction pricing and committing in the correspondent lending process. This represents another step forward in the company’s strategy to boost lender efficiencies and workflow automation by providing real-time access to advanced secondary marketing capabilities throughout the mortgage loan process.
The new pricing and committing API is now integrated with CompassPoint, Black Knight’s risk management and loan sale platform, which is used by hundreds of industry professionals to hedge, value and sell more than $1 trillion in mortgage originations annually. It is also available via Resitrader, Black Knight’s online loan trading platform, which connects investors to a large base of sellers through a secure, cloud-based environment. Additionally, other mortgage hedge advisors and technology providers can implement this scalable, loan-level API for the benefit of their own lender customers.
Simplifying the exchange of information between correspondent buyers and sellers engaged in bulk transaction bidding and committing, the API provides an automated mechanism through which data can be shared and loans can be priced. Lenders can also access daily price indications for rate-lock commitments and closed loans in their pipeline.
“Black Knight continues to expand its development of APIs to drive innovation where there are industry opportunities for automation and efficiency,” said Rob Kessel, managing director, Black Knight Secondary Marketing Technologies. “This API marks a new standard for correspondent buyer-seller interactions and processes by automating the exchange of data, which has historically been a very manual process. It also solves the daily price discovery problem so many correspondent sellers face.”
Backed by CompassPoint’s sophisticated pipeline valuation model, the Black Knight API helps investors achieve higher levels of pricing accuracy and margin detail. With the ability to view more bids from more sellers, priced with greater accuracy, investors benefit from a more efficient commitment process and greater scalability. This advanced integration also provides sellers with one of the most efficient commitment workflows available, increasing the ease of doing business with the investor.
“Black Knight remains committed to providing comprehensive solutions that support an end-to-end correspondent lending process,” said Kessel. “Combined with our capabilities in valuation and analytics, pipeline risk management, and hedge advisory solutions and services, this API offers another layer to our secondary marketing ecosystem, which creates more efficiencies for the growing correspondent market.”
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serve their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com .
Media Contacts
Michelle Kersch
904.854.5043
michelle.kersch@bkfs.com
Mitch Cohen
704.890.8158
mitch.cohen@bkfs.com
— Dramatic increase in platform adoption leads to early completion of long-term business goal —
Optimal Blue, a leading provider of secondary marketing solutions and data services in the mortgage industry, announced the recent achievement of a significant milestone more than one year earlier than originally anticipated. With the recent signing of Houston Federal Credit Union in mid-July, Optimal Blue crossed the 1,000-client threshold with its Product & Pricing Solution, the industry’s leading solution in the mortgage technology categories often referred to as secondary marketing or PPE automation.
“We are excited for the opportunity to work with Houston FCU—our 1,000th PPE client. We look forward to providing them with the innovative capabilities of our secondary marketing platform that so many mortgage lenders leverage to create compelling results,” said Scott Happ, CEO of Optimal Blue. “Achieving this exclusive industry milestone earlier than we anticipated is a strong testament to the incredible focus, commitment, and drive maintained by each and every Optimal Blue team member.”
Historic low rates, record origination volumes, market volatility, and intense competitive pressures have created a unique set of challenges and opportunities for today’s mortgage lenders, often leading them to search for automation platforms that create sustainable, long-term competitive advantages. As a result, Optimal Blue’s Marketplace Platform—the mortgage industry’s dominant secondary marketing automation platform that houses its Product & Pricing Solution—has experienced a dramatic increase in adoption and set record levels of activity. This year, Optimal Blue and their clients collectively surpassed every transaction metric currently tracked by the company, including:
Total BESTX™ Rate Quotes: Optimal Blue clients completed a total of nearly 280 million rate quotes in the first seven months of 2020, reflecting a 71% increase in activity over the same time period in 2019.
Total Rate Lock Volume: Over $195 billion in rate locks were completed on the Optimal Blue platform in July 2020, the highest level of monthly volume in the company’s history. Additionally, Optimal Blue clients completed more than $1 trillion in rate locks in the first seven months of 2020, more than doubling rate lock volume over the same time period in 2019.
Total Loan Trade Volume: Over $11.5 billion in loan trades were completed on the Optimal Blue platform in July 2020, 20% greater than the next highest month. The company has facilitated more than $57 billion in loan trades in the first seven months of 2020.
“Last year, 35% of all mortgage transactions completed nationwide were locked on the Optimal Blue platform by our impressive network of lender clients,” explained Happ. “We are humbled by the trust and confidence our clients place in Optimal Blue to facilitate those transactions, and we applaud their success and incredible growth.”
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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com
Optimal Blue, the leading provider of secondary marketing solutions and actionable data services in the mortgage industry, recently collaborated with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to enable the real-time distribution of Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices™ (OBMMI™) on the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) platform. This addition of timely mortgage data is another step forward in Optimal Blue’s ongoing commitment to make its proprietary rate indices more easily accessible to a broader market segment.
FRED, created and maintained by the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is a free online database consisting of hundreds of thousands of economic data time series from scores of national, international, public, and private sources. The inclusion of granular and accurate indices that depict the daily movement of mortgage rates provides lenders, investors, researchers, and economists with an unprecedented level of daily insight into observed transaction activity, as well as greater visibility into key drivers of mortgage pricing. Together, Optimal Blue and FRED now provide a new and unique access point to this valuable data.
“As the only transaction-based set of mortgage rates available to the industry and beyond, OBMMI establishes transparency beyond what is offered by lenders to what is actually being locked by consumers across 35% of all mortgage transactions nationwide,” explained Rick Allen, Vice President of Business Transformation at Optimal Blue. “Our new collaboration with FRED enables Optimal Blue to deliver this near real-time visibility to even more recipients that are thoroughly invested in this data.”
OBMMI was created by Optimal Blue to provide mortgage and finance professionals and market participants alike with greater visibility into how key credit factors impact mortgage pricing. Based on actual locked rates, each of the sixteen mortgage rate indices are developed around the most popular mortgage loan products and the primary credit-related attributes that impact mortgage pricing. OBMMI can be compared through compelling, interactive, and configurable visualizations to provide an unprecedented level of daily insight into mortgage rate trends.
“Our signature economic database known as FRED provides our users around the globe with the economic data they need—anytime, anywhere they need it,” said Maria A. Arias, FRED Data Engineer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Allen concluded, “We believe the addition of OBMMI as an economic data series on FRED will assist thousands of users to better understand mortgage rate movements and important dynamics across the evolving mortgage landscape.”
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PRESS CONTACT FOR THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS
Laura Taylor
(314) 313-4613
laura.taylor@stls.frb.org
PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com