Tag: PPE

Optimal Blue Achieves 1,000 PPE Client Milestone

— 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

SimpleNexus and Optimal Blue Enhance Integration to Deliver Fully Integrated Mobile Rate-Locking Solution

SimpleNexus, developer of the leading digital mortgage platform for loan officers, borrowers and real estate agents, today announced significant enhancements to its integration with Optimal Blue, the leading provider of secondary marketing solutions and data services in the mortgage industry. The combined solution is the industry’s first to enable loan originators to lock loan pricing from a mobile device.

Now, mutual customers of SimpleNexus and Optimal Blue can run pricing scenarios and request rate locks directly from the SimpleNexus mobile or web application. Two-way data integration between SimpleNexus, Optimal Blue and the lender’s loan origination system streamlines the lock request process to minimize manual data entry, advancing loan originators straight to the results page whenever possible.

“Loan pricing can change throughout the day with little advance warning, especially in today’s turbulent market,” said SimpleNexus COO Ben Miller. “The ability to rapidly lock a loan from a mobile device puts loan originators at a tremendous advantage, enabling them to more effectively manage high volume and close more deals.”

Optimal Blue has seen record-setting system volume every month since February 2020, with clients using its enterprise product eligibility and pricing engine to lock well over $1 trillion in mortgage volume in the last 12 months alone.

“To handle today’s unprecedented level of activity, lenders need to leverage integrations that create efficiencies and make rate locking processes more scalable and effective” explained Optimal Blue Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Alliances Bob Brandt. “Optimal Blue’s integration with SimpleNexus puts accurate mortgage rates at the fingertips of borrowers and loan officers — no matter what device they’re using.”

For more information, visit https://simplenexus.com/sn/partners/optimal-blue/.

ABOUT SimpleNexus, LLC

SimpleNexus is the digital mortgage platform that enables lenders to originate and process loans from anywhere. The company’s best-in-class, easy-to-use app connects loan officers to their borrowers and real estate agents to easily communicate and exchange data in a single location throughout the entire loan life cycle. Loan officers can manage their loan pipelines, order credit, run pricing, send pre-approvals and sign disclosures — all on the go.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR SimpleNexus
Leslie Colley
DepthPR
(404) 390-3830
Leslie@DepthPR.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

Own Up Leverages Optimal Blue’s Scenario Pricing APIs to Enhance Their Borrower-Centric Origination Model

Optimal Blue, the leading provider of secondary marketing automation and services in the mortgage industry, announced today an integration with Own Up. By integrating their home financing platform with Optimal Blue’s advanced product eligibility and pricing APIs, Own Up is now able to seamlessly return all possible mortgage options across multiple lender partners, thereby optimizing the home shopping experience for borrowers.

This unique partnership allows Own Up to leverage data for the purpose of helping borrowers secure mortgage financing options from a network of lenders that specifically match to their qualifications. This new approach to shopping for and securing a mortgage enables today’s consumer to not only find the mortgage they deserve on their own terms, but also empowers lenders to connect with targeted borrowers in a cost-effective manner.

“The real estate industry is experiencing a massive technological change,” explained Mike Tassone, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Own Up. “This makes partnerships like the one we have built with Optimal Blue incredibly important. Our integration provides Own Up customers with access to more data and enhances our connectivity with lenders so that we can create a modern mortgage experience for consumers, simplifying their lives and resulting in better financial outcomes.”

In addition to effectively engaging and prequalifying prospective borrowers, the seamless integration allows Own Up to better serve mortgage lenders in their pursuit to originate more loans and improve profitability.

“Optimal Blue is excited to partner with Own Up, and together, create a seamless solution for more borrowers to connect with more lenders,” said Chazz Huston, Strategic Alliances Manager at Optimal Blue. “Pairing their service with our highly accurate product eligibility and pricing is just another step forward in satisfying the growing digital demand across the industry.”

ABOUT OWN UP
Own Up is a technology company that is changing the way consumers shop for and secure a mortgage by empowering consumers with customized data, personalized advice, and unprecedented access to mortgage lenders. Own Up has created a modern home financing experience for borrowers that leads to better financial outcomes and reduces anxiety, while also increasing loan volume and profitability for our lender partners. For more information, visit www.ownup.com.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR OWN UP
Mike Tassone
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
(857) 600-1420
mike@ownup.com

Ellie Mae and Optimal Blue Enhance Secondary Marketing Integrations to Create End-to-End User Experience

Ellie Mae®, the leading cloud-based loan origination platform for the mortgage industry, announced today the expansion of the strategic partnership with Optimal Blue®, the leading secondary marketing automation platform in the mortgage industry. The expansion includes the collaboration on multiple next-generation, API-based integrations between the Ellie Mae Digital Lending Platform and the Optimal Blue’s Marketplace Platform™ – specifically the company’s flagship Product & Pricing, Hedge Analytics, and Loan Trading solutions. Additionally, Optimal Blue’s Hedge Analytics and Loan Trading solutions now join Optimal Blue’s Product & Pricing as recommended solutions in the Ellie Mae Marketplace™.

Focused on creating a seamless, end-to-end workflow between lenders and investors, Ellie Mae and Optimal Blue are underway with new initiatives to rethink how to best leverage Ellie Mae’s Digital Lending Platform and Optimal Blue’s industry-leading pricing, hedging, and loan trading capabilities to benefit both sellers and Investors. Their collective efforts will create new and further enhance existing integrations between Optimal Blue and Encompass Consumer Connect®, Encompass LO Connect®, Encompass TPO Connect®, and Encompass Investor Connect® solutions that will enable a completely automated data and document exchange between their lender and investor clients. The companies plan to collaborate on these new integrations and efficient workflow improvements throughout 2020.

“Ellie Mae is thrilled about the expansion of our partnership with Optimal Blue,” said Parvesh Sahi, senior vice president, business development for Ellie Mae. “Ellie Mae is committed to enabling further innovation on the Ellie Mae Digital Lending Platform with industry-leading partners like Optimal Blue. This investment to deepen our partnership enables both originators and the purchasers of mortgage loans originated on Encompass to benefit from Optimal Blue’s broad secondary marketing capabilities.”

“Optimal Blue is proud of the work we have done over the past several years to strengthen our Ellie Mae partnership,” explained Scott Happ, President & Chief Executive Officer of Optimal Blue. “Increasing the joint value proposition to our mutual clients by building deeper and more meaningful pricing, hedging, and trading integrations between our platforms to create more efficient workflows is very exciting news for Optimal Blue, Ellie Mae, and our clients.”

ABOUT ELLIE MAE
Ellie Mae is the leading cloud-based loan origination platform provider for the mortgage industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and shorten the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362 to learn more.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR ELLIE MAE
Erica Bigley
Ellie Mae, Inc.
(925) 227-5913
Erica.Bigley@elliemae.com

Caitlin Coffee
Allison+Partners
(312) 635-8204
EllieMae@allisonpr.com

© 2020 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, AllRegs®, Mavent®, Velocify®, the Ellie Mae logo and other trademarks or service marks of Ellie Mae, Inc. appearing herein are the property of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Roostify Leverages Optimal Blue to Automate Buyer Approvals Throughout Digital Mortgage Lending Experience

— Roostify expands existing partnership to incorporate industry-leading product and pricing solution into platform —

Roostify, the nation’s most trusted digital lending platform, today announced an expanded relationship with Optimal Blue, the leading provider of secondary marketing automation to the mortgage industry. The enhanced functionality obtained through this collaborative partnership will enable Roostify to further automate the digital lending experience for their clients by embedding Optimal Blue’s comprehensive pricing capabilities directly into their platform. Roostify has leveraged Optimal Blue’s product eligibility and pricing (PPE) technology to support lead generation efforts since 2016. Now, the enhanced integration enables their digital lending platform to deliver Optimal Blue’s robust, accurate pricing options directly to loan officers and borrowers, without ever leaving the Roostify environment.

The enhanced integration enables loan officers to access product and pricing information, and seamlessly share this data with borrowers at any time, from anywhere, through a fully mobile-optimized solution. The ability to access this data at the immediate point of need equips users with added flexibility and ultimately increases loan officer productivity and borrower engagement.

“Optimal Blue is committed to working with technology-forward partners that truly understand the incredible value of delivering accurate product and pricing to all relevant access points within the loan lifecycle,” explained Bob Brandt, vice president of marketing and strategic alliances at Optimal Blue. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Roostify as they leverage our robust APIs to improve the digital mortgage experience for lenders and their clients.”

“Our partnership with Optimal Blue has been a significant value add for several years, starting with lead generation,” said Rajesh Bhat, co-founder and chief executive officer of Roostify. “With the enhanced integration of their PPE technology into our platform, we now have real-time borrower approval that elevates the customer experience and is best in class.”

ABOUT ROOSTIFY
Founded by consumers looking for a better way to buy a home, Roostify leads the industry in delivering accelerated and transparent digital lending experiences, processing nearly $20 billion a month in loans. From enterprise banks to independent mortgage lenders, lenders across the United States rely on Roostify to speed up closings, reduce risk and unnecessary work, and improve their customers’ lending experience. The company’s highly secure, future-proof lending platform is trusted by some of the world’s largest lenders. For more information, please visit www.roostify.com or follow them on social media at LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/roostify) or Twitter (@Roostify).

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR ROOSTIFY
Alyson Austin
Gaffney Austin, LLC
(949) 403-0484
alyson@gaffneyaustin.com

MBS Highway Integrates with Optimal Blue’s Pricing APIs to Improve Loan Officer Productivity

— Advanced integration delivers compliant, real-time mortgage comparisons —

Optimal Blue, the leading provider of secondary marketing automation and services in the mortgage industry, announced today the integration of MBS Highway’s mortgage market data and analytics platform. Through direct integration with Optimal Blue’s full suite of product eligibility and pricing APIs, MBS Highway’s advisor platform now seamlessly enables real-time, compliant, and personalized scenario comparison pricing, initiating an insightful and high-conversion mortgage loan process.

By integrating with Optimal Blue’s modernized APIs, MBS Highway advisors can simultaneously present product eligibility and variable rate comparisons for all loan programs – without ever having to leave the MBS Highway platform. Increasing the availability of program options creates a unique one-stop-shopping experience that positions MBS Highway as a transparent resource, leading to more referrals and higher application conversion rates.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s very important to convert as many potential clients into an application as possible,” explained Avi Habib, Chief Operating Officer at MBS Highway. “Our clients will be able to pull in the most accurate pricing data directly from Optimal Blue, providing consumers all the possibilities of homeownership.”

“Optimal Blue’s partnership with MBS Highway gives mutual clients a competitive advantage under any market conditions,” said Chazz Huston, Strategic Alliances Manager at Optimal Blue. “The ability to quickly provide all possible and circumstantial rates is necessary to moving the application process forward.”

ABOUT MBS HIGHWAY
MBS Highway is a communication tool that will help you improve your batting average and turn more conversations into applications. There are various tools within MBS Highway that will help you show your customers and referral partners that you are a true advisor and an expert in the mortgage industry. In today’s constantly changing mortgage environment, it’s crucial that you stay ahead of these changes and your competition, so you stop losing out on loans! You’ll have the ability to generate Real Estate reports for every county in the US, with historical and forecasted rates of appreciation, so you can show your client the financial opportunity that exists in purchasing a home. Show your borrower easily and clearly which loan option is truly the best for them based on their specific situation. Become your Realtor’s go-to referral source by being able to show their customers the missed financial opportunity by delaying their purchase. Be a debt manager for past clients by showing them how you will be able to restructure their debt to reduce overall monthly payments and drive refinance business. Create short, engaging content for social media to drive referral business and keep you top of mind with customers as a trusted expert in the mortgage world.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR MBS HIGHWAY
Avi Habib
COO
(732) 526-7900
avi@mbshighway.com

Ellie Mae Expands Relationship with Optimal Blue to Integrate Product & Pricing with Encompass LO Connect

— Real-time integration provides loan officers with mobile access to Optimal Blue’s market leading PPE —

Ellie Mae®,the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, today announced an extended integration with Optimal Blue to enhance Encompass LO Connect™, Ellie Mae’s Encompass mobile solution for LOs on the go. LO Connect gives loan officers secure, real-time access to the Encompass® Digital Lending Platform from their fingertips, from any mobile device.

LO Connect gives loan officers the competitive advantage of providing the highest level of customer service, and the ability to originate and close loans faster from anywhere, at any time. It offers:

• Enhanced borrower communications to help loan officers stay engaged and deliver a superior customer experience
• Always-on, real-time access to move loans forward
• The ability to connect with agents, referral partners, credit reporting agencies, and underwriters, from a single system of record

LO Connect can also enable your team to take action on abandoned loan applications through Encompass Consumer Connect™, Ellie Mae’s point-of-sale solution, to capture business that otherwise would be lost.

Hundreds of Ellie Mae lenders rely on Optimal Blue to support their product and pricing strategies in the Encompass Digital Lending Platform. By extending the Optimal Blue integration to the Opportunities view within LO Connect, loan officers can accurately quote the most appropriate financing alternatives based on the borrower’s unique mortgage loan scenario – all from the convenience of their mobile device. In addition, Ellie Mae has also integrated to Optimal Blue’s pricing and lock functionality on the Pipeline view within LO Connect, enabling loan officers to confidently price and lock loans with Optimal Blue while never leaving Encompass.

“We are excited to once again expand our integration with the Encompass Digital Lending Platform,” explained Scott Happ, CEO at Optimal Blue. “Optimal Blue is committed to an API-first strategy that provides real-time access to our industry leading secondary marketing capabilities with the systems our clients rely upon throughout the mortgage loan process.”

“More than 80 percent of top loan producers say digital mortgage technology is key to their company’s future growth,” said Joe Tyrrell, chief operating officer, Ellie Mae. “With Optimal Blue support now included in Encompass LO Connect, loan officers now have access to product and pricing whether they are in the office or on the go. This partnership with Optimal Blue gives loan officers access to the tools and technology they need to be successful.”

For more information about how to benefit from LO Connect with Optimal Blue, visit:
https://www.elliemae.com/encompass/encompass-lo-connect

ABOUT ELLIE MAE
Ellie Mae is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, lower origination costs, and reduce the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit ‪EllieMae.com‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ or call ‪(877) 355-4362‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ to learn more.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR ELLIE MAE
Erica Harvill
Ellie Mae, Inc.
(925) 227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com

© 2019 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, AllRegs®, the Ellie Mae logo and other trademarks or service marks of Ellie Mae, Inc. appearing herein are the property of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Tavant Integrates with Optimal Blue’s Scenario Pricing API to Enhance the Home Shopping Experience

— Enables lenders to bring price consistency and transparency to the entire mortgage process —

Tavant, a leading digital products and solutions company for the consumer lending industry, today announced the next level of integration between Tavant VΞLOX, its AI-powered digital lending platform, and Optimal Blue’s industry-leading product eligibility and pricing engine.

The upgraded integration creates new efficiencies throughout the loan lifecycle and quickly converts leads into loans. The integration of VΞLOX with Optimal Blue’s real-time Scenario Pricing API provides immediate access to accurate and compliant product, eligibility, and pricing information at the point of sale — maximizing efficiency in the loan life cycle while minimizing the potential for error.

Tavant VΞLOX brings a best-in-class, fully personalized user experience through any business channel while removing significant costs from the loan origination process. The platform facilitates a single, integrated, hierarchical view of the entire loan pipeline and provides lenders with the ability to drive the lending process seamlessly.

Together, the companies provide loan originators the ability for multi-system product and pricing distribution to offer borrowers a more personalized and customized exchange. Additionally, the integration reduces the amount of manual intervention, raising process efficiency and data accuracy across the supported loan process.

“We are delighted about our partnership with Optimal Blue. By leveraging Optimal Blue’s pricing and lock automation, Tavant has taken a major step towards eliminating traditional inefficiencies and advancing the industry’s digital mortgage agenda,” said Hassan Rashid, CRO, Tavant.

“The real-time integration between Optimal Blue’s product eligibility and pricing engine and Tavant’s VΞLOX platform is a great example of how modern, yet disparate systems can interact as one and deliver a better user experience and new efficiencies,” explained Bob Brandt, Vice President of Marketing and Alliances at Optimal Blue. “The partnership between our organizations will continue to grow and remain focused on creating a better loan process for our mutual clients.”

ABOUT TAVANT
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Tavant is a digital products and platforms company that provides impactful results to its customers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Founded in 2000, the company employs over 2500 people and is a recognized top employer. Tavant is creating an AI-powered intelligent lending enterprise by reimagining customer experiences, driving operational efficiencies and improving collaboration. Find Tavant on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR TAVANT
Vibhor Mishra
(408) 519-5400
press@tavant.com

Optimal Blue’s Product and Pricing Becomes the Mortgage Industry’s System of Record

— The company’s PPE network now includes more than 2,000 clients —

Over the last two years, Optimal Blue has strategically acquired several companies, built an extensive API network, and invested heavily in automation and technology with one goal in mind: to create an entirely automated secondary marketing ecosystem for mortgage originators and investors, as well as the technology providers they rely upon every day.

Those efforts have established Optimal Blue’s product and pricing as the mortgage industry’s system of record — from leads at the beginning of the process to hedging and selling into the secondary market — approximately one of every three mortgages is facilitated by the company’s Digital Mortgage Marketplace.

Optimal Blue’s recent acquisition of LoanLogics’ PPE business unit, LoanDecisions, is just the latest in a series of strategic buys, including its purchase of Comergence in 2017 and Resitrader earlier this year.

Comergence enables Optimal Blue to offer a wide array of comprehensive due diligence and oversight capabilities, while the acquisition of Resitrader assets created the industry’s largest digital loan trading platform, allowing Optimal Blue to support more than $750 billion in transactions across its marketplace.

With the LoanDecisions acquisition marking the beginning of what seems to be a consolidation trend in the PPE space, Optimal Blue has expanded the reach of its PPE network to a client count exceeding 2,000+.

These customers are already in the process of migrating to the Optimal Blue PPE and the company will continue to expand its partnership with LoanLogics to automate correspondent loan transactions.

Essential to all of this innovation is Optimal Blue’s expanding universe of APIs, created over the last 18 months by a dedicated team of developers. The company has more than 50 customers using their APIs directly, with more than 40 vendors providing solutions that allow originators and investors to build a custom set of solutions that maximize opportunity at every critical inflection point throughout the mortgage process.

Originators are using Optimal Blue APIs for best execution product and pricing, loan and pipeline management, configuration, search results, and lock management, while investors are leveraging them for counter party oversight, NMLS verification, historical production, prospect marketing, compliance questionnaires, and FHA performance scores.

In September, Optimal Blue launched the latest in its series, a set of post-lock management APIs that enable users to easily incorporate worse case evaluations, change request submissions, and historical pricing for any loan or scenario.

Erin Wester, senior product manager at Optimal Blue, explained how the new post-lock APIs fit into the company’s initiative to fully automate everything within the Optimal Blue user interface via an API.

“We took a look at the API products we have today and some common use cases — how our clients are using them,” explained Wester. “With the post-lock APIs, users can now execute searches, create and manage loans, and submit lock requests. You can lock and register the loan through our APIs.”

The new offerings include APIs for change requests and APIs related to historical pricing results. The latter allows searching for a loan ID with a desired date and time, or even searching for a specific scenario based on a certain date and time.

Optimal Blue also recently introduced a direct data access option for its business intelligence suite, which provides users with a robust data that contains an extremely granular history of every change that has taken place within the Optimal Blue platform — including who requested a change and when, who accepted it, who denied it, etc.

The direct data access option lets users connect internal data warehouses, support custom analytics, and uniquely integrate to any in-house visualization solution. This includes data visualizations on locking analytics and change request analytics. For example, users will be able to see how many times a lock desk is having to touch a loan, as well as average cost and days per lock extension.

“The direct data access product is an automated way for the user to gain access to their organization’s unique raw data and run their own in-house, custom analytics,” Wester said. “This competitive and actionable insight is then reported to internal data warehouse solutions within the institution, opening the door for any mortgage professional to quantify and transform operational data into an advantageous asset.”

In reflecting on the previous year and the extensive progress that the company has achieved, CEO Scott Happ explained, “2018 has been a prolific year for Optimal Blue, both from an acquisition and product development perspective. Not only have we strengthened our offering with substantial new capabilities, we’ve expanded our network with scores of new client and vendor relationships.”

It has, in fact, been a noteworthy year for Optimal Blue, as the company continues to thrive in its quest to fully automate the secondary marketing function.

This piece was originally featured on HousingWire.com.

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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 and LoanLogics Join Forces to Automate Loan Acquisition for Correspondent Lenders

— New alliance includes Optimal Blue acquisition of LoanLogics’ PPE business, LoanDecisions™ —

Optimal Blue, the leading secondary marketing automation platform in the mortgage industry, and LoanLogics, a recognized leader in loan quality technology for mortgage manufacturing and loan acquisition, announced today a newly formed strategic partnership aimed at changing the digital correspondent experience. By delivering a real-time integration between LoanLogics’ LoanHD® Correspondent Lending platform and Optimal Blue’s product eligibility and pricing platform, the companies significantly advance the automation of correspondent loan transactions and create a compelling competitive advantage for clients of both firms. In conjunction with this partnership, Optimal Blue has acquired LoanLogics’ product, pricing, and eligibility (PPE) technology business, LoanDecisions™.

LoanLogics’ LoanHD platform provides automation for every step in the loan acquisition process – from initial seller application review to loan funding and servicing onboarding – and overcomes the challenges that stem from a traditionally manual and fragmented correspondent loan purchase workflow. With the capabilities of LoanHD, investors ensure the loans they are buying are high quality, compliant, and accurately priced, while sellers experience rapid turnaround for funding and enhanced availability of warehouse lines. Additionally, both parties gain value by finding and curing defects before loans are purchased.

Through real-time integration with Optimal Blue’s product eligibility and pricing platform, LoanLogics fully automates loan-level pricing and eligibility controls that are pervasive throughout loan file review and enhances a critical aspect of the correspondent workflow inside the LoanHD Correspondent Investor Module. The granular feature set of the Optimal Blue solution will drive greater configurability of the LoanHD platform, bringing new and unique capabilities to clients. Additionally, Optimal Blue will provide support for automated adjustments to loan- and bulk-level pricing based on automated due diligence results, while simultaneously delivering maximum flexibility in support of an investor’s secondary guidelines and pricing requirements.

“Working closely with the Optimal Blue team, we will expand the value each company can offer our respective clients through an integrated solution,” explained Brian Fitzpatrick, LoanLogics CEO. “Individually, we are leaders in our respective disciplines. Together, we offer powerful technology to help investors ‘automate first’ across their loan purchase, pricing, hedging, trading, and counterparty risk oversight practices.”

“We are delighted with this transaction and extend a warm welcome to LoanDecisions’ customers and staff,” said Scott Happ, Optimal Blue CEO. “We are investing deeply in our PPE technology and are committed to delivering the best-in-class solutions and innovative partner connections across our marketplace.”

LoanLogics and Optimal Blue share a long-term vision for the relationship and consider this the first step of many together. With a collective focus on providing innovative automation for the mortgage industry and compelling value for joint customers, additional strategic initiatives and collaborative integrations across the companies’ respective technology platforms are already being considered.

ABOUT LOANLOGICS
LoanLogics was founded in 2005 to improve the transparency and accuracy of the mortgage process and improve the quality of loans. Our regtech capabilities help residential mortgage lenders, servicers, insurers and investors validate compliance, improve profitability and manage risk during the manufacture, sale, and servicing of loan assets. We are proud of the recognition our loan quality management and performance analytics technology has received, the corporate recognition of our business and client growth through Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, corporate culture awards and executive leadership team recognition, including the leadership of our women executives. As the digital mortgage process evolves, our innovations and compliance expertise will continue to help ensure the accuracy and performance of loan assets. To learn more, visit www.loanlogics.com.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PromonTech Announces Integration with Optimal Blue

— Borrower Wallet will now offer access to latest product eligibility and pricing information —

PromonTech, the technology unit of Promontory MortgagePath, announced today that its point-of-sale (POS) solution, Borrower Wallet™, is now integrated with Optimal Blue, a leading provider of secondary marketing automation and services in the mortgage industry.

This seamless integration provides consumers and loan officers easy access to qualified products and rates. Consumers can easily review the types of mortgages they qualify for by simply adjusting their search criteria or by having their loan officers search using the Optimal Blue product eligibility and pricing engine.

Borrower Wallet is a white-label, omni-platform POS that engages with customers using any computer or mobile device, on either a self-serve or assisted basis with a loan officer. The secure, borrower-friendly environment is designed to build confidence and make it easy for the borrower to enter information, approve automated data collection, upload/e-send documents, sign disclosures, utilize the closing center, and stay informed throughout the loan origination journey through loan closing. Borrower Wallet promotes both applicant self-service and values the role the loan officer plays as a trusted advisor. One of the unique features of Borrower Wallet is a dashboard that shows the borrower their key metrics – credit score, debt-to-income, and loan-to-value ratios – that loan decision-makers will use to approve their loans. In addition, lenders can accommodate their applicants anytime/anywhere in a secure workspace and loan officers can be a true co-pilot by enhancing the application process and loan quality ahead of underwriting.

“In this competitive mortgage market, today’s lenders are looking to differentiate their service offering and meet new consumer demands,” said Bob Brandt, vice president of Marketing and Alliances at Optimal Blue. “By integrating with Optimal Blue’s advanced API, PromonTech provides lenders with the tools they need to succeed by enabling the borrower to seamlessly access accurate pricing and product selection early in the application process.”

“Our main goal at PromonTech is always to provide the best possible service and home-buying experience for our customers – borrowers, lenders, and loan officers,” said Michael Kolbrener, chief technology officer of PromonTech. “Partnering with Optimal Blue streamlines the application process by offering our clients real-time access to the most accurate product eligibility and pricing information.”

ABOUT PROMONTORY MORTGAGEPATH
Headquartered in New York, Promontory MortgagePath was founded by Gene Ludwig and Bruce Witherell, the former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency and chief operating officer of Freddie Mac, respectively. The company has two main operating divisions: PromonTech, its Denver-based technology arm, and Promontory Fulfillment Services. PromonTech is a FinTech hybrid – that is, a technology company, led by seasoned banking and mortgage executives. Its digital solutions are designed by talented technologists and mortgage experts, working collaboratively to eliminate pain points and enhance the customer experience. Promontory Fulfillment Services offers end-to-end white-label mortgage fulfillment services for banks, mortgage banks and private investors and is located in Danbury, Conn. Promontory MortgagePath is the winner of the 2018 HW Tech100™ award and the 2018 Progress in Lending Innovations award.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

Finastra Integrates Optimal Blue Live Pricing into Fusion MortgagebotPOS

Finastra has integrated Optimal Blue into its Fusion MortgagebotPOS solution, enabling banks and credit unions to provide mortgage applicants with Optimal Blue’s live pricing searches, via any point-of-sale channel. The addition of Optimal Blue to MortgagebotPOS furthers Finastra’s relationship with the enterprise secondary marketing automation vendor, which already integrates with the Fusion MortgagebotLOS loan origination platform.

“Finastra is committed to developing an ecosystem of innovation, and working with companies like Optimal Blue helps us deliver the full value of our solutions to our clients,” said Mike Dionne, Senior Vice President, Community Markets, Finastra. “By expanding our relationship with Optimal Blue, we are giving mortgage lenders that use our point-of-sale platform seamless access to market-leading enterprise lending services, including product and pricing.”

As a leading provider of secondary marketing automation and services to the mortgage industry, Optimal Blue’s solutions enable thousands of lenders to easily implement, manage, and execute sophisticated product and pricing strategies focused on increasing competitiveness and creating new efficiencies. By directly embedding Optimal Blue’s broad portfolio of REST APIs into its mortgage origination solutions, Finastra is able to fully leverage the capabilities of Optimal Blue, providing joint clients real-time access to compliant product and pricing content throughout the Fusion Mortgagebot solutions.

“We are thrilled to mark a new chapter of collaboration with Finastra by extending the use of our APIs into the Fusion Mortgagebot platform,” explained Bob Brandt, Vice President of Marketing & Alliances at Optimal Blue. “This highly-anticipated integration vastly improves the user experience and uniquely positions our joint clients to create substantial new efficiencies throughout the entire loan life cycle.”

Fusion MortgagebotPOS is a web-based solution that allows lenders to receive accurate, qualified applications through every point-of-sale channel: consumer-direct via the internet, in the branch or call center, or through professional loan officers. As a cloud-based solution, borrowers have the option of completing an application in one channel or moving seamlessly between channels, depending on their needs and preferences. This web‐based technology allows users to explore rates, fees and products; complete an application in minutes; get instant approvals; and receive immediate online disclosures – anywhere they have internet access.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR FINASTRA
Patrick Kilhaney
Public & Analyst Relations Manager
(917) 286-1053
patrick.kilhaney@finastra.com

Optimal Blue’s API Platform Powers Broad Industry Ecosystem; A Single Source for Pricing

In 2016, Optimal Blue made a strategic decision to an open its platform to third-party systems by building a series of APIs designed to provide comprehensive access to system data and workflow functionality. Several factors drove this strategy, including the notion that while loan pricing information must be consumed by a myriad of systems, customers prefer to maintain a single implementation of product eligibility and pricing data. A second factor was the growing interest by third-party applications in embedding product eligibility, pricing data, and secondary marketing workflows. And finally, the digital mortgage movement and demand for greater information transparency was increasing the need to present consistent, real-time product and price data throughout the consumer engagement process. Now, roughly one year after Optimal Blue released its first transaction sets, the company finds itself at the center of a large and growing ecosystem of mortgage technology providers that rely on Optimal Blue APIs.

More than forty vendors have integrated with Optimal Blue’s API platform, offering a wide variety of services to the company’s customers, including solutions for customer relationship management, marketing, point-of-sale, mobile, loan origination, and lead generation. Now, for the first time, Optimal Blue clients can confidently rely on a single source of accurate pricing to power an array of systems. Hundreds of Optimal Blue clients are taking advantage of the connectivity that now exists between the product and pricing data they maintain within the Optimal Blue platform and connected vendors.

“Optimal Blue is fast becoming a utility for the industry now that our customers can simply plug their price data into nearly any technology solution,” explained Scott Happ, CEO of Optimal Blue.

Through its RESTful API platform, Optimal Blue supports a growing variety of transactions including product eligibility, complete price results, and locking. Because third-party applications are all connected using Optimal Blue’s common API framework, product eligibility and pricing is handled consistently by each application and APR calculations, payment disclosures, and mortgage insurance quotes are always correct. To ensure third-party applications comply with data and connectivity standards, Optimal Blue maintains a rigorous vendor certification process.

The success of Optimal Blue’s API initiative has been bolstered by the industry’s growing interest in bringing price transparency to consumer interactions. Today, nearly all consumers begin the mortgage loan process online and have come to expect on-demand, transparent, and consistent information. These evolving consumer expectations paired with the industry’s highly competitive environment are causing a rush by originators to adopt digital capabilities. In the process, originators must grapple with how to integrate digital mortgage technologies, deliver information to the consumer in a real-time and compliant manner, and ensure consumers have a consistent experience across channels and throughout the origination process.

Optimal Blue ‘s ecosystem of API-connected vendors provides a solution for originators wishing to bring price consistency and transparency to their entire mortgage process. Clients are using these third-party vendor connections to jumpstart their entry into the digital mortgage arena and are realizing significant operational and compliance benefits from using Optimal Blue as a single source for loan pricing.

“In creating a platform supporting third-party applications, Optimal Blue has crushed the barrier to the digital mortgage,” added Happ. “By connecting virtually every vendor in the digital mortgage space to the Optimal Blue platform, we have paved the way for originators to join the digital mortgage movement.”

Looking forward, Optimal Blue intends to extend the success of its API initiative by aggressively adding transactions supporting an even deeper integration of data and workflows. Currently in development are a set of transactions that will support advanced lock desk functionality, including re-locks, lock extensions, worst case pricing, and change requests.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

Big Purple Dot Selects Optimal Blue to Streamline Processes Throughout the Loan Lifecycle

Customer Relations Management (CRM) provider, Big Purple Dot, has chosen Optimal Blue as their partner to integrate accurate product eligibility and pricing data into their platform through the use of Optimal Blue’s advanced API. This highly-anticipated integration will simplify a historically disjointed lead-to-close process, enhancing collaboration and streamlining business processes throughout the loan lifecycle.

As a client driven product and technology platform, Big Purple Dot evolves with the needs and wants of their customer base. “Our clientele has been asking for an Optimal Blue integration for several years,” explained Aldo Sarmiento, President and Chief Technology Officer at Big Purple Dot. “Optimal Blue’s API initiative has provided us the opportunity to make this happen and increases the value of our CRM immensely. We plan to introduce an assortment of dynamic and intriguing tools to the mortgage industry very soon.”

Big Purple Dot is known for their innovation and unrivaled methods that eradicate the communication barriers between the various parties involved in the lifecycle of a mortgage transaction, beginning with the borrower experience. The company has developed an application intake form that can be white-labeled per an originator’s unique UI preference, and the integration with Optimal Blue now guarantees accurate product eligibility and pricing data at this pivotal stage. The integration also allows originators and realtors to funnel leads from any source, arming them with tools to quickly distribute and efficiently close deals, in addition to subsequently managing those relationships after closing. Big Purple Dot also anticipates increased success in client re-targeting.

“Our focus is to develop technology partnerships with companies that are equally motivated to shape the future of the mortgage industry,” said Optimal Blue Strategic Alliances Manager, Chazz Huston. “Adding the CRM platform provided by Big Purple Dot into our technology ecosystem of innovators will serve Optimal Blue customers – and the mortgage industry as a whole – with true lead-to-close management, and beyond.”

ABOUT BIG PURPLE DOT
Big Purple Dot is a real estate centric, Customer Relations Management (CRM) system that provides services to both mortgage and real estate professionals. From single users to large corporate structures, Big Purple Dot focuses on speed to contact via automatic email and text message technology with an emphasis on task management, to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Big Purple Dot also offers lenders and realtors the ability to collaborate in real time, which promotes better communication, proper lead source tracking, and complete transparency.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR BIG PURPLE DOT
Aldo Sarmiento
President and Chief Technology Officer
(949) 223-0900
aldo@bigpurpledot.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

Capsilon Corporation and Optimal Blue Transform Mortgage Production Process

Optimal Blue announced today that the company has partnered with Capsilon Corporation to provide a unique digital mortgage experience with highly accurate, real-time product eligibility and pricing content.

The Capsilon digital mortgage platform leverages the power of the cloud and intelligent process automation to evolve the existing mortgage production process into a modern digital mortgage factory. By integrating Optimal Blue’s real-time product eligibility and pricing content directly into the upcoming Capsilon mortgage point-of-sale solutions, joint clients will be able to improve overall compliance, create numerous process efficiencies, and deliver an engaging origination experience.

“Capsilon is transforming the mortgage industry with intelligent process automation that increases the velocity and accuracy of every step in the loan production process,” said Sanjeev Malaney, CEO of Capsilon. “Our partnership with Optimal Blue provides the data connectivity, integrated pricing workflows, and process automation lenders require to accelerate the loan production process and improve customer satisfaction.”

Optimal Blue’s best-in-class eCommerce platform consumes product and pricing content from the industry’s largest network of investors, provides intelligent selection and customization of that content as desired by lenders, and distributes the personalized results to leading technology providers via RESTful APIs – wherever, whenever it matters most.

“Our goal is to further unite the industry with our digital marketplace and break down the traditional vendor silos that have held back industry success,” said Optimal Blue CEO Scott Happ. “Strategic integrations with digital mortgage technology leaders such as Capsilon will move the industry forward.”

ABOUT CAPSILON CORPORATION
Capsilon transforms the speed and economics of the mortgage production process. Capsilon gives mortgage originators, servicers and correspondents a disruptive advantage by making it possible to deliver mortgages at the highest velocity and at a new cost structure with the utmost integrity. Headquartered in San Francisco, Capsilon serves many of the mortgage industry’s most innovative companies, including two of the 10 largest residential mortgage lenders in the United States. For more information, visit www.capsilon.com.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR CAPSILON
Greg Marek
Chief Marketing Officer
(415) 889-2195
greg.marek@capsilon.com

PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com

Optimal Blue Announces Integration with Easy Mortgage Apps

— Two mortgage technology experts pioneer further innovation —

Optimal Blue, the premier cloud-based provider of enterprise lending services to the mortgage industry, recently announced its technology partnership with Easy Mortgage Apps. This exciting integration will provide loan officers, real estate agents, and consumers with the flexibility to utilize the Optimal Blue platform within a lender’s native application, powered by Easy Mortgage Apps. The result is the ability to easily generate eligibility and rate quotes directly on their preferred device: the smartphone.

Optimal Blue is known as the premier cloud-based provider of enterprise lending services, including their industry-leading Product eligibility and Pricing Engine (PPE), Optimal Blue Banker. This integration represents a valuable opportunity for lenders to communicate vital information with all relevant parties, including product and rate information, as well as track application statuses and share time-sensitive data between loan officers and borrowers via mobile channels.

“Easy Mortgage Apps looks forward to building this partnership with industry leader, Optimal Blue, to offer all parties involved in the mortgage process a mobile-centric and more efficient way to instantly provide loan options for consumers,” said Michael Kelleher, President and Founder of Easy Mortgage Apps. “The result is a more engaged borrower. Companies who are looking to attract the millennial mortgage applicant need to review and evaluate mobile strategies designed to enhance the consumer experience, versus lead generation. We will continue to focus on developing strategic relationships with companies like Optimal Blue, which share the vision of a technically evolved lending industry.”

“We are excited about this strategic alliance,” added Mark Coupland, Vice President of Business Development for Optimal Blue. “Easy Mortgage Apps shares our passion for creating new technology and mobile experiences that will continue to reduce friction in the lending process! The added transparency and clarity resulting from this strong integration will only further enhance the lending experience for lenders and consumers alike.”

ABOUT EASY MORTGAGE APPS
Easy Mortgage Apps (EMA), the mobile-first platform where borrowers, loan officers and realtors communicate, upload info, and track in-process loans. EMA’s white labeled product helps banks and lending institutions close the gap between today’s mortgage technology and borrowers’ expectations to use smartphones in the home buying process. The EMA native app is industry compliant and seamlessly integrates into all major loan processing systems. EMA now serves 100+ enterprise customers in 47 states.

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PRESS CONTACT FOR OPTIMAL BLUE
Robert J. Brandt
Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances
(469) 609-5585
bbrandt@optimalblue.com