Tag: Texas Business

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its January 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing a strong start to the year as falling rates drove a sharp increase in refinance activity. Total rate-lock volume rose 16% month over month (MoM) and finished January 36% higher year over year (YoY), led by a surge in rate-and-term refinances, which climbed 50% from December and more than 400% compared with January 2025.

HOUSTON, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and leading remote online notarization (RON) provider for real estate and legal transactions, announced a standout year in 2025, having reached more than 2 million successful notarizations to date, including more than 238,000 notarizations completed this year. The company also doubled both its credit card transaction volume and the number of servicers using loss mitigation-related RON transactions through its real estate vertical, exemplifying growing industry adoption of digital solutions.

ARGYLE, Texas, /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Scott's K9 has reached a significant milestone with over 4,000 dogs trained and placed globally. These protection dogs for sale range from police and government contract placements to private protection dogs. This is an achievement founder, Steve Scott, attributes to a differentiator most protection dog companies lack: authentic police K9 experience applied to family protection.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced 2025 results showing faster closings and measurable efficiency gains as lenders used its technology to meet rising home equity demand in a high-interest-rate environment. The company reduced closing timelines, expanded key integrations and strengthened its operating foundation to support scalable growth in 2026.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its December 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing that mortgage rate-lock activity ended the year on a firm footing, bucking typical holiday-driven seasonality. Total lock volume rose 2% month over month (MoM) from November and finished 30% higher year over year (YoY), driven primarily by rate-and-term refinances, which climbed 13% from November and more than 170% compared with December 2024.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Nyle Maxwell Collision Center, Austin's highly respected automotive collision repair center located at 13581 Research Blvd., Austin, Texas 78750, has appointed Austin native and collision industry veteran, Tammie Harper, as the company's Collision Center Director, Brent Rayfield, General Manager at Nyle Maxwell Supercenter, has announced.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- MindBridge Math Mastery, a U.S.-based educational services organization specializing in conceptual math instruction, is issuing new guidance regarding widespread math learning gaps that allow students to advance academically without developing true understanding. Founded and led by educational clinician Susan Ardila, M.Ed., the organization reports that these gaps frequently remain undetected for years.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today a new partnership with Stewart Lender Services, a division of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC), that enhances FirstClose's Order Management System (OMS) with expanded home equity fulfillment capabilities.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its November 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that total mortgage rate-lock activity declined with normal late fall seasonality, yet still marked the strongest November in four years. Total lock volume fell 25% month over month (MoM) from October but remained up 17% year over year (YoY), buoyed by historically strong refinance demand and mortgage rates holding near 6%.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced the promotion of Lanny Rogers III, CPA, to chief financial officer (CFO) and Jeremy Moreno to chief revenue officer (CRO). Their combined experience and long track records of leadership position the company to advance its next stage of growth and client success with a dedicated financial strategy function and strengthened revenue oversight.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced the appointment of Alex Sirpis as vice president of sales. In this role, Sirpis will lead the company's sales organization, refine the go-to-market strategy and drive revenue growth as FirstClose continues expanding its presence with mortgage and home equity lenders across the country.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced the appointment of Adam Nicholson as director of professional services. Nicholson will lead the company's implementation operations, including project delivery, process optimization and cross-functional coordination to enhance the customer experience.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU) has implemented FirstClose's Equity Order Management to automate settlement workflows for its home equity lending operations.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Velocity Credit Union (Velocity) has announced the launch of a new Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) program designed to give members greater financial flexibility and control over their everyday spending. A financial institution with over $1 billion in assets and serving over 80,000 members, Velocity is introducing this program to further its commitment to offering comprehensive financial services to its members for every stage of their life.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its October 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing that rate-lock activity remained strong despite seasonal cooling and continued to outpace last year's levels. Total lock volume fell 4.2% month over month (MoM) from September's peak but was still up 18% year over year (YoY) as borrowers responded to improving affordability and narrower rate spreads.

ADDISON, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced a significant expansion of its warehouse line capacity dedicated to its growing One-Time Close (OTC) construction-to-permanent wholesale lending business. The expansion, supported by Merchants Bank and other warehouse partners, triples Click n' Close's OTC capacity and follows a record fiscal year performance, reinforcing the confidence of its capital partners in the company's financial strength and specialized business model.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. This marks a quarter-century of innovation in modernizing lending processes for residential mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide.

HOUSTON, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and a pioneering provider of remote online notarization (RON) and identity verification/authentication technology for real estate and legal transactions, today announced that Enterprise Product Manager Joseph Bisaillon has been honored as a 2025 HousingWire Tech Trendsetter. The award is given to technology leaders driving impactful innovation in the housing industry.

AUSTIN, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- FirstClose™, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced that Chief Product Officer Ramiro Castro has been recognized by HousingWire as a 2025 Tech Trendsetter. The annual award celebrates 75 technology leaders whose vision and execution are reshaping the housing economy.

ADDISON, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced the addition of Jon Wilson as Vice President of Accounting. In this role, Wilson will oversee corporate accounting, financial reporting and process optimization, supporting the company's continued growth and operational excellence.