Maintaining internal policies and documenting employees’ work practices are vital to effectively managing the return-to-office transition, according to industry participants.

Better went from more than 10,000 employees in 2021 to fewer than 900 as of Sept. 1; lenders start early on 2024 loan limits; mortgage lock-in easing; MISMO initiatives; tool to check for appraisal bias; automated title reviews; insurance platform raises funds.

ICE says its merger with Black Knight will lead to solutions that simplify the mortgage experience for investors, lenders and borrowers.

Fannie provided details on how to initiate effective prefunded quality control, which can help to prevent buybacks.

California is set to become the 45th state to allow remote online notarizations for real estate transactions; LOs available 24/7 at Guaranteed Rate; empathetic lenders slow to cut staff; former Black Knight units rebrand as Dark Matter Technologies; Incenter boosts corporate staff; warehouse lending system moves to the cloud.

Michael Nouguier, chief information security officer at Richey May, said the public-facing nature of loan officers’ work can expose them to targeted attacks.

The MOVEIt ransomware attack has impacted as many as 1,172 companies, including mortgage lenders and servicers.

High interest rates push down rate lock activity in August; Guaranteed Rate touts five-minute approvals; startup aims to link homebuyers with assumable mortgages; foreclosures increase; MISMO updates offerings.

The mortgage industry has been slow to adopt eClosing despite the fact that it could help reduce origination costs and streamline business processes.

Blend is taking steps to turn a profit after years of losses. The moves include increasing revenue per mortgage transaction and decreasing expenses through layoffs.