Lower interest rates bring refi opportunities; borrowers experience frustration at closing; improvements at Provident Funding Associates; Spanish translation efforts; tech firm acquires mortgage brokerage.

NYCB scales back with sale of Flagstar’s mortgage operations; Cornerstone Bank makes leadership hires; MISMO working group on AVMs; AI updates.

Philadelphia-based Republic Bank focused its mortgage production on jumbos with below-market rates. The bank also held agency MBS that lost value as interest rates increased.

A new research paper finds that mergers between real estate agencies and lenders can help boost origination market share but can also cost borrowers more in the long run.

Two large nonbank retail lenders took losses in the fourth quarter, with officials stressing that better days are ahead. Guild is growing through M&A while loanDepot is reducing its staffing.

The company estimates mortgage technology segment revenue growth in the low to mid-single-digit range this year. The segment boosted revenue by 17% in 2023.

Citizens Bank left the wholesale channel amid weak margins; Mr. Cooper’s cyberattack recovery includes large expenses for borrower services; new leader at broker group; Consolidated Analytics acquires Real Info; customer relationship management tool with artificial intelligence for loan officers.

Clever Real Estate has acquired Gravy Technologies, which provides a loyalty-as-a-service platform for lenders and real estate agents.

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

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.