A new company called Simplist is brokering mortgages using a mix of data, analytics and processes designed to help render quick, cost-effective decisions on a wide range of loans.

Kristy Kim was an immigrant success story with a degree from Berkeley and a lucrative job — except her lack of credit history precluded her from getting a car loan. She started TomoCredit to help the many young folks who struggle to qualify for a credit card.

Blooma has developed a software product that combs databases to create property profiles for commercial real estate lenders. It can drastically cut origination costs and approval times and help banks identify safer loans, the company says.

Mortgage companies will be charged fees to upgrade an Internal Revenue Service system they use, but will benefit from the improvement as well.

Capacity, formerly Jane.ai, originally designed its chatbot to answer consumers' questions, but when employees started using it, that gave the startup an idea for a new business line.

A range of startups are experimenting with more ethical retirement savings products than traditional reverse mortgages and annuities, says venture capitalist Ben Cukier. However, according to Cukier, they're too focused on millennials and ignoring a group with more urgent needs and greater wealth — baby boomers.

Mortgage servicer customer satisfaction levels are among the lowest of any industry as more companies prioritize cost-cutting, regulation and default management over their borrowers, according to J.D. Power.

MISMO released an updated set of remote online notarization standards to create consistency among industry practices and state laws as mortgage lenders continue to make strides with electronic closings.

With retaining and maintaining customers being a perpetual challenge for independent mortgage brokers, Home Point Financial launched a technology platform to bolster recapture rates.

Mortgage lenders continue prioritizing technology efforts over all else in hopes of tackling a slew of market hurdles and threats, according to Fannie Mae.