M&A deals, partnerships announced in mortgage this week

With the biggest mortgage tech merger in years now settled, lenders and vendors are seeing some of the effects of it play out through collaborations and consolidation.

While a subdued home lending environment is also in play — with a number of mergers and acquisitions in 2023 as many predicted at this point last year — the recently completed Black Knight-Intercontinental Exchange merger brought significant disruption. The deal is prompting many companies to evaluate their strategies to remain competitive and get ahead, leading to new product integrations or outright acquisitions. 

The latest announcements include a couple of companies bringing entire new units into the fold. Columbus, Ohio-based Lower announced the addition of Universal Lending as a new division within its family of companies. Both retail and wholesale channels of Denver-based Universal will move over to Lower and continue to be led by President TJ Kennedy.

"The addition aligns with our expansion plans, adding over 60 loan officers and establishing a strong presence in both the Colorado and Montana markets," said Mike Baynes, Lower co-founder and managing director. 

Likewise, valuations and closing-solutions firm Accurate Group added the appraisal business of Voxtur Analytics in a new acquisition. The former Voxtur unit will operate as a standalone division within the Cleveland-based technology company and include its current team and leadership, Accurate said.  

Among other recent partnerships, the newly merged ICE Mortgage Technology figures into two.

Settlement solutions firm The Closing Exchange said it had teamed up with the mortgage tech giant to make it easier for title agents and lenders to request remote online notarizations and other virtual appointments with the addition of Simplifile eSign Events platform onto ICE's Encompass loan-origination system. At the same time, Income-verification provider Argyle partnered with ICE to connect to its LOS as well, giving users secure and direct access to payroll sources. 

It follows other Argyle news from last month, where it announced it would open access to direct income and employment data to users of Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter. 

In a similar arrangement in the income-verification space, CoreLogic made its own moves following the close of its merger with Roostify and recent launch of the Digital Mortgage Platform product. The Irvine, California-based company is upgrading its employment and income-verification capabilities with the help of Experian Verify. Like Argyle, CoreLogic will be able to connect its users with Fannie Mae DU as well as Freddie Mac's system.

Also working alongside Experian, the software platform MeridianLink, which provides digital mortgage and lending services to the financial industry. In expanding its relationship with the company, Costa Mesa, California-based MeridianLink is, likewise, making Experian Verify available to its clients. 

New partnerships aren't limited to loan underwriting either. This week, two emerging fintechs, Vesta and Willow Servicing, integrated their tools to provide a streamlined borrowing experience from application to post-close. Through automation of interim servicing processes, their partnership aims to provide continuity in Vesta's LOS until the point a closed mortgage is transferred to a permanent servicer. 

"Seamlessly integrating a loan origination system with a mortgage servicing system removes a major point of friction in the mortgage lifecycle," said Laura Cain, CEO of Willow Servicing, in a press release. 

Also among mortgage lenders, Luminate Home Loans entered into an agreement with Stewart subsidiary Cloudvirga to use its wholesale platform for third-party originations. Along with giving mortgage brokers more control through the origination process, the partnership will permit them to create loan scenarios, generate disclosures and connect directly with Luminate, the lender said.