Technology

To boost its presence in affordable housing, Synovus Bank is devoting considerable resources to training its loan officers.

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.

Refinances jumped in July in response to a considerable mortgage rate decline from the month prior as homeowners set to lock in lower costs, according to Ellie Mae.

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.

Freddie Mac is automating a manual form submission process used to correct post-settlement and real estate owned data, and adding policy changes aimed at accommodating electronic signatures on loss mitigation documents.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization is working with stakeholders to come up with a common means of handling new tax transcript authorization requirements in the Taxpayers First Act.

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.

Better.com has added new capital to support its growth and, in a separate deal, New Residential has agreed to use some its funds to buy property management firm DGG RE Investments.

The pursuit of a more digital mortgage business always involves a balancing act between the drive for automation and the preference or need many consumers may have for some kind of personal touch.