Technology

Ellie Mae has agreed to purchase St. Louis-based Mortgage Returns, which provides customer-relationship management services.

LendingTree already offers a Yelp-like community where consumers can rate loan officers. Now it has created a question-and-answer forum within its loan officer directory platform.

Clayton Holdings in Shelton, Conn., has agreed to buy ValuAmerica, a settlement services provider headquartered in Pittsburgh.

By using data from both post-closing and prefunding quality control reviews, lenders can craft a more proactive prefunding QC strategy that takes into account high-risk areas that are specific to their businesses.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a new ethics program that will support whistleblower, ombudsman and hotline initiatives.

Mortgage credit availability increased in September on offerings of Freddie Mac's affordable lending programs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

An initiative underway at Freddie Mac seeks to integrate new and existing technology to create a comprehensive suite of quality control tools designed to help lenders manage their mortgage repurchase risks.

Employment at nonbank mortgage banking and brokerage firms was steady in August, ending a six-month run of job gains.

News Corp's Move Inc. has acquired Reesio, a provider of document and transaction management software for residential real estate.

To better serve millennial mortgage customers, lenders would be helped by understanding how the "fear of missing out" mentality drives this generation's consumer culture.