March 2026

Financial technology company Plaid announced Tuesday that it has integrated its Home Lending Report into the Encompass loan origination system from ICE Mortgage Technology — a move Plaid says will streamline digital asset verification for mortgage lenders. The integration embeds Plaid’s verification tool directly into Encompass, allowing loan officers and underwriters to access borrower asset […]

Mortgage rate locks rose in February as lower borrowing costs helped bring more homebuyers back into the market, according to Optimal Blue‘s February 2026 Market Advantage report. The report, released Tuesday, found that total rate-lock volume increased 9% compared to January and was nearly 40% higher than in February 2025. Purchase lock volume climbed more

Over the past several years, private credit has been portrayed as a lifeline for commercial real estate. As banks have tightened under regulatory pressure and rising rates, debt funds stepped in and kept transactions moving. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, private credit funds accounted for roughly 24% of U.S. CRE lending volume last year,