Optimal Blue announced a new capability in its product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute best efforts mortgage locks with participating investors via API.
The Optimal Blue PPE is the first pricing engine to fully automate this stage of the secondary market workflow for investors with support for all loan types, including both agency and non-agency programs, according to the company.
“This is a game-changer for capital markets teams that will save an average of 15 minutes per loan, which is hours saved per day,” Optimal Blue Vice President of Product Management Tiffany McGarry said in a release. “Lock desk users can now complete the entire best efforts lock transaction from within the Optimal Blue PPE – no toggling between systems, no rekeying of data and no lost time. It’s a meaningful step forward for day-to-day productivity that helps protect lenders against costly errors and compliance issues, while giving investors a more streamlined path to work with their originator partners.”
The Optimal Blue PPE already automates loan pricing, lock requests and post-lock changes, and the company’s hedging platform supports automation for mandatory execution. Until the release of this capability, completing a best efforts lock required the lender’s secondary desk to log in to the investor’s portal and re-enter loan details by hand. This enhancement eliminates this final step to execute the lock, fully automating the process.
Best efforts lock requests can now be sent directly to an investor via API, reducing the time required from an average of 15 minutes per loan to just seconds. Loan data flows securely to the investor and back, keeping the loan origination system record up-to-date and generating a PDF confirmation that provides an audit trail and proof of execution.
The new capability offers a way for the more than 240 investors in Optimal Blue’s network to stand out to more than 1,000 originators by delivering a faster, more streamlined means to lock, according to a release.
“This is the first time investors have been able to complete best efforts locks through real-time, system-to-system connectivity with their lender partners,” Optimal Blue Chief Product Officer Erin Wester said in a release. “We’ve already set up this integration with select investor partners, and it’s been exciting to see the positive momentum it is already building for their businesses. It’s a strategic edge that improves execution, strengthens lender-investor relationships and streamlines the path to purchase.
Future phases of the best efforts lock feature will add support for profile updates, extensions and other post-lock changes as well as integration into the CompassEdge platform.